Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1900-11-13
RICHEST GOLD FIELD
IN THE WORLD.

In 1856 Il would have fairly staggered
any expert IN the production Of gold to
have been told that in the Witwaters-
rand, where Ferreira's camp then was
and johannesburg now is there await
ed the miner an accumulation OF the
precious metal which would be four
times the amount OF all that has been
obtained from the Australian gold
fields
II N only within the last five years,
though that this astounding fact has
been proved The proof Of It has been
a long and expensive process which re-
ceiyed It's GROWING touch only when
one Of che costly bore-holes reached a
depth Of 5000 feet
Then it became a matter Of direct
calculation that when the deep levels
Of the existing mines were worked
there would be total yield to the
value OF 7OOOO0O0O. and It has been
further calculated that when the Rand
Is fully worked, by additional mines
yet 10 be sunk, the total yield may
probably reach Gl 300 000O And that
viii be much more than double the yield
Of California and Australia together
The gold Is so finely scattered
throughout the ore that In order 10 OBJ
tain cubic inch Of the precious metal
no less than half a million cubic inches
Of solid rock have 10 be crushed and
pounded up and ground into fine sand.
The machinery for such work is. Of
course, very powerful. though Il is only
one portion Of the various costly app
planes which are In operation at Wit
watersrand. In fact. there il 20 be
seen along those tWenty-nine miles of
reef some Of the finest engineering In
the world and some Of the ablest man
agement that ever controlled a gigantic
industry. II Is all at high pressure.
and no pains are spared TO carry out all
the intricate operations Of mining.
crushing and ore reduction with the ut
most efficiency
I'd. TO the time OF the war the value
OF the gold which had been produced
was not much more than 500 00O, 600. so
there remains TO be- extracted from this
belt, I'm an probability. gold which viii
amount TO upward OF S6000OOO.OOO In
value.
But this grand total Of gold produc-
ton will be wrought by far fewer
workers than those hordes OF gold dig
gers from whom Messrs Bret harte
and Boldrewo0d have drawn their gall
leues Of characters. Such a thing as q
poor mans digglngs Is quite unknown
in the country around Johannesburg.
The auriferous deposits OF California
and Australia We're easily washable IN
their earlier stages, by unskilled labor.
BY sundry primitive methods OF suic-
ing at irihing cost gold was directly
obtainable from gravels and oils. Mug
gets too, were plentiful Thus there
We're fortunes awaiting the more lucky
In thousands Of instances.
That never can be done In the Trans
yaal mines The capitalist has 20 be
at hand or the prospectors discoveries
win be In vain. The engineer has to
design the laying out Of works which
need a heavy expenditure OF money.
The mine has 20 be made 10y the sinking
Of shafts, the erection Of hauling gear.
the driving Of tunnels and the stupeing
out OF the ore. The hauling gear for
deep mining Is necessarily on a large
scale and has 10 be worked by steam
power
in the underground excavations rock
drills are used driven by compressed
air. and for this also steam power has
10 be provided. Tramways are needed
all through the mine, and the ore has
to be brought TO the battery to be
crushed
In each Of the larger batteries Of the
Witwatersrand no less than 500 tons Of
rock are pounded up daily. Night and
day, necessarily. there are 200 stamps
pounding away In this one battery. As
each stamp weighs half a ton the
weight OF the 200 Is exactly 100 tons,
and as they are an laundering away
az the same time, the noise they make
Is deafeuing and the solid earth seems
20 sake under your feet.
Each stamp VIII crush four and q
half tons I'm the twenty-four hours.
There Is n carefully regulated flow Of
water carrying away the fine sand 10
which the rock has been reduced and
spreading it over wide surfaces Of
quicksilver amalgam, 20 which most Of
the gold adheres.
At the end OF nearly four weeks Of
continuous work the stamps are
stopped. The amalgam Is then scraped
Oh The plates and put In reOrts for the
separation " the quicksilver from the
gold The sand which has been washed !
over the plates is made 60 WELD a fur |
Their supply OF gold by cyanide treat !
mcnt and by other processes OF gold |
extraction.
AS it Is 40 the end OF each calendar /
month that the gold is separated and !
collected the custom is universal OF /
declaring the output NJ gold month boy /
month. and this system Is made COM 1
pu'sory by government regulations
s. g. Norris, eN-Mlning Commissioner 4
'n Eholosia.