Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-08-22

armed with the official assay government stamped
paper-consider what a help the worthy discoverer
would find that in selling claim or promoting a.
$1O,000,00O company.
So the geological survey does analysis of
the specimens that are continually coming in The
experts do give the sample their careful con-
AS they able to recognize most or the
United States at sight they can tell the
sender whether his rock absolutely valueless
whether worth while to have commercial assay
made and a private geologist the property.
Whether opinion, the subsequent assay, means
anything not depends on how Representatives the
sample is. Not long there was much excitement
gold strike in New England Samples assayed
ran as high $50 to the ton in gold, which would
represent handsome profit for company that chose
to mill rock. The geological survey asked TO
they found that the rock in
actual practice about so cents to the ton
samples had evidently been picked with an eye to
richness rather than their representative characters
This may happen with the honest intentions
part of the prospector The typical mining man
of the practical and free lance variety Is born
optimist. He stakes a claim works it a while, and
looks his dump for sample. He picks up three
or fragments them aside because he feels
that they don't his claim Justice He wants TO be
all concerned. himself included Maybe he even
throws aside one too rich. Finally he picks out
pretty good and has 1t assayed. That speci
men may misrepresent his mine a thousand per cent
The modern methods of big companies sampling
a property furnish strong contrast Thirty or
forty thousand dollars be spent in preliminary
work. simply find out whether the property is worth
working Since, in like the Michigan copper
mines, investment in plant a million
dollars worth while to be right before
going One company, in doing its preliminary
work, recently took out fifty samples. Each sample
weighed two TONS total of 100000 pounds of rock in
samples" These samples thoroughly mixed and
the weight gradually down until perhaps fifty
pounds of rock remained. fifty pounds a fair
sample of the 100000, and the 100000 pounds
fair sample of the property.
of course this is working on an exceptionally large
the rule holds true that a stray specimen
much unless it been taken by
expert that it a sample and 8 specimen. None
that sent in by the public. They furnish check
what being turned in the way of mineral all
the country and now and again something comes
in that is of unusual interest
Such specimen will probably come from man
who knows a good deal about minerals in a rough and
ready way and has been puzzled by finding unusual
rock. enough instinct for
that his discovery is something of the ordinary
he sends it in for identification.
Up in a certain Alaskan placer gold district the
miners washing gold from the gravel bothered
by the presence of nondescript brown mineral that
exceedingly difncut separate gold.
its great weight; but this strange mineral also
exceedingly heavy 1t made nuisance Of itself The
miners cursed 1t literally for le practical gold
miners, a few the only ones they
geological survey experts in the neighborhood
and they took the heavy brown mineral to him.
a valuable of tin. for years now
Alaska has been producing tin at good profit
among the diamonds that aren't diamonds and
gold that isn't gold, almost any day may
send in strange mineral to Washington that is
really worth while.