The San Francisco call., 1904-03-15

'.Asiat.c Russia. etc.)
copyright. 1900 by Joseph r. BoWies)
A part OF the value Of gold consists
in its scarcity. II it were as plenty as
dirt IL would not only be as cheap
n dirt. but a great deal cheaper, for it
would be the greatest nuisance in the
world. since the uses 10 which it can
he put are very limited. Its principal
attractions consist in its beautiful
color. in lis freedom from rust or oxi-
dation. and its great capacity for be-
ing welded without heat. drawn into
slender wire. and hammered out into
almost inconceivably thin sheets. II
has not the strength Of iron or the ca
pacity Of taking and keeping an edge.
But from the earliest ages il has been
so attractive TO men and so free from
the rust that doth corrupt" and
withaI so scarce. that 1t has been re-
rarded asa most precious" metal and
has served as the most convenient
medium Of exchange called money"
But. for all that gold is so scarce,
it is very widely distributed. An in
conceivable amount OF gold is dis
solved in the water Of the ocean, but
in such small quantities that it would
cost a thousand times as much to ex-
tract 1t as the quantity extracted
would be worth when in our posses
sion. The principal source of the sup
ply until very recent times has been
ihe deposits Of sand and gravel form
ing the deltas OF mountain streams
and lining their banks near their
source. These gravel deposits and
sandbars through which the gold is
g disseminated are called ''placers."
Placer mining consists in separating
the gold from the worthless ma
ferial. through which it is dis
~cminated, and it is carried on by a
variety Of processes in which water
takes prominent part. The gold. be-
ing heavier than almost any other ma
terial. sinks to the bottom when agi-
tated in water. where it is found con-
ccntrated after the removal Of the
lighter material.
One Of the earliest sources from
which gold was obtained was in the
bed Of the Rion River, which coming
down from the Caucasus Mountains
empties into the Black Sea near Ba-
A4iaA- MS VS. Al4E EEiEDfdLtQ ItElDn
10 which the Greeks resorted in early
times in search Of the golden fleece
which ~ now supposed to be nothing
else than a fleece Of wool which had
been spread over the bottom Of the
lion River. where the current swept
2l0ng a small amount Of sand and
gravel in which particles Of gold were
intermingled- The gold, being heavier
than the gravel, kept closest to the bot
tom. so that the particles became en-
tangled in the meshes Of the fleece and
thus il became golden" in more than
q ngurative sense This mode Of min
ing fznown as the Ginsley process) is
stnl practiced and is the most efficient
way Of getting fine particles Of gold
disseminated through a great body of
sand. A stream Of the gold bearing
sand is kept moving over long stretch
Of felt cloth by a current Of water,
which carries away the sand, but per-
mits the gold to be caught in the meshes
% the cloth. which after being shaken
for successive times TO set free the
particles OF gold is finally burned. so
as 10 extract the entire amount that
has been entangled.
But in the moro common placer mines
the gold is found "a bean-shaped
nodules Of all s!zes-from those scarce
~ perceptible TO the naked eye up TO
those which weigh twenty or thirty
hounds. and in some cases even one
hundred pounds. one such mass having
been found IL the Ural Mountains in
1892 and being now preserved in the
museum AT s.. Petersburg. In the rich
pIacers an immense amount Of gold has
been extracted oy the familiar hand
process known SIS panning, from
which there comes our expressive
phrzse pan out" The gravel is SHOW
esed into a pan with haring edges
which is held under A stream OF water
and sliiIfulIy kept in motion by hand
and shaken so that the lighter material
is carried over the edge of the pan and
he heavier minerals left at the bottom
But IN gravel banks consisting ..
ccarser material. with a smaller pro-
uertionai amount OF gold inclosed
ether more effective devices are resort
&C to for securing the separation. Otter
n iet OF water under great hydraulic
pressure is directed through the nozzle
of a hose against q gravel bank. disin-
tcgrati-sE II and WaSning AZ down e
lever levels. IL which process The ma
1c-ial is swept through a fiume viii
y rough bottom into the crevices q
which the gold settles while the grave
ard pebbles are swept beyond. After
a sufIi Gent length OF time the flume is
cseared Uut and the gold collected from
the bottom.
Oftenttnes the rivers themselves
prove to be the best hydraulic agencies
Tor separating tie gold. AS thesl
mountain streams wear away tht
gravel terraces upon their banks tlss
carry The lighter material to lower
Levels. while the gold is caught il
occkets and holes that cover the bottom
~ the stream.
Tut the gold found in placer mine:
las ali been derived from quartz vein,
which. coming up from the depths o
fae earth. penetrate TO the sErfacs
through rocks of nearly every geoiogi'
ace. The process OF quartz mining Il
little else than a repetition Of what ma
ture has been doing through un.olt
ages in providing tsse deposits fonn'
81 the placer mines. The szzrt= con