Charlevoix county herald., 1918-11-15
ROMANCE HID IN
PROSA|C BUREAU
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY MEN OF.
TEN FIND FORTUNE IN sPEcI.
MEMS SENT THEM
FIND GOLD THAT IS NOT GOLD
Alaskan Miners, Seeking Gold,
isa.. Find Tin Ore, Formerly
Isirs Cast Aside. ,x

Washington.-The other day a man
out in Colorado found what he took to
be large-sized diamond. The varied
mineral resources OF his native state
were pretty well known to him, and
he knew that diamonds are scarce in
Colorado outside Of rings and scarf
pins. So he sent his find, carefully
registered. to the United States Geo.
logical Survey at Washington, where
the mineralogists regretted to inform
him that it wasn't a diamond but a
lump of quartz.
Diamonds that aren't diamonds are
among the things that come often to
the geological survey for identified
ton. Many rocks of one sort or an
other arrive with each days mail,
most Of them from people who think
they have found great wealth. COM
monest of all are specimens of "fool's
gold"-iron pyrites, which is a yellow,
shiny mineral that comes nearer the
popular idea of what gold looks like
than does gold itself.
first place among the minerals that
look more valuable to the uninitiated
than they are. Certain micas in the
form of very small particles have a
yellowish, shiny appearance that
leads to their being taken for gold.
The survey is forbidden by law to
make elaborate analyses and is effect
ually restrained from breaking the
law by the lack of money appropri-
ated for that purpose. Officials be-
lieve that were any good purpose
served by making analyses Of speci-
mems sent in by all and sundry con-
gress might by persuaded to extend
the jurisdiction and the appropriation
Of the survey to include such work.
Such step, however, might be far
from desirable.
Your miner may or may not be
an honest and deserving person to
help. Men have been known to sell
mines with the aid of artistically
illustrated prospectuses that were
something of a disappointment to the
stockholders after work was actu
airy begun. There are mine promot-
ers who only need little encourage
ment and they will sell you radium
prospect in the middle of the south
ern ocean.
The assay is one of the important
features of selling scheme. The as.
say is supposed to show how many
dollars worth Of gold is present in
the rock in question. 1t is customary
not SO much now as it once was
to make the assay from one. or two
or three, fragments Of rock. Need
less to say, the mine owner with
claim for sale does not hunt through
his rock dump for an unusually poor
specimen as sample for assay. He
has been know to spend some hours
going over the dump for a rich frag
ment-maybe the only one in sight.
Not long ago there was much ex-
element over a gold strike in New
England. Samples assayed ran as
high as $50 to the ton in gold, which
would represent handsome profit
for a company that chose to mill the
rock. The geological survey was
asked to investigate, however, and
found the rock in actual practice
would run about 60 cents to the ton.
The modern methods of big compa-
MES in sampling a new property fur
nish a strong contrast. Thirty or
forty thousand dollars may be spent
in preliminary work, simply to find
out whether the property is worth
working. Since. in cases like the
Michigan copper mines, the invest
ment in plant may run up to a mil
lion dollars, it is worth while to be
sure you are right before going
ahead. One company, in doing its
preliminary work recently, took out
fiftv samples. Each sample weighed
two tons-a total of 100000 pounds
OF rock in samples" These samples
were thoroughly mixed and the
weight was gradually cut down until
perhaps fifty pounds of rock re-
NAMED. That fifty pounds was a
tair sample OF the 100000, and the
100000 pounds was fair sample OF
the property.
Up In a certain Alaskan placer
gold district the miners washing gold
from the gravel were bothered by
the presence of q nondescript brown
mineral that was exceedingly diff
ficult to separate from the gold. Gold
is separated from gravel by taking
advantage Of its great weight; but
this strange mineral was also ex-
ceedingly heavy. It made a nuisance
OF itself. The miners cursed it liber-
ally, for like most practical gold
miners a few common ores were the
only ones they knew. Finally some
of them remembered that geological
survey expert was in the neighbor-
hood and they took the heavy brown
mineral to him. 1t was a valuable
oro Of fin And for four vaarq now