Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1901-03-02

which is largely lead and silver. and ii
that respect stands alone so far as an
acquainted with the characteristics o
the mines Of this district. If I were il
the assay business / would make more
money out of it than they are making
or / would make less. After what
have suffered. and the losses have sus
tanned by assayers mistakes, would
never issue a certificate, unless knew
it was at least approximately correct
What is the use of blundering along
year after year with system that is
utterly unreliable, saving from this
mans ore half Of the gold, and from
that mans ore one-fourth of the gold,
and from another mans ore no gold at
all, when the ore Is rich in gold. But
says one .he price of assaying has got 30
low that we can not afford to spend
more time on a test than we do. That
is true. you can not but x prospector
could rely absolutely on your test he
could better afford to pay ten dollars for
it than he can afford to pay ST for such
assays as he gets. A prospector gets his
ore tested to find out what is in his vein.
If the ore contains $1,000 to the ton and
you give him a certificate of $500
he may walk away from that hole and
miss fortune. On the other hand if
the ore contains but $500 and the as
sayer gives him $1,000 he may 20 on and
work for year, wasting his time on
worthless ground.
But such cases as the latter are very
rare, and could never occur unless the
assay er was dishonest, and they are not
dishonest. l have proved this too, for /
haye meyer yet in this county received
an assayers certificate which showed
more gold than the chemical test proved
it contained. "But chemical analysis
is 80 expensive that the ordinary pros
pector cannot afford it," This is true
to, and it should not be necessary that
he be put to that expense, except when
he desires to ascertain what his ore con.
tains other than gold. Can you give us
a formula ?" Yes, though do not claim
to be an expert practical assayer, can
give you the outline of formula which
will Though you loose everything else)
save the gold.
First pulp your ore fine, put it in
saucer and set it in a sand bath on the
stoye and keep up a gentle heat. Satu-
rate your pulp with dilute nitric acid
and let it stand IL hours, replenishing
the acid from time to time. Then evap-
crate to dryness and proceed with your
assay, fluxing in the usual way accord
ing to whether your ore is very silicious
or otherwise, with large excess of lead,
and always heavy salt cover. Don't
roast. don't wash. don't concentrate, but
take it as it is.
That is Porter's telluride test, and
have never known it to fail to save the
gold from any kind of ore. There may
be ores that even this method will not
save the precious metal, but l do not
know of any. This kind of an assay
when made thoroughly ard carefully is
worth $3.50 and should not be done for
less. Try this method once on ores with
which you are familiar and note the diff
ference in the button. When it is once
known that you prepare all your pulp in
this way, think you will find that your
business will increase. No one wants to
be fooled, and when it comes to fire
assay this is the safest method know
off.
q w RoppTNS