The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1907-01-30
NO GUILD SCARCITY.
DEPOSITS OF PRECIOUS METAL
ALL OVER THe WORLD.
In Small Quantities II 10 Found In Al.
most All Volcanic Rocks and viii
Yet ProfltabIy Be Taken
from the Sea.


~ inexhaustible, no matter what de-
mands are made upon 1t, says writer
In Moody's Magazine. Hitherto the
attention of miners has been entirely
directed to comparatively rich, easily
worked deposits. But 1t has to be re-
membercd that gold in small duanti.
ties occurs in enormous masses OF
rock throughout the world.
Almost all volcanic rocks and the
formations derived from them, such as
granite, serpentinc and rhyolito, con
tain appreciable quantities of gold.
and vast deposits of sedimentnry
rocks derived from such volcanic for
nations contain gold in concentrated
form. and are to-day in some localities
prolltably worked.
Profit is and always has been the
incentive to gold production. Should
there ever be need for working the
volcanic and sedimentary rccks that
are auriferous the means of proiitably
working them will be found.
Experiments have shown that gold
Is regularly failing to the earth, in
association with cosmic dust, and day
and night settles all over the land and
sea. Some of this gold, when concen-
tratcd by wind or water or dissolved
by acid surface waters and redepos-
tied in more concentrated form. is
recoverable.
The waters of the sea, also, are
aurllerous, and there can be little
doubt that, IL ever in the remote f,l-
ture there should be an extraordinary
demand for gold, means could be
found for profltably reducing the gold
in the seawater.
The area of the sea.bed is much
larger than that OF the land. Its com.
position Is similar In every respect
with that of the land. II Is composed
OF mountains, plains and plateaus; OF
lgneous, metamorphic and sedimcn.
tary rocks which contain great areas
Of gold bearing and other mineral
veins.
Only in n few instances. however,
where the submarine gold fields are
close to the land will IL be possible to
work them as the submarine coal
iields are now worked. But those
oceanic gold fields on which the veins
ontcrop at the surface are subject TO
constant attrition by the waves. This
causes the shedding of gold. which Is
concentrated by the sea and washed
ashore.
Gold deposits thus formed exist in
many countries. and they arc remark
able In that they are renewed or en-.
riched by almost every storm fthat
passes over them. These deposits are
known by various names, but the term
auriferous beach sand sufficiently de-
scribes them. They occur in the Pa
cillc beaches, from Alaska to Terra
del Fuogo. and throughout the coasts
OF Australia and New Zealand, where
they have long been worked with
profitable results.
The gold output from the gold bear
ing beaches at Nome. Alaska. this
year is expected to reach $4,000. 900.
The coast between Cape Nome and
Point Rodney for II distance of more
than 30 miles is being worked for gold
by hundreds OF men.
The beach Is In places auriferous
for width OF 1000 feet inland from
the tide level and sometimes TO n
lepth OF so feet. From the western
base of Cape Nome there is a series of
gravelly sea beaches extending inland
several miles, which contain gold and
are in places being worked to-day
These marine deposits yielded gold 10
the value of $2.2O0000 in 1903. 2,lS5..
900 In 1904 and $3.50. 900 in 1905
The earth has also immense dcpos.
It's of aurifcrous sands and clays.
These are chiefly in the arid regions
In many countries they are prolitably
worked by dry blowing processes.
But experiments in Australia have
shown that much of the gold can be
extracted in these cases%by special
adaptation of gold dredging known AS
the paddocking process, These de-
posits are formed by the erosion of
aurlerous rock formations and the
concentration OF the gold by the action
Of wind and rain