The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-09-13
THE MINING OF SILVER.

NtohSbuu1u 'AOhA a&to
be acted upon by the mercury which is to
suck the silver out of the rock. After fall
ing to the bottom the ore is drawn from
the furnace and piled up on the floor out
side and left there for about twenty hours
during which this chemical action is per-
fected. When 1 entered the furnace room
/ saw perhaps a dozen Of these great piles
of ore They did not seem to be hot, and
they looked for all the world like piles of
sand. They appeared indeed, SO inviting
that, boy-like, L was tempted to jump into
them. The manager, however, pulled
back, and, handing me a long-handled
shovel, told me to stir the sand. did SO,
and that it was red-hot ore. Putting
your finger into it would be like sticking
it into molten lead. The yellow crust was
of the thickness of paper, while all beneath
was of the temperature of the Shadrach,
Meschach and Abednego furnace.
WONDERS OF QUICKSILVER.
After the silvsr-bearing sand has thus
lain for twenty hours 1t is ready for its
marriage to the quicksilver. The union of
the two metals makes me think of the
kissed into life the princess who had been
sleeping for a hundred years. 1t is the
quicksilver prince, In fact, who kisses the
sleeping silver-ore maiden into life and
carries her away from the palace of rock
which she has been locked for ages
After the sand has cooled it is carried int
what is known the panroom, and is
thrust into great pans of iron, each of
which holds about 5000 pounds. Water is
introduced and the pans seem filed with a
thick brown mush. Now into each of them
through a little pipe is poured 300 pounds
of quicksilver. and stirring machinery is
sat
the ore, mixing the quicksilver with it. The
sand was warm and the quicksilver by the
warmth becomes active, and by the mix
ing divides into globules the size of the
point of pin or needle. The mixers shove
these about at the rate of sixty revolutions
q minute and send these little globules fly
ing about through the sand. AS they go
they seek out the particles of silver. They
seem to become alive, and each globule
winch touches an atom of silver embraces
IT. and with amorous lips sucks it out of
the sand. This travelling of the globules of
quicksilver is kept up for eight hours. at
the end of which time all of the silver in
the sand has come into contact with and
been absorbed by the quicksilver.
The two metals have united, and the mar
rage is complete. The quicksilver is now
taken out of the sand by drawing the sand
civ iultholNSI iulO d DlS tuD, hEOWn as
the settler and running cold water upon it,
AS the cold water touches the mush 1t con-
geals the quicksilver. The little globules
run together, and having grown heavy
finally fall to the bottom. More cold water
is put in to wash off the sand and in four
hours the sand has all gone and you have
q bucket full or so of quicksilver CON
tanning the silver. This is drawn off into
\cone-shaped amalgam sacks of canvas the
neshes of which are so small that the sill
Yer cannot go through them Much of the
quicksilver drains out and that which is
left is a thick. pasty aInalgam, containing
the silver.
But man cannot use quicksilver and ST.
yer united together. The marriage was all
right The next question is to get them
apart. The marriage was by water The
divorce is by fire. The quicksilver and sill
Yer amagam is now taken 20 a furnace
room, where there are six great retorts.
Each retort is of cast iron 1t is a great
iron pipe fourteen inches in diameter and
about six feet long. 1t will hold 24oo
pounds Of quicksilver or about a washtub
full of this amalgam. This much amalean
has 400 pounds of pure silver. 1t is carried
in wheelbarrow into furnace room, and
the precious stuff is shoveled into the re-
tort with what looks much like fire
shovel. The retort is now tightly stopped
up so that not even the vapor can escape.
except by means of pipe at one end of it.
The fire is made hotter and hotter, until at
last the quicksilver, which vaporizes at $50
degrees. goes off in the form of steam or
yapor. 1t flows away into the pipe, and Is
condensed further on by the cool water
passing over the pipe. 1t then flows OF
into reservoir outside the furnace and
is ready for second chase after other
silver maidens in the pan room. The pure
silver does not vaporize at all. After the
quicksilver has left it it meIts, and when
the retort is allowed to cool it is found in
the bottom. looking for all the world like a
piece of old plank covered with ashes 1t
is silver Stag or impure silver bullion. II
is now broken ap into pieces, remelted in
a smaller furnace and cast into bars II
is not yet ready for the market but must
first be shipped to refining furnaces in
other parts OF the country where by means
OF chemicals it Is made pure and ready to
go to the mint to become silver dollars
FRANK G. CARPENTER
- H.. II