The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1910-11-23

sui Tor lack OF ~
fuel; that the rail- -
ways never could -
have been built or operated because
of the lack of coal and steel that the
agricultural machinery OF the coun'
try would have been impossible. be-
cause there would be no metal from
which to manufacture them. lie.
therefore, places himself at the head
OF the list Of American workmen..
Many OF the most important opera
lions In the mining OF gold are OF
American origin. One OF these Is the
hydraulic process, which originated In
California In 1852. BY this process
creeks, and even rivers, are diverted
into huge reservoirs where their wa
ters are impounded. When suifi-
| clint head Is obtained the water Is
conducted through large pipes TO
point where the mining operations are
carried on, and is there concentrated
on the soil to be broken up Thou-
sands of acres OF soil are thus washed
| out and the gold-bearing rock separ-
ated from II.
The tremendous force Of the stream
OF water played upon the spot where
| the operations are being carried on
| is illustrated by the fact that al
| eight.inch nozzle has been known 10
| release pressure OF water sufhcieht
| TO move a two-ton boulder at DIS
lance of 90 feet, and to throw o00
mound rock as easily as man might
cast a 2O-pound weight 1t is sald no
man ever lived who could strike
miners crow-bar through such
stream. and that human Delns
struck by il would instantly be kilied
and pounded into shapeless mass
| Hydraulic mining works great uaih-
age to the agricultural sections IN the
| valleys below, and many states nave
prohibited Ii by law.
! Another gold mining operation thaC
Is the result of the ingenuity OF the
| American mining engineer. Is that vi
| dredging. A dredge resembling the
old French ladder dredges used In the
| work on the Panama canal, is nttea
| with a centrifugal pump. IL costs
about $4,000 an It's equipment VIZ
| 200. The expense of operating one Oh
| these dredges is about $4,000 year
during which time II will dredge ten
acres of water-covered ground TO
depth of 80 feet. The huge stamping
mill which is used to break up goiu-
hearing rock is also largely an Amer
! ican invention. Some OF these mills
are so strong that they are able 10
| strike a blow OF 30 tons.
| One Of the most valuable inVen-
lions for the recovery of gold is
known as the cyanide process the
| first patent for which was etahteu NJ ~
| 7 w Simpson, of New Jersey 10y
| this process, gold may be ",
| from sources that could not De "oi m, Tsu
! profltably in any other way.
\ rock first Is mashed INTO pup
huge stamping machines, anu .n,'
min is mixed with cyanide or potash
a chemical for which goid ias q
strange affinity. The mixture 10 .hen
noured into sheet iron boxes contain
| ing zinc shavings. This causes 'nS
| cold to break away from It's hrs' al
entity and make friends Win the Liht'
II is then treated to washlis' VIII
RECEIVERS a goodly portion OF the so,a
and then small quantities OF suip,i"iio
| acid are added to 1t and THIS plo'uo
inc sulphate This Is washea ou'
with boiling water and the eoiu ~ ,9i,
due ia then placed in furnace VIZ
coda borax, and sand. When hea.1"'
.soso ,orm a fux which allows the
nure gold to settle TO the pottoni anu
10 ,mnurities TO be eliminated.
=, Co said by mining men that new
,,hods If gathering gold must pr
| sonnd or the value of this metai WIZ
he en- Increased as to require tue
chonqe of all standards or Value Vi
,ha world Nearly all OF the proh,ap,e
soId fields are being worked thorocsh-
H. and unless the precious metal can
he taken from sources not now su ,9,
centible to profitable operation IL VIII
cost more in the future 10 prouuce a
Mound OF gold than ever before. II
bos been profitably mined from ma
terials which yielded only three cents
worth 70 the cubic yard OF dirt. IL Is
said there Is one grain OF goid LII
every ton of sea water, and inventors
are directing their energies to"aru
its profitable extraction.
The demands upon the coal mine
In the United States are so heavy that
every sort of mechanical appliance
| for the mining of coal is now In use
The rheumatic drill, driven by COM
pressed air. is able to do the work oil
a dozen men. From the hgures OF
Mulhall as TO the working power OF
the average human being, 1t appears
that the coal which Is taken out OF the
American mine in a years time is,
even under present wasteful condi-
lions. capable of doing as much work
as could be accomplished by every
man. woman and child on the whole
earth in five years. Many OF the III.
ventions for the separation OF coal
from slate and other wastes have
been brought out by Americans. one
Of these is a coalwasher. Pulses oil
water are thrown up through q sieve
containing the coal and the slate. The
coal being lighter than the slate, is
forced out with the stream OF water
and is thus separated from the un.
usable material. II is the BELIEF OF
many mining experts that the day
will come when coal will be trans
formed into electricity at the mine
and carried TO the user by giant trans
mission plants. A recently invented
annliance. soon to be adopted. Is an
acetyline mining lamp, which is said
10 be superior to any other KIND OF
! light for the miner.
In the mining OF iron ore the
American inventor has given TO the
world some OF its cheapest processes.
n ia said that nowhere else in the
/ vvorid oan a ton of ore be taken from