Arizona republican., 1897-10-20
ABOUT PROsPECTORS.

ABOUT PROSPECTORS.
 - -yV9y They Should Study and Follow
 Well Known Principles.
 
 The following aaytic1e concerning prospectors is by T. j. J-Bbosltsz Bos4ltsz and ap- peared in the Pick and Drill:
 Everybody knows that some metals have more specific gravity than oth- CTS and that most metals have 8 greater specific gravity than the gan que or rocky substance with which they are associated in the veins or lodes, and it is also self evident that the first object of the mine operator is to get rid of the gangue and at the same time save the values of met als Inasmuch then as the lighter substances will float more readily than the heavier ones, the question then is, and it is the only question worthy of serious consideration what is the cheapest thing that can be used to float the lighter sub stances, or in other words, what will separate the metals from the gangue to the cheapest and best advantage? And the answer is-nothing will do this better than water, besides, it is cheaper than anything else that will do the work. Inasmuch then as we have learned to mine the ore and in- asmuch as we have learned how to crush and pulverize the ore after it is mined why not do the most prac- tlcal thing and separate the gans11a rom the metals with water? The whole affair in a nutshell is-be cer. tain that you have ore-next. be cer- tain that you know how to mine it and bring it to the surface at the least possible expense; if you do not knoW how to do this, be certain to engage a man who does know how to oo It. When the ore is minei be c2r- cain to provide yourselves with the proper kind of plant. If stamps gre the thing, use them. If rolls are the thing, use them; if jigs are necessary see that you have them, If Fr11e vanners or wilfeys are necessary, se- cure them, and never forget that van ners are always needed, no matter what kind of ore you have or how ir is crushed. You need and must have vanners if you wish to save the val ues in ore s |,
 But, says one, what about s.frea milling" ore deposits? The answer is easy, for there are no such deposits or mines. Let us get at this fact in a practical way. When we have rock gangue with nothing in it except gold as soon as the gold plays out we then nave nothing left but rock or gangue. The above is so self evident that 1t needs no discussion. It is also just as evident that gold is very scarce substance in nature, and it is also a fact that the moment that sulphides or SulpnuretS are present in the org then II IS not free milling ere, but is what IS known as refractory or con. centrat1ng ore; and it is also a fact that depth never fails to prove the presence Of some or ali of the base metals. Inasmuch then as gold is a very scarce metal in nature, and in- asmuch as there is more silver than gold, and more lead than both silver and gold, and more iron than there fs gold, silver and lead. and inasmuch as there is very great amount of copper in nature, and inasmuch as there is some zinc, some nickel. some cobalt and many other metals and metallic substances in nature and in- asmuch as they are all valuable and Of use to man, why not discard all the old worn out processes, such as amalgamation, ixiviation, roasting and return to nature that is, to gray ity and water, and with the steam jig or the hand jig, or both. save all the values of every kind and character found in natures mineral CT metal deposits, leads and lodes? It is easy to do; it is practical to do it and it is true economy to do it, besides it is the only money making method of doing it.
 It is not always the fault of the mine or the want of ore, for as a mat ter of fact in nine cases cut of every ten of failures, the ore is present but i the owner of the mine for want of knowledge of how to save the values he has in the ore, allows from forty to sixty per cent of the values to es- cape in the tailings and then allows them to go to waste.
 What we have learned about nature and practical mining up to date-we now know ore from country rock: we know the different kinds of metals ! and metallic substances when we see them; we know their value and Giffer- | ent uses; we know their gravity: we know that we cannot have a mine without ore; we know how to mine 1t when we have it; we know how to crush or pulverize the ore after it Is mined; we know that when the ore is crushed that if we agitate it properly that the tendency is for the heavier particles to sink, while the lighter will raise to the surface, and, that if we will use water to assist in float ing the lighter particles from the heavier, that in time and with prop CT agitation and the use of water we can rid ourselves of the light and worthless rocky substances or gan que and that when this is done we have nothing left except the valuable substances, and, that we can sell these in any market. What else have we to learn about mining? The answer