Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1894-06-29
GOLD OF THE WORLD.
ITS LOCATION. QUANTITY. AND
MODE OF PRODUCTION.
Future Of the Metal In tho Ar.s-1t Wa.
Known to the Ancients, and Lavlshiy
Used by People of All Chimes.
l,rec Gus subject.

A rrec Gus Subject
A favoritc problem of the alche.
mists was to discover processes by
which q baser metal might be trans
muted into gold. But no way has
vet been found for resolving it into
Two or more sui distances, and it is
still classed by chemists as one of the
clements of matter This is also
true OF the metals silver, Nlead, cop
Per, zinc, iron and nickel.v Oftener
than otherwise gold is found in u ma
tive or metallic state, and not large
~ combined with other metals. Its
rarity has Always rendered it valu-
able. In Hungary it is found asso-
ciated with silver ores. galena and
pyrites. In the ural MouE tains gold
is found associated with plutonic
rocks. Magnetic quartz and plat
mum r common in all the ural
auriterous sands, and gold is also
found there in the diorite and serpen-
tine rocks. When combined with
other substances, the recovery OF the
gold ia affected Ivy chemical means
Joined with mechanical methods
which are not diticult.
HISTORICAL
Gold is often mentioned in the
Old Testament. ard illusions are
made to methods Of testing. refining
and applying the metal. The Israeli
ties had many gold ornaments of
which the Prophet Aaron seems to
have had little difficulty in collecting
a sufficient quantity with which to
make his golden calf" Gold wire
was woven with threads of linen for
that prophets priestly robes
Golden calves now seem so abundant
in the form Of men, that there is no
longer need for any more specimens
of the fOur-legged variety. All are
familiar with the lavish use of gold
made by solomon in building and
furnishing his temple, and in pres
ents for his seven hundred wives.
The wise King plainly had access to
rich sources of gold. = Hindoo writer's
OF five thousand years ago speak of
gold, and Homer uses the word with
such frequency as to show us il was
common in his day. The meJal was
also in use by prehistoric man as it
is found in the form of ornaments in
the tombs and in the ruins of pre-
historic cities. Dr. Schlieman
found many articles of gold in his
excavations on the site of ancient
Troy, and gold ornaments are abun-
dant in tombs in Honduras and
Yucatan. That the natives of
America had accumulated consider
able gold as early as the discoveries
of Columbus is ecn in the fact that
the Inca of Peru, collected about
SIC. O0O, 900 worth of it for that mon
umcntal rascal PiZaro IN order to
secure his ransom. Pizaro of course
kept the gold and murdered the
Inca. AT the time of the discovery
of America by Columbia. it is esti-
mated that the value of all the gold
and silver in the world then pos
eessed by men, did not exceed Sl7O-,
O00. 600, or not IS much in all as the
value Of tine worlds silver product
alone for the single year of 1892,
which was Sl97, 600, 600.
PROPERTIES OF GOLD.
Bulk for bulk, gold is about twen-
ty times as heavy as water. 1t is the
most Malleable Of The metals and has
been beaten into leaves so thin that
aUU, QUO of them would be required to
make an inch in thickness. The
ductility Of the metal is SO great that
a single grain Of it "a be drawn into
a wire 6oU feet long. Pure gold is
almost as soft as lead. and for that
a requires a mixture of other
metals like copper and silver to rem
der it available for coin and for use
in the arts. Gold coins are really
made from ar alloy of gold and cop
pei, the copper in American COINS
constituting %one-tenth OF their sub
stance, and one-elcvcnth of English
coins. jewelers. and worke's in gold
usually speak of pu.e gold as -
ca:ats fine. but for watch cases and
chains the gold used is only from IL
to ls carats fine, the baser metals
used for the alloy rendering it much
harder and more durable than pure
gold. When gold and copper, and
gold and silver are melted together
the inferior metal is so evenly dis
ncullullcU GllTUux uOUU UlI0 kOlU U01U
all analysis of IL SMALL piece of the al
10y tells exactly the proportion Of
e.ch metal in the enti.e mass.
WHERE GOLD IS FOUND.
Tho alluvial deposits of the Rhine
ard the Danube a.e auriferous to a
small extent. Gold quarts m mes
e LIST in the Austrian Alps. and some
gold il found ON the Italian side of
those mountains. There are gold
bearing veins IN the Kingdom o. Hun.
gary. Russia's production Of gold is
the largest of any European country.
This metal is also outlined in India
and China though as yet not in large
amounts. hut With improved mining
processes. the production WILL event.
ually lie large. Africa is now the
In gest producer of gold of any of the
continents, aud its product is rapidly
increasing. as will he seen by the fag
ures given later on. In North
Amer Gu gold is found in Canada,
Nova Scotia, and is mined from veins
in states belonging to the Uuehec