The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-02-10
A Golden Flood.

a Golden Flood.
Statistics and reliable estimates show
the worlds production Of gold in 1885 to
have been above SD. 10000. half as much
again as the production Of four years be
fore. and twice as much as the average
yield Of the years 1870 to 1850 inclusive. As
great as the increase has been, and as
gigantic as are the figures representing
the sum total. the high water mark OF gold
production has not yet been reached. Is
Inmates by the most astute mining engin-
GERS and statisttcians. based on data gath
cred and compiled by the best authorities,
go TO show that the production by the end
Of the century will in all likelihood have
reached the fabulous sum Of S3OOOOO.OOO per
year.
Ten years ago the whole world produced
hardly $1O0.OOO.00 a year. The richest fields
were worked out. and it seemed certain
that the production must drop off from
year to year until it finally became mere
ly nominal. Yet last year the output was
more than twice as great as I'm 1885, and
the increase is going on more rapidly than
ever before. The causes Of this marvellous
growth Of production are many, but chief
among them are the discoveries Of new
fields and the introduction Of what is
known as the cyanide process; and the lat
ter is probably not the less of the two.
For it permits of the profitable working of
low grade ores that had up to the time of
its introduction been practically valueless.
Under the old processes of extracting the
yellow metal the cost was about SIS per
ton of ore treated, hence ores that contain
ed less than that amount of gold were
valueless. The actual operating expenses
of the cyanide process, as it has been per
fected in South Africa. is not over 50 a
ton: hence ores of a low grade can be
treated by it with profit. The ores Of the
Transvaal are for the most part low
grade carrying only about 81 to the ton.
| With the aid of the cyanide process the
Transvaal last year produced 80. 100000 of
gold. and at great profit. 1t has been
claimed that the cyanide process has add
ed one-third to the worlds annual output
of gold during the last seven years.
The process, since it has become a mat
ter of such great importance is worth de-
scribing in brief and without TECHNICAL
ties. The ore is reduced to as fine a pow
der as may be possible, and is then thrown
into large watts containing solution of
cyanide of potassium. The cyanide takes
up the gold in solution, 'just as you might
dissolve sugar in water" The liquid is
then run over zinc shavings, and the gold
is precipitated from the cyanide in the
form of a gold slime. This is put through
a refining process in crucibles, and the out
come is almost pure gold bullion. The cost
Of the process at Cripple Creek. where it
is being employed to some extent, is great
err than in South Africa. and amounts to
about 81 ton. At that cost, there
is large profit in treating ores that car
ry even as much as an ounce of gold to a
ton of rock. An ounce of gold is worth
about $40
Considering the wonderful results achiev-
ed with the cyanide process, the great in
crease in production in Colorado and else
where in this country, the vast POSSIBLE
tiles of the gold fields of South Africa. and
| various Otnef details which go to swell
the volume of gold production, it is hard
| ly strange that careful men see a posi-
BILE glut of gold ahead. John H. Hammond
the eminent mining engineer now in the
hands of the Beers in South Africa, saws
that there is $1,nO5l6,OOO worth of gold in
the mines of the Transvaal that
may be counted with reasonable &C
curacy. and that the mines of that coun-
try will before long be putting out annu-
ally $1O0,OOO,OOO of the precious metal. The
estimated output for the world in 1900 is
$500 100000. At the present time not more
than one-third of the output is taken UP
in the arts. Commenting upon this situa-
ton, Harper's Weekly says the reaching
of such an annual production of gold
would mean such a monetary expansion
or imitation as not even the populstic
dreamer has dared entertain in his most
Penerian reveries Meanwhile, to speak
more of matters of fact it is worthy of
note that the threatened scramble for
gold" of which we heard so much but a
year or so back. does not seem likely to
come Off"