Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-04-07
FORMATION OF GOLD NUGGETS.
Discussion Of the Growth" Of the Pre-
cious Yellow Metal.

From Mines and Minerals.
That gold is formed from solution is
generally recognized. The miner receives
the theory because 1t explains the making
of gold to him, but he often wonders how
It is done so here is what has been seen.
To look into natures laboratory and see
her play chemist and thus have evidence
to sustain theory is impossible. But many
interesting experiments have been made
covering many phases of the theory OF the
formation of gold, or the growth Of gold. If
the term be permitted. Some of these ex-
periments will be recounted, for they will
interest the miner and show that the
worlds desire-gold-acts under man
hand in an uncommon fashion, and such
action may account for some of the odd
tiles in the earth.
1t has been noticed that larger nuggets
were found in placers rather than in veins,
and that this placer gold was more pure
than that from veins But why larger
1t is not positively known. One man ad-
yanced as one of the many theories that
gold might have been in solution in mineral
waters that permeated the placers, and
that by some unknown means 1t was pre-
cipitated and formed about some particles
of vein gold, and, thus collected. 1t grew
into nugget; Daintree once prepared a
of metallic gold. Accidentally small
piece of wood fell Into the solution; the
solution decomposed. the gold assumed a
metallic state, and collected and held to
Increased in size. Another Investigator
heard of this and made a dilute gold solu-
ton, in which he immersed piece Of iron
pyrites and left 1t there month. He add
ed also organic matter, and at the month 8
end the pyrites were covered with film of
metallic gold. Pyrites and galena were
next tried and each was covered with
gold. Cold copper pyrites arsenical
IL Goo, n1 ioI
with similar results. Metallic precipitates
were tried, and while they threw down the
gold as a metallic powder, they did not
cause 1t to cohere nor to plate any Of the
substances tried
Organic matter thus seemed the necessary
chemical agent. Through the wood used
in these experiments gold was disseminated
in fine particles. Imagine these expert
ments conducted by nature through ages
and the result could be nugget. In one
experiment piece of galena was placed
in a solution and left for year. At the
end Of that time the galena was covered
with gold. and when 1T was broken 1t was
seen that the galena had decomposed.
Chlorine and leadqsulphate were present.
and the inside of the galena was rough and
Irregular, with, crystals forcing their way
into these salts. Had 1T been left for years
there would haveiibeen nugget with a
trace of lead; andohadit been iron pyrites
there would have been a brown iron ore
nugget The latter offers a feasible ex-
PLANTATION for the iron oxides seen often in
the nuggets or on crystals of gold
Who has not seen the manganese ore of
the mines in Cripple Creek with gold in
strips? How did ityeethere? Who knows
account for it? IN a vessel was put sand
containing strips OF organic matter.
Through this was sloNly filtered a dilute
solution of sespui-ehl9ride Of iron contain
ing gold chloride. After some months thin
bands Of Migrated sesduioxide Of iron ap-
peared coated in parto with bands of gold.
and as these formed they seemed to
stratify. Now had the gold originally been
in excess so would 1t have appeared here
in excess Every miner has seen similar
occurrence 1t is obvious from these ex-
periments how nuggets may be formed by
nature. It is reasoning from analogy only.
Results can be got, but demonstration can
not be as of the mathematical properties
of curve, /. e., with exactness. q