Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-07-24
MINING IN TIE slLNT.
"A Place where sweep,ncs are Ffttns Z.
ble-Dtssectinc Wh"eibarfows ana
Tubs in Search of GOld.

lut Nhiu NlChAA~tk t'"~T INV
3n Webster's Dictionary, but il the great
Noah had known much about United
States minis he certainly would have re-
allied the magnitude Of the work en-
braced IN the expression. and would have
incorporated it in his little list Of words
for the expression Of IDEAS in the English
language. A cleanup" is usually ei-
fected in the replenishng department of
the Treasury ut the end OF each fiscal
year, when the superintendent are re-
Quired to make their annual settlement
with the government; but when change
occurs in the management, such ms IS at
present on the tspis, the internal organiza-
lion is more upset than the average house
hold on q weekly washday. Brickmasons
and carpenters tnd work for some time IN
tearing down and rebuilding, ana FOR "A
time the interior OF some OF the depart
menfs present the appearance of mine.
While gold is among the heaviest, NJ the
same time its PARTICLES are among the
lightest Of metals. and its methods OF
escape from the couhning hands Of man
are many. II VIII float in water or air in
the process of handling, as the govern
ment once ascertained to its sorrow in
this city, when, IN early DAYS, superln-
tendent proved some $50, coo short in his
accounts. A long Investigation resulted,
and the superintendent demonstrated, to
che great relief Of his bOnLsmen, that the
missing bullion had
FLOATED OFF IN YELLOW SMOKE
that daily climbs the tall chimneys when
The American eagle is being printed on
the coin of the Union. Needless TO say,
the peculating smoke has been put up in
bags ever since and put on storage until
Na.a. H.. Afa
material Of which the fat. comfortable
double eagles OF this country are made.
Other safeguards are many. and even the
very atmosphere is chained until cleansed
OF its precious freight. Yes said Mr..
Alex. Martin, the present meter and re-
liner, to an Ata reporter yesterday, eve
hold pretty much all we can get now, eX-
cept what the employees breathe, and the
government allows us enough Wast8ge TO
more than cover that. Certainly none of
H. escapes in their clOthes.' And he led
the way 10 the melung-roOm, where the
smell Of burning rags was apparent. In
one Of the huge cruclbles were the work.
ing garments Of halt a score of the at
taches, and the dust that had gathered on
them was being extracted by a few hun
dred degrees OF heat. In another furnace
the sweepngs Of the floor were being
made 20 yield up their geanings, and, in
short, all over the building, wherever
there was a prospect OF color, a search
was being prosecuted Tor gold. IN the
basement was large pile of yellow dirt
that represented the remnants OF twenty
two furnances in the meltng-room. The
fire brick from them had been dug out.
ground, huxed and all the gold extracted
from them, and the furnaces rebuilt with
new brick, which in turn will undergo the
same process when another settlement ls
called for.
ON THE STONE FLOOR
OF this department are laid circular iron
Rratings, an inch thick by foot in diane
Ter, and reaching the hundreds in num-
Der. Every one of these plates has been
either carefully washed on the floor, and
the water saved, or run through n fur
nance, which is equally capable OF de-
taching the adherlng yellow particles
The ironwOrk of the furnaces is under
going scraping. the flues are similarly
treated, and to tell one-halfof the destruc-
tion involved in the cleanup would be an
lmpOsS bility within the limits Of news
paper article. In the refining department
scarcely a stick of woodwork has been
left standing. In the corrOding-hOuse the
precipilating tank and tubs used for the
CONVEYANCE of silver have all been burned.
and from the ashes thus obtained $50
ounces OF silver have 30 tar been extracted.
The woodwork of the little trucks, on
which are wheeled the bars and ingOts of
refined bullion, has all been burned, and
The sCOrching ire of the furnace has
brought to the front many tiny sliVers
and scraplngs OF precious metal that have
accumulated during the months that vast
sums have been Whirled about on them
like so much cordwOOd. The extracting
of the nitrate of silver that has been car
rled of in the process of dissolution is
Also an interesting matter, but the gem OF
the collecting lies in two huge tanks in
the courtyard Of the building.
swEETENING TtIE DIRT.
In the corners of the departments Of the
assayer, melJer, retiner and coiner are
small Escape pipes that connect with pipes
beneath the floor, and again with the
tanks in the yard. When the bulk of the
sweepings has been gathered from the
stone floor and submitted to the retiner
again the floors are washed and
the water sent through these pipes
into the tanks. There the dirt under
goes process called ''sweetening,"
which is simply the holding Of the metallic
particles conveyed in the water At the
end Of the year the tanks are robbed of
their precious sediment, and very profit
able operation it proves. This year the
sediment was 5000 ounces in the gross
and after going through the refiner's hands
II was reduced to 600 ounces OF silver and
90 ounces OF gold OF standard hneneSs. All
these gleanings, or, more properly, their
results, are run into bars, which take
their place in the assets of the mint. no
matter what allowance is made by the
government for wastage. This allowance
Is always largely Ia excess OF the loss,
even without the cleanup" which re-
duces II 10 u minimum. la an interview
with COiner g. NJ. Gorham Yesterday he
estimated the loss at about ST IN $4,000,
and the cleanup reduces this largely
though in what proportion he was not pre-
pared 10 state until the Official figures are
Issued.
~ should not think that loss Of 81 in
$4,000 would be worth looking for 10 the
extent that the search is prosecuted here,
Mr.. Gorham," announced the reporter,
upon receiving this statement.
"Perhaps not, il we handled only
$4,000, but when You take 81 out Of every
$4,000 that 20 TO make up $4,000, 0O0
IT would be worth seeking for would il
uOtY'
"Rather."
"Well. $4,000. 900 is about tho amount
Of money handled in this mint every
year"
PROFITS FOR THE GOVERNMENT.
In COINS on 10 speak Of the system OF
operating the mint. Dir. Gorham said that
In silver coinage alone tlpro WAS a uroni