Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1889-07-05
THE QUEST OF GOLD.

solid water, viz, by glaciers. In British |
IN the northwest territory of
Canada, in Nova Scotia, aud in New Zsa-
land are many gold placefs formed by
glac,ai action. 10 North Carolina, Profess
sor Kree, the state geologist, attributes
square miles of auriferous gravels to frost
drift" or earth glaciers, i. e., 10 the
effects Of repeated frost and thaw in de-
composing the rocks, and then by alter
nate expansion and contraction causing
their detrit9s to rearrsnge its component
parts. Even in tropical Brazil, the golden
canga represents what is left Of the gla-
ess,a rasr1iran ssssa sis-lsris. vass geologic.
al epoch. Finally, to come nearer home,
gold is found in the "till" on the Aankes of
the celebrated Lead hills Of Scotland.
Quite recently it has been claimed that
some of the California "gravels" are not
gravels in true sense of the word, but that
they are partly due to mud volcanoes,
much Of the accumulated matters being
angular instead OF rounded, as they are in
ttFCtihS hcppsiNes
Whatever the mears by which the
placer gold mas been conveyed to its pres
ent bed, it can only have mad one source
mineral veins. at cne time it was the
fashion to suppose that VEIN gold would
be found only in quartz rocks Of Siiurain
age, but though sNch formations do afford
large proportion of vein gold, there are
many other minerals which carry gold
notably calclte-and scarcely rock lorma-
ton in which one could safely predict its
,bsence. Az to how the gold got into
The mineral veins theye are many plausi
BILE theories--in solution, decomposition,
by condensation of vapors. etc. Probably
all these may hays had their share in its
production. Certain 1t is that gold has
been found IN solution in sea water, and in
aiive crystals, IN the pores Of lava which
r4s been ej"cted within historic times.
Vein miaing entails greater expense
han gravel mining, because the under
tround workings are mora extensive and
more difficult, and when the vein stuff has
been mined the hidden gold can only be
| got ont by the aid Of costly machlnary,
designed to execute in few hours that
which, if left natural agencies, would oc-
cupy many years. Thus percentage oi
gold that .Ozeuia be rsmunerltive in a
alacer would not pay in vein. but veins
re more enduring, and now afford the
rhief supplies of the precious metal.
When all The circumstances are favora-
olr, goii canning and milling are sufficient
Iy simple operations. but vast numhac
Of enemies arise to trouble the mill man.
rwo Of the worst are known as "aoat
gold" and "aopred mercury and so
many shareholders have heen robUpd oi
their dividends by these obstructlv4 agents
that they will probably &c glad to know
something OF their birth 9nd history. Il
must be told, then, that sometimes the
gold occurs in Particles iufnitrsimally
minute, that they will actually Goat on
running water, and thus get carried away
with the refuse, desPts eli contrlvauce'
I devised to arrest tn m. IN the case oI
vein gold, this eyi is often increased by
the hammering action OF the stamps
which l4ttens the grains aud augment'
their buoy By the stamping process
also the surfaces of the grains get covered
with silicio1s coat, due to impalpablt
! auartz powder which is hammered into
the yielding metal. This skin prevents
proper contact between the gold and the
mercury, hence such grams escape anal
gamatiou; even gold which has been sim
ply hammered shows, for some insarutablt
reason, very -edHced affinity for mer'
curry. Much gold is naturally coated with
oxide of iron, or contaminated with a tai
cose mineral or with shale oil, or witt
steattic matter, all which are more Or les
inimicai. Even dirty water used in thu
mill will canse an Objectionable sliminess
which must be guarded against. Then NJ
ore is quite free froua suphurets lcom
pounds Of sulphur with the base metals
iron, copper, lead, zinc, antlmony). which
rapidly destroy the activity of the mercurl
by duilng its surface and causing it t.
break into tiny particles, known as "hour-
ing" or "Hekening." Frequently the sui
phurets form considerable portion Of th'
product anI contain much of the gold,
whose extraction from them is no longer I
mere mechanical process but involves
roasting tresting with chemical solutions
and other intricate and delicate operation
known to metallOrgists. Many min
really depends for Its success upon thr
adoption of the most suitable method foI
dealing with the sulpherets, and tina
method is not always discovered in time Il
save the company from liquidation.
Sufficient has been said to show that mod
ern gold mining ia highly scientific in
dustry, demanding capital and skill. !
rich ore Ia by no means synonymous witt
large profits. The presence Of gold is
necessary element Of success, but equal.
essential elements are the tractable charac
terof the ore, the situation of ths mine
supply of water and fuel, and the labo