The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-10-22
VIRGINIA GOLD
MINE PRODUCT
Interesting Process Of Reducing
the Gold Bearing
Ore.
STAMP MILL, CYANIDE PLANT.
Ore Worked Worth From Four
to One Hundred and Fifty
Dollars Ton.
Especial to The Tlmes-Dispatci.)

Il d y ~
Especial to The Times DispatclL)
z PALMYRA, VA, October N.--At this
season, when existence Is q boon for
which no acknowledgment to heaven
seems sufficient, when the mir Is filed
with fragrance, and with the ineffahle
sense OF sweet melancholy that IL the
delightful Accompaniment of the early
makes sunshiny splendor, and the brown
and lustrous cattails stand wreathed In
feathery clematis, tho drive from Pals
myra to' Hughes's gold mine Is one Of
rare beauty.
When the F'luvanna Courthouse was
built at Palmyra In $780, General Cooke
OF Bremo, had surveyed and opened and
presented to the county roadway leading
from the court green across the Rivannav
over Mountain Hin" to tho James, and
the hewn rock mile stones stand today
q monument to that fine old Virginia
gentleman.
+ On this road, seven miles from Palmyra,
the Hughes gold mining property lies.
For the last several years this mine has
been operated by Philadelphia capital
MIR. William Bugbee, an expert mining
engineer and most accomplished gem
tleman, has charge of tho work. n
Even to the uninitiated the process Is
delightfully."- interesting 1.-THE soft spoken
velvct-handed steam engine. Its smooth
piston sliding backward and forward, as
n ,iubt eli ho> ro1f AZ a ~
and out OF a ring" lays It's hand calmly
but firmly upon the broad belt, which
sets In rhythmical movement the ponder
GUS hammers, grinding into powder the
rugged rocks and compelling. them to give
up their precious metal. SO thunderous
is the orchestral roar Of the great ma.
chlnery you really cannot hear your
ears" In tho crushing ROOM n
THE ORE VEINS. nj
Two systems Of quartz contact veins
are mined to- q present depth Of 40 feet
with upwards of 700 feet OF cross cuts and
levels. The ores range in value from four
to 100 dollars per ton in gold, the silver
being nearly negligible. Occasional cabi-3!
net specimens from pockets and rich
streaksNS have assayed as high as $7O0. q
fewaof which were exhibited at the Mil
waukee Mining Congress and at the st.
Louis Exposition. and obtained most flat
4 y
The underground workings are light.
ed by acityene gas The hosting works
are equipped with deep dumping skrps
and other mechanical details having for
! their end the economical handling Of ths
ore. Laboratory, workshops and we1Itsa
Ing room are among the necessar5 builds
yings Of the plant. The mill and adj cent
buildings are lighted by electricity. n
About 200 feet from the hoisting works
stands the stamp mill. concentrating and
cyanide plant with capacity OF 100 tons
per week. The orc is delivered to the
top of mill by cars of one-half ton ca.
pacitiy, running on q trestle thirty five
feet high. The immense tmbers support-l
Ing this trestle resting on concrete blocks.y
AUTOAIATIC FEED.
From the fifty ton bin the ore Is auto
matically fed to the stamp batteries from;
beneath which 1t emerges a turbld stream
loaded with sand and alluval waste, to-
be Graded from table to table, dropping
Its golden grains as 1t flows along. Such
values as are capable Of being extracted;
by amalgamation on sllver-plated, copper
plates, are retained on the first floor.
and the crushed material Is delivered to!
the second floor through hydraulic
classlfers, giving each or of the four
concentrating tables a dltlnct products;
to work upon. 3 tx
The discharge from these concentrates
is next delivered to a "tailings'' sand
pump and elevated into the cyanide tubs, /
which latter.employ the agitation system
The residues from here carry to 4tltlel
value for further treatment. The con-i
centrates coming from second floor oe
mill are roasted In a double hearth re-
verberatory furnace until the sulphur
content is reduced to a satisfactory point!
when they likewise are given cyanide
treatment Of special order
THE FIRST. NINE.
The first gold mine ever opened In Vir-,
Fginia was operated In Fluvanna county,
From the '.Tillurium." Commodore Stocks
ton, the pioneer, turned into the mint
over million dollars under the crude
process OF extraction then In existence.
With tho improved machinery and treat
ment OF the present, with climatic condt-
tions rendering It possible to work every
day in the year. with rich and producsaSe.
veins. Mr. I3ugbee believes that gold
mining IN Virginia, must come to the
forefront. Why risk the perils OF the
Klondyke when that we seek lies
modestly beneath our feet
Mr.. and Mrs. Bngbee have a charming
cottage home at TIE mine. and Mrs.
Bugbee graciously extends dainty hos
apitnlity to the "sightseers1 who visit Inc
MINT s{lA-t4a -.