The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-12-23
BLACK SANDS OF
WESTERN RIVERS
Valuable Minerals Which Have Long
Been Going to Waste.
SOME EXPERIMENTS MADE
CONGRESS ASKED TO AID IN THE
WORK.
SOME EXPERIMENTS MADE
Special TO the Herald.)


effort is beinP made by western mem
beers OF congress to secure an early
appropriate Of funds 10 carry on ex-
periments with the black sands of
western rivers. The necessity for this
appropriation is made apparent by the
following report submitted 10 congress
by the director of the geological sur
vey.
IN response TO the resolution Of Dee.
2, 1903, of the Fffty-ninth congress, !
aave the honor TO report that in tho
Sundry civil act approved March 8
1906. providing for the preparation OF
a report on the mineral resources OF
the United States, the geological sur
vey was directed TO include an inyes-
tjgatiOn OF the methods of extracting
the mineral values Of black sands OF
the Pacific slope.
Reason for the Investigation.
The immediate necessity for this in
Nestigation Is due 20 the scarcity Of
platinum in the United States. occa-
stoned by the Russo-Japanese war. 1t
- not likely that this necessity can De
relieved without persistent invesuga-
ton, covering considerable time but il
already appears probable that a supply
of platinum sufficient for the needs of
the United States can be developed in
this country. and that the production
of this valuable metal viii not be linz
tied merely 20 the Pacific coast.
Methods Used.
In accordance with the act referred
10, the survey at once sent q circular
10 all the placer miners Of the United
States (about S,0O0) inviting them to
send 20 the geological survey samples
of the heavy sands collected in placer
gold mines. More Than LOCO such
placer miners responded with samples
which We're at once assayed for gold
and platinum. Further, these samples
were scrutinized closely to detect the
presence OF various minerals which
have become industrially useful within
the past five years. among them are
chronic iron ore. Tor the manufacture
of paints; steel and bichromate of pot
ash; mOnaZit and ZirCOn, for the man
ufacture of incandescent gas and cleo
tric lights; magnetic ore, for the man
ufacture of steel, and especially tanta-
lite and cOlumbite. which have recently
. become very valuable in incandescent
electric lighting.
Some of the Results.
BY reason NJ the prompt responses
from the placer miners il was possible
to examine sands from thirty-four
states and territories. 1t was quickly
recognized tnat the distribution of val
liable minerals in these sands is vastly
greater than had previously been sup
posed. In addition to the useful min
erals mentioned. considerable supplies
We're indicated of such valuable NM
erals as corundum. CinnaDar (quicksil-
Yer Ore), tin ore, garnet. and others.
II was found that platinum occurs at
many localities where its presence had
not been suspected. and the majority
of the specimens were found to con-
{ tain gold in appreciable amount when
IL has been impossible TO extract either
because the gold is very tinely divided
f"hour gold'D or because IL Is coated
with iron oxide or other materials
which prevent amalgamation (rusty or
black gold.
Portland Exhibit.
In order TO determine whether these
valuable minerals could be extracted
at a pTOfit, number of concentrating
machines OF the best type were assem-
bled at Portland, Ore, for Portland
proved the most central point for col
Letting the necessary large quantities
of these sands, and during the dry seas
son, when the placer miners could not
work. they could assemble at the eX-
The geological survey retained PrOfes-
sor Robert Il. Richards, dean of the
, mining school OF the Massachusetts In
Stitute Of Technology and the principal
authority on ore concentration, for the
study Of the extraction of these min
erals.
Easily Extracted.
1t was qui ky found that from 80
10 eS per cent OF the gold and platinum
could readily be extracted from the
BLACK sands simply by concentration on
tables of the Wiley, Pinder ChristOn-
sen and Woodbury. types. II had been
expected that the sand would require
preparation for these tables by "A
special machine known as the by
draulic classifier, but this machine
proved unnecessary, tnasmuch as the
sands OF the Sea-beaches and the heavy
sands OF the sluice boxes, from which
the valuable ingredients, such as fine
gold rusty gold, and the useful min
erals alluded 10 above, could not pos