The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-06-30


tant part. Ores can be mined with profit
to-day tina would have been practically
worthless q few years ago In the old min
ing days only~ high-grade ore was profitable.
and only q certain percentage Of the gold
contained in the ore was freed.
The tailings thrown aside held a consid-
cradle quantity of gold. but could not be
worked by the ordinary processes. 20 were
piled mountain high. and disregarded until
chemists discovered that the gold was solu-
BILE In potassium cyanide, and that by wash
ing in q very weak solution of potassium
cyanide the falling gold could be probably
separated from the refuse. The same proc
ess has led to the working OF low-grade
ores. running "a or S to the ton. which
could not be prontably worked by the ordi-
nary mining processes.
The silver contained in lead has also been
freed and utilized. II was found by chem
fists that when the melted lead was mixed
with zinc the silver formed an alloy with
the zinc and ioated to the surface. When
the mass was taken from the lead and heat
ed in a retort the zinc. being volatile. was
freed, and left a deposit SO rich In silver
that 1t was easily purified.
The application OF chemistry to mining
processes are legion, but II Is In other
branches of Industry that practical chem
istry Is now making its strides. The Stand
ard OIL Company is a hardy exponent Of the
merits Of Industrial chemistry. and has ex-
pert chemists constantly employed. As for
that matter, SO have all the great gas
plants. coke plants. sugar refineries. starch
factories. etc.
The original waste Of the. oil business
enormous: now II u next to nothing.
OF course. tho primary aim 10 the produc-
the one side. oils lighter than kerosene.
such a. gasoline. ~naphtha, and. on the
other side, products much heavier han ker-
osene. such a. paraffin. At one time all Of
these products were waste: now every ono
Of them Is utilized.
BY first distillation the lighter oils are
freed and collected. Then the kerosene II
distilled. leaving q product that Is worked
over into hard parafin and soft parafIin
or vaseline. A heavy oil left after the collect
ing Of the parafln Il used for lubricating
and fuel oil. much Of 1t being made into
car and axle grease After all these proc
esses Q solid mass Of carbon Is left In the
retorts, and this - used to . considerable
extent IN making carbon sticks for electric
lightA
The dairy business % one Of the indus
tries with which the chemist is busying
himself. and the results % far Y been
most satisfactory. although . much broader
field for the use of casein II p~rophesied.
The largo creameries. having turned out
Hhosr Ar>a~ snA h~ttop 1850 nx~fr,~toA
by great quantities Of skim milk for which
there were apparently no usaL Skim milk
was = drug on the market and In many
cases was drained on into neighboring
streams.
The chemist stepped in and changed all
that The milk - curdled with alkali and
. dried product produced which Is soluble
in water. This casein has been used for pa
Per Skiing. kalsomining. etc. and successful
experiments have been made with II In the
manufacture OF artificial foods. Moistened
with water to q geiatinous consistency. put
under q hydraulic press and then washed
in acid. It forms . hard and indissoluble
substance. of which, buttons n similar
articles are mades Chemists say that the
casein powder. which 10 like . nne. taste-
less -four. may be substituted for milk In
cooking. and has . great future In this re-
spect.
Chemistry applied to the sugar industry
has been invaluable. and particularly In
connection with the beet sugar manufao-
turs. has recently effected . wonderful sav.
IND. The waste In thu making Of beet 81
gar was At first enormous. because the mo-
lasses was absolute waste. II contains
products from the beet roots which give It
. very hitter taste. and b also rich in IN
a1knli vhich epe1la III Gsvuf. "a a1khough