The record-union., 1892-09-26
7Rnual ssnkf.tn 3rtrtnnrr.
A GOLD BRICK.
How Ingot Metal is Turned Into United
States Eagles.

- $500 ~~-SNOAA"
How Tngot Metal is Turned Into United
States Eagles.
About o'clock in the morning two
men entered the Mitchell building, in
Third street, st. Louis. and getting into
the elevator mounted TO the sixth floor
and went straight to the rooms of the
United States Assay Office. One of them
carried in his hand bundle the size of a
thin brick, wrapped IN paper. He laid it
down on the counter in the office and
slowly unwrapped the bundle. 1t was
gold brick. The clerk took the bullion
and stepping across the floor placed it in
one of the pans Of a large pair of scales.
Then he closed the Office windows and
placed some weights in the other. When
1t balanced nicely he went to his desk,
took cut blank form, and wrote to the
Affect that 400 ounces of gold bullion had
been received from the St. Louis Smelt-
ing and Refining Works at the United
States Assay Office, to be assayed. This
was signed by .. Z. Jewett, the assayer
IN charge, and the men Went away. This
is the first step the Government takes to-
ward obtaining precious metal Tor COIN
ing purposes.
1t is extremely interesting to follow
TINS process OF assaying through all the
steps until the value of the gold is deter
mined and the Governments check
given for it.
While Clerk Rex was filling out the re-
celpt Mr.. Jewett explained the marvel
Gus dellcacy of the scales. Their weigh
ing capacity is 5000 ounces, and it is pos
sible to indicate by them a difference in
weight OF one grain. To illustrate, so
that this may be easily grasped, two
heavy men could be placed on one Of the
pans, and by moving a pin from the coat
OF one OF them the balance would be
changed. Still, it would be difficult to
obtain the exact weight of the men owing
to the constant change in the mems
bodies by perSpiration and other causes.
Alter the bullion's weight was deter
mined on these scales, it was taken to the
furnace-room and placed in a black-lead
cruclble. This was set on fire brick
resting on CRATE and a fire built around
1t. Inc fuel used is a mixture of anthra-
cite coal and charcoal. After an hours
melting, during which time it was fire.
quently stirred with a plumbago poker.
to which gold does not cling, sample of
the metal was dipped out with an ordi-
nary clay pipe and poured into a small
mold. The assay is made from this, as it
takes so much longer for the larger guam
uty to cool. n piece of the sample was
cut off, pounded, and then rolled through
roller of tool steel, looking something
like clothes wringer, to make it thin.
When this was done. Herman, the Ger
man who aids the assayer in his work,
handed the thin golden strip 20 him. and
then went back to the furnace-room to
pour out the molten thousands into the
big mold.
Mr.. Jewett cut the strip into small
pieces, and then, forming little lead
cornucopias of uniform weight, dropped
into two Of them 500 milligrams lone
sixteenth of an ounce of accurately
weighed gold to be assayed. Into two
hn q co 49, ,l,-
luteiy pure gold. Enough silver was
then added to make the proportion of
silver to gold two to one, as this proper
ton is necessary in order that the gold
should separate from the silver when
boiled in nitric acid.
There is in all gold a certain amount of
silver, and 1t is owing to its presence and
certain other foreign substances that the
color OF gold varies. The idea that gold
found i'll California or Australia is of such
a color because found there is a mistaken
one.
After the silver had been added the
leaden cornucOpiaS were squeezed up and
each one placed in what is called a cupeI.
a cupel is little cup made of sheen
bones burned to ashes, ground fine.
moistened, and nodded into mold an
inch long. an inch in diameter, with a
cup-shaped depression at one end. The
cupeIS were placed in small furnace
with temperature of about 1902 cent?
grade, and when heated to a white heat
the little metal chunks were laid, by the
aid of tongs, one in each cupel They
melted, sputtered, and dubbed, and then
began to grow smaller. In about ten
minutes they were taken out and all the
lead and foreign substances had been alb
sorbed by the cupel, leaving only the
noble metals in little round balls When
these were boiled in nitrate acid the sill
INT. 70
gold was left in its pure state. By this
was found the ratio of pure gold in the
bullion.
The weighings of pure gold are used as
check to any peculiar conditions of heat.
etc. The assayer knows the constitution.
weight and specific gravity of the pure
gold used. When it is weighed after the
heating process, if it has changed it's
weight 1t is fair to suppose that it is owing
to the conditions of heat or strength of
acid, and that the same influence have
been at work on the assay gold. By al
lowing for this in the assay gold a true re-
suit is reached.
The next step was to find the weight of
the gold and silver together. The lead
cornucopias were again filled with GER
tain weights of the pure and assay gold.
but no silver added. When melted i'm
the cupels the baser metals disappeared
as before, and the gold and silver were
left together. BY subtracting from the
weight of gold and silver the weight of
the gold, the exact weight of the silver
was obtained. OF course the proportion
is usually very small. If the amount is
not sufficient to pay for extracting. the
Government does not pay for it, and
charges nothing for extraction.
The entire amount OF gold in the bullion
is found by multiplying its weight by the
proportion of the gold. This is reduced
10 standard or coin gold by multiplying
this amount by ten and dividing by nine
as standard gold is only so per cent. fine
and the depositor is paid by the Govern,
ment IS so per ounce of standard metal.
equal to so 81 for fine gold. The ASSAY
fee is one-eighth of l per cent. of the
total value of fine gold, the melting fee is
ST. and the alloy charge about l cent on
500. and after this is deducted the assayer
hands check TO the owner of the gold,
The entire time occupied by this compli-
Gated operation was from A. NJ. until
l p. NJ, only four hours st. Louis Re-
public.
The Exact Location.
"Where do you stop when you are in