Gilpin observer., 1905-07-20

|
over all Of these lands and discharge
their precious cargoes into the mints.
Already are they established in Colom-
| bia, New Zealand and Siberia; a few
| In each country, soon to be followed
by many.
A brief statement of what the aurif-
erons have produced from hand labor
will perhaps prepare us better to ap-
preciate what they are capable of
yielding to this amphibious invention:
During the ninety years from 1710
to 1900 the placers of Brazil produced
by slave labor $3.50, O,OOO.O 900 in gold.
During the thirty years from 1S4s
to 1878 the placers Of California pro-
duced, mostly by hand labor, $780,
100000 in gold.
During their early development the
placer mines of Australia produced,
mostly by hand labor, 5000 900, 900 In
gold.
During the seventy-five years, 1880
to 1904. inclusive, Russia produced.
largely from the placers of Siberia,
81 1900 100000 in gold; the present pro-
duction being about $25,OOO,OOO a.
year, and the gold ship hardly yet at
work
During the past ten years, 1895 to
1904. the placers of Alaska produced.
chiefly by hand labor, $14O, 900 in
gold.
All these placers. or auriferons, can
be profitably worked over by the gold
dredge, and more gold taken from
them than they have already yielded.
The reason of this is that hand labor
never touches the poorer portions Of
placer, and that from the richer
portions it rarely succeeds in winning
more than from half to two-thirds of
the gold; whereas. the dredge gets 1t
all. If we include Spain and Egypt,
which still abound in rich placer fields,
to say that there are several thousand
millions of gold cargo in sight await
ing the gold ships Is no extravaganza.
Placer mining came to stop in
Egypt and Spain when their product
fell to the level of hand labor; it
stopped in Brazil partly for the same
reason, and partly because the gravel,
being small and fine, the placer fields
are nearly fiat and the mines are "out
of grade" 1t stopped in California
because the tailings choked up the
rivers and the law courts interdicted
| the hydraulic process. In Australia
1t had almost passed to the level of
hand labor when the gold dredge was
invented. In Alaska, though stopped
in winter time for lack of running
water. it is still going on during the
summer time, when the streams are
released from frost In none of these
countries was placer mining arrested
because there was no more gold in
the gravel. but for the other reasons
stated, all of which are now remedied
| by the gold dredge. The invention
Ixx., IL II
it requires no grade" or declivity
down which to sluice its gravel; it
will choke no river; 1t needs only
enough water to float itself in and to
wash the gold with; and all of this
water it can and does use over and
over again. 1t is as much at home in
the arid, but auriferous. deserts OF
Arizona as in the golden marshes Of
| the Feather river
Now. let us examine the mechanism
of this invention, see how II works
and discuss its probable multiplied.
ton and out-turn. The gold ship is a
dredge which floats In pond OF its
own making. a pond which accompa-
nies it wherever 1t chooses to go. and
which enables 1t to move over the
land in any direction. Thus imbued
with volition. 1t advances to the point
of attack, scoops up the gravel. sub
jects 1t on its decks to the action OF
rifles. undercurrents and amalgama-
tion-indeed, to any desired process.
whether mechanical or chemical-and
then. having exhausted it of its gold,
casts the gravel behind and keeps on
advancing until the field before II is
sifted and treated from surface to
bedrock. AS the ground can be thor.
oughly tubed and sampled beforehand.
this process lifts gold mining from
the catalogue of speculative enter
prises to that of manufacturing busi-
ness. The gold dredge is gold man.
ufactory. with an Unsuitable demand
and assured market for its product,
at the rate of s20.17 per Troy ounce
| fine. paid down by the mints in gold
coin. No risk. no idle stock on hand,
no bad debts, no commissions, broker
ages or discounts. nor no monopoly OF
trade now or ever possible. An -.
stant sale for the entire product at
| fixed price. paid in cash. Such are
the incompatible conditions of the
gold manufacturing business. II goes
without saying that, unless the cost
of taking part in 1t Is beyond the ordi-
nary means of business men. such an
industry will not fail to invite vast
number of participants. This contin-
gency can be settled at once. The
dredges cost from $500 to $4,000
each. according to size; a sum quite
within the means of the average busi-
ness man, commercial partnership or
small corporation.
The gold dredge consists, first. OF a
wooden scow, eighty or one hundred
feet long, thirty feet wide. and seven
or eight deep; second. of a medal up
right frame, or gantry, and two side
gantries, erected upon the deck, all
of steel. and carrying the tumbler and
countershafts; third. of a series Of
iron buckets lipped with steel reYolY-