Mohave County miner., 1892-12-10
The Apparent Growth of Gold

""k STU, sue ercdtest one OIL all 10 it's
growth. Oi course there are many inter.
esting instances where ancient worked
out galleries in mines are slowly closing
up by the incrustation process, so tina,
space long ago excavated is being filed
with an accumulation resulting from the
Dercolation OF water through The adjacent
wall-rock. This water mas in chemical
combination such minerals as iron, cop
per, sulphur and the precious metals,
which aie deposited in the open crevice,
making for second time u mineraliz-d
body which will show by an .lysis the
above named and many more minerals.
In TACT have had this actual experience
resultant on the examination Of an old
gold rnine 10 Honduras, Central Am-rics.
that had been worked some time prior to
any history We have OF that country.
This circumstance gave to the natives the
idea that gold grew, and they 80 expressed
themselves; while il seemed in the c.se
OF one individual r,nsnutation idea
had permea,ed his head, for he explained
that the green carbonate Of copper was
undergoing change into silver, while
the silver in turn would develop into
gold.
In India found cast OF mining peo
pie who believed that gold grew in the
bottom OF large lakes situated IN that
country. They expressed no pr ,cticsl
reason other ,han fairy-taie snperstitions
And even in this country there are con-
verts TO the idea. I was much amused
and interested some years ago to hear an
Intelligent acquaintance MAINTAIN in
strong and not altogether religions terms
that ths stuff grew and he k,es it,"
His experience was based on the fact
that in certain pile OF taili,gs, resulting
from the milling Of heavy sulphurerted
gold ores, he had treated At one time
several tons with no result Ag,in in
three years time he discovered by pan
test that the same pile had gold in 1t,
whereupon he treated several tons with
the Approximate result Of one dollar per
ton. After this last treatment ne declared
tine tailings were barren OF gold so far as
he conld detect by the mechanic Al means
At hand. In order to convince him Sc
lected an average sample. which one AZ.
say gave 2 pennyweigh's 10 grains gold
per 1000 pound ton. This was considered
no, worth the working. But my friend
maintained that me gold would grow
again in two or three years.
True TO his word, IN Two years he was
At the pile again. and ny hi% crnde bu,
sure method VAS saving one dollar per
ton from the ore that would yield nil by
his methods two wears before. Again
took samples for assay and was some
~hat surprised to find that the value had
inere .sed jnst 50 per cent, ~ the result
OF my determination was 5 penny weights
ID grains per ton. On investigation |
found the sulphurets of character read
lily decomposej by the elements; in fact
to such an extent tn I, as | afterwards |
calculated. over one-half the pile must |
have been daconpossi or WISHED aw ", |
so that with the decomposition a certain
rapid concentration Was maintained by |
the action Of heavy rains, and the natural |
advantage this particular ground offered
causing the golh to remain behind while |
the oxides were carried away in su-pen.
sion by the water. My explanation has
failed to convince my friend OF the pick
and shovel. As the gold in the tailnys |
has become abont exhausted, his las: at.
tempt to make it pay was failure. He
remains strong IN the conviction that
few years will grow it again.-Science.
The cost Of worldwide patent 10 dis.
closed by the following incident: Two
trench gentlemen patented a hypodermic