The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1917-09-25
TO SAVE MILLIONS
FROM COMSTOCK

ne recovery OF millions OF dollars
IN quicksilver and amalgam on tht
Carson river where the Comstocr
mills were formerly located is TO b,
undertaken within the next few week.
by the Unevida Gold Mining Company
the controlling concern in severa
mining companies in Nevada, Uta.
and Idaho.
In the days when the Comstock a.
booming and the mills along the rive.
were turning out millions of dollars
worth of bullion each month, little
attention was paid to expenses. 1t Is
even said that though the production
of the mines for the twenty-odd years
early COS to late sos, the mills were
operating on the river reached total
of 100000, 900, fully 40 per cent of the
values were not saved.
All of these values went into the
Carson river through the sluice boxes
of the mills, together with what is
variously estimated at from $4,000 to
10000 tons of quicksilver, now worth
S115 for a 75-pound flask.
All of this great wealth has been
in the Carson river since that time,
but as the years go by some of the
quicksilver is fiowered and is carried
down the stream, never to be recov-
cred.
A process for removing the values
in the river has never been carried to
a successful conclusion, although sew
eral attempts have been made to work
the gravel by dredging and hand
washing with very good results.
A lease was taken a few days ago
by the Uneyida Gold Mining Company
of which w. c. Ralston is managing
director, of the old sites of the Bruins
wick. Vienna, San Diego and Merri-
mac mills on the river. and work pre-
paratory to recovering the quicksilver
and amalgam was started Monday
The company plans TO divert the
waters of the river into the old canal
formerly used by the Brunswick mill
and by connecting this canal with
another ditch that is already built.
the river bed will be dried and ii will
then be possible to remove the gravel
and get down to bedrock. This scheme
has never been tried before and it is
the contention Of Mr.. Ralston and his
associate, A. b. Blainey. that millions
can be recovered from the river bed,
The gravel is from one to six feet
daax1 and fo.. tho optfra Jfcfapra ttndor
lease by the company. a little more
than a mile. Paintings made Friday
showed the quicksilver very evenly
disseminated, and from every pan a
globule larger than grain of wheat
was recovered. Some amalgam was
also picked up in each pan.
When the river bed is emptied the
company will install a trommel screen
washer, designed by Mr.. Blainey, 10
handle the gravel. The gravel goes
through the trommel screen and the
fines are dropped into some moving
sluice boxes with rifles. Part of the
values are caught on these rifles,
while the remainder of the gravel
passes IuIOuSH anu 10 puiuptu Dy a
centrifugal pump up to and through
another box. where the remainder of
the values are recovered This method
of recovering values is not new, but
removing the water of the river from
the old channel will give the company
an opportunity to work the entire bed
of the stream.
The old dam used by the Brunswick
mill is still intact and will be utilized
by the company in diverting the
waters to the bitches.
Taking an average of the reported
amounts of quicksilver that has been
lost in the river as 10000 tons, o"
10000, 900 pounds, and estimating that
so per cent of this amount has flow
cred and been washed away, leaves
10000, 900 pounds of quicksilver still
in the river.
Quicksilver is1 now worth Sl.50 a
pound. making the stream worth $45,-
600 900 in recoverable quicksilver val
ues. The cost of taking it out has
not been determined. but it is expect
ed that it will be very low.