Rocky Ford enterprise., 1894-10-04
THE ORIGIN OF GOLD.

| matter was thrown up from the cen
| ter of the earth in volcanic eruptions
or through some less violent action OF
the fiery elements. And not more
than thirty years ago, "the hypothesis
| OF the igneous origin of the vein stun
| of mineral veins was stoutly ndvo.
Gated by eminent biologists" Now,
| that theory $50 far as regards the
earthly minerals of a vein," dnds
practically no advocates. Many, how.
| ever, still hold that "the gold Of quart,
| veins were introduced into the inter
| stices Of the quartz by igneous action.
There are others, again, who, while
admitting the aqueous Introduction OF
| gold into the veins, still maintain the
| theory of its earlier isneous upraise
from the deep interior into the mas
| siye rocks containing the veins" A
recent theory, however, makes the
waters of the sea the source Of the
worlds gold. Hence the gold was not
only introduced into all the veins by
water, but also took its origin from
that same aqueous clement.
The supporters of this theory claim
in it's favor that gold is absent from
volcanic products. This If maintained
is certainly n strong point. If gold is
of igneous origin, 1t would certainly
be found associated with the matter
brought to the surface by the action
of fire at its deepest depths. Yet a
writer in a recent Issue of the Scien-
tific American Supplement- declares,
that as widely distributed metal as
gold is, at is almost II not quite un-
known as volcanic product" and
that in gold-producing volcanic re-
gions, the gold is rather in the veins
traversing the non-volcanic rocks than
in the volcanic rocks themselves. IN
the British Islands, 1t is claimed, gold
was found in the non-yolcanic but
not in the volcanic districts. 1t Is abb
sent from the great volcanic island OF
Iceland, from the eminently volcanic
areas of Sicily and from the volcanic
districts of France and Germany. 1t
is searched for in vain in the volcanic
islands of the Pacific and is found in
fascinating abundance in non-volcanic
New South Wales and Queensland.
Most significant of all no trace of gold
has ever been found in the Vesuvius
area of hundred square miles.
Prof. ]. Logan Lobley, writing In the
Scientific American In support and ex-
planation of this ocean origin Of gold
says:
"Gold Is one of the most insoluble
and unchanging of minerals. 1t Is not
oxidizcd by either air or water, and Is
not attacked by any of the ordinary
acids, much less is it dissolved by wa
ter, either hot or cold. But 1t chem
icnlly unites with some, though very
few, clements, and SO forms aur1c
compounds, and these compounds arc
soluble to Il greater or less extent IN
water, and 1t is itself soluble In Sc
lenic acid and also in aqua-reSfa or nj
tro-hydrochloric acid under certain con-
q
elements with which gold forms
chemical compound, and this salt of
gold, the auric chloride, or the terch-
loride of gold. is readily dissolved by
water Mt ordinary temperatures. with
sulphur a sulphidc of gold Is formed
that is also n soluble salt, though not
nearly SO much so as is the chloride.
at seems probable that under natur-
nj conditions of heat and pressure, gold
will unite with silica, forming silicate
of gold slightly soluble in hot water.
Thus the same conditions that favor
the solution of silica itself, which, as Is
well known, is slightly soluble In hot
water, and the deposition Of 1t In cav
tiles or assures, would likewise be IA
yorable to the formation Of q silicate
OF gold in sillceous auriferous rocks
and the subsequent solution of the
compound and its transportation also
from the massive rock into any cavity
or fissure There would thus be an
milling of flssures with silica, together
with an admixture of silicate gold, not
to mention other minerals. Time alone
would then be required to effect the
complete separation OF the gold from
the silica with which 1t was united,
and leave it as free metallic gold In
the diversified forms and quantities in
t. to- 0rskV
"The problem of the origin Of gold.
then, seems to be reduced to account
ing for its occurrence in sufficient
quantity in ordinary marine sedimen-
tary rocks. As all the materials of
these rocks were derived from the seas
of the globe, it will be necessary to
ask in the first place could the sea wa.
ter contain and deposit the gold now
imbedded and disseminated In the
rocks of the globe? This question can
now be answered very distinctly in the
affirmative.
"Since the sea is the great receptacle
for all solutions, 1t was safe to con-
clude that it contained the soluble salts
of gold, but the fact Is not now mat
ter of mere deduction, but of actual
knowledge. Sonstadt found from care
full experiments on the sen water of
RlmSeY bay, lSlS VI litu, tuht best
water contains Il little under grain
of gold per ton. Estimating the whole
Of the gold production of the world to
the present time at GS,500, 900, 900 sterl-
ing, and taking the weight of the sea
water of the globe Mt 100000, ,000, ,000,-
OO0, 900 tons as was estimated by Prof.
Wurtz of New York, we find that the
present seas of the globe contain up
ward of 100000 times as much gold
as has ever been extracted from the
rocks, and consequently we must con.
clude that the seas of the globe In the
past have been fully able to stock Its
mineral deposits with all the gold they
contain.
1--WE now arrive at the next stage of
the inquiry, which is how can the gold
be separted from its marine solution
and be deposited along with the mater
ials of the sands, the shales, the clays
and the limestones that constitute the
sedimentary rocks?
"By the accidental dropping of a
piece of cork into a solution of chlor-
idc of gold, Mr.. Richard Daintree of
the geological survey Of Victoria, dis
covered that organic matter causes
the decomposition of an auric chloride
solution and the consequent precipita-
tinu of metallic gold. During tho de-