The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-10-25

Mexican silver are being ground up in min
allure amalgamatng pans In which quick
silver captures and holds the precious metal
after the mere earth and dross have been
ground and sifted away. In another ma
rhine-technically spoken OF as a Jig =
small copper-bearing pebbles being
separated from other pebbles bearing moth
ing in particular. by a curious 'jigging
up and down in small tanks of water In
still another place gold quartz is being
crushed to fine powder under heavy stamps
| and the fne gold gathered on a quicksil-
| vered plate. or. if it fails TO deposit there.
| finally caught on a broad rubber belt over
which streams of water rlay constantly to
| wash away the accompanying mud and
| leave the clean and bright metal
| II your visit happens to occur at the right
time, YOU NAV be fortunate enough to see
| the refining process carried out TO the end.
| There will be a reverberating furnace going
| full tilt, roasting metals at a frightful tenn
perature, to burn away their impurities. You
/ will see copper melted and remelted until it
| is almost pure and then cast into thin plates
! for the final process of electric refinement.
| The plates of impure copper are placed side
| by side with thinner ones of pure metal
| in a tank OF chemicals in solution. An
| electric current is then made to go down
! through the impure plates. through the
| liquid in the tank, and out again by way
| of the thinner sheets. The result has never
| to this day been entirely explained but,
| however il may be brought about, the cleo
| trio current transfers the copper, atom by
(! atom, from the impure plates, to the thin
| sheets, making them grow mysteriously
| thicker and thicker, and leaving behind but
a skeleton of black impurities. which are
| themselves, however, rich in other metals
| of value.
| In other words. the process starts with
| copper almost pure. but not quite, and ends
| with chemically pure copper-very valuable
| for electric purposes-and with a fine res
| idue of silver and may be gold. both of
which. when made into coins of the realm,
| become enviable possessions.
| Then there is the blast furnace where the
| pervious ores are put in at the top along
| with the accompanying "fuxes'' and fuel.
| the metals they contain running out at the
| bottom in molten stream into iron pots
in which, after cooling. they appear strait
| fled-the lead at the bottom. the iron next.
the Stag on top-precisely like that danger
Gus and striped cordial that comes after
| the coffee, in a little, slender glass. And
while these processes are going on in
comparatively large way, the individual
! student learns also to ''assay"-that is, by
the analysis of minute specimens of ore and
| the measurement of. the quantity of each
metal they contain, to find out the nature
| of the deposit from which they were taken,
| its value, and how best to deal with it in
| bulk That is the pedagogic purpose of the
| little test furnace.
FIELD OF ACTUAL WORK.
| So much for the actual practice Of hand
ling ores as they come out of the earth.
| AS for actual practice in getting them out
| in the first place that is harder thing
| to attain, for. as has been said. real mines
are very scarce in Massachusetts. However,
chalk, slate. pudding stone. remains Of
| glacial action are everywhere plentiful. In
some ways, too, New England has the most
interesting geological history imaginable.
and the general structure of the earth can
be learned as well from one material as
from another. And the Institutes solu-
tion of its mining engineering problem, with
no real mines to draw upon for object les
sons, has evolved its regular field days"
when parties of students, accompanied by
an instructor. may be met out over the
hills aud far away about the Hub studying
the cant and trend of New England strait
fications, discovering the out-croppings of
various lodges on the New England hill
sides. and tracing their rise and fall through
railway cuts and on river banks.
Most of the work. however. goes on in
the summer school, during the long vaca-
ton. and extends sometimes much farther
than New England. At this time parties
are made up for longer Journeys. which con-
sist usually in tours through group of
important and interesting mines. On, ar
irving at point of observation one student
is given the task of making a complete
study of its pumping system; another con-
siders the ventilating; third the stratifca-
ton Of the surrounding country; and so on.
Last year the entire squad found itself out
under the Atlantic ocean, one and a half
miles from the shore line when it was visit
ing the coal district in Nova Scotia
where the beds are tunneled clear out under
the sea, and the institutes young engineers
have often been mile into the earth in
Pennsylvania. To them also-and this per-
haps the most aesthetic side Of mining en-
gineering-the beautiful petrifcations of
ferns that grew ages and ages ago are al
most as familiar as the modern flowers.
Finally, and in connection with all this
other work. both al home and in the field,
comes the rather stiff problem of thrashing
out the whole mass OF information and ex-
perience from beginning to end so thorough
ly finally TO reduce it to the form of a
written thesis. When that and all the ac-
companying work is done. the student is
supposed, not indeed as yet completely
trained man, but in time. to be able ade-
quately to fill the position of assayer. sur
veyor, or superintendent of power. TO make