Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1919-12-25
MAKE GOLD BRICKS BY TONI
Assay Office Handles FOrtunes
in Bullion
Processes Used in Separating Pur(
from base NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Taken to
Avoid Loss of Metal

About one hundred and thirty meni
clad In the dirty and torn overalls and
shirts or day laborers and talking with
the technical expressions of chemists. ARD
daily walking In and out of giant vaults
containing gold and silver bricks valued
at between 100000 and ss7o.OoO,ooO. UpS
stairs in another vault, loaded like gray
dust on a single truck lies three-quartera
of million dollars in platinum. When
their days work is done they change
their clothes and pass through the iron
gate to join the night rush of homewardt
bound clerks from the financial district
They are the workers in the govern<
ments assay office, next door to the subs
treasury building. where every MONTH
they assisted In the melting down OF ove(
A,cO,0O0 worth of metal into bullion.
/ The process employed In this building
is the one that will be used in the melting
down Of the recently announced shipment
OF 100000 silver dollars to China Metal
is received in the assay Office from any
one who desires to sell any to the valuS
OF 800 or over. The metal submitted
must contain at least 20 per cent. pure
metal or It will not be used. Clerks Of
the department give receipts for 1t. 1t Id
then forwarded to the assay office and
placed In gas oil ovens.
The heat necessary to reduce it to al
liquid form is between 200 and 2,sOd
degrees. When 1t is poured out FROM
these experts, under the direction Cd
Verne M. Bowie. the superintendent, SAND
pie 1t and learn its true value, and thd
sellers are paid for the assay valueI
Jewellers and others who use the metaH
Itself are paid In gold or silver barsl
Banks and corporations who offer foreigni
gold are paid In cash. This ends their1
interest in the metal and 1t now becomea
the property OF the Government.
The next step is to separate the purei
from the base metals. The refining dol
partment takes charge of this operatioul
and while the metal is still in its LIQUID
form members Of this department formj
what they call SILVER anode' This isj
"a mixture of $50 parts Of gold, 500 partsI
silver and $50 parts Of base metals. This
anode Is next introduced into an electro- !
lytic solution containing 3 per cent. nitrio|
acid per cent. nitrate Of silver and 81
per cent. water. Paperlike strips of puret
silver are put into this solution and thei
pure silver is refined from the anode andi
deposited on these strips by the actionl
of the chemicals, aided by the INTRODUCED
ton of an electric current. These strips,l
presenting very much the appearance OIL
Immediately clean. new turkish towels, 1
are taken out and the highly refined SILL
yer s scraped off into another basin.t
washed with hot water to remove alyl
traces of the acids and melted into th4l
squares of bullion. essA per cent. hne|
metal. -
This leaves behind the gold and base
metals. These are melted over into gold
anodes" and the process is repeated Thsl
new anodes are dipped into solutioul
containing per cent. hydrochlacic acid.l
per cent. gold chloride and 90 per cent?
water. Pure gold strips are dipped intoa
the solution and the fine metal id
separated from the base by electrofytid
action. In the case of the gold the finsl
metal forms itself on the strips smoothlN
and solidly and no scraping process id
necessary The new metal is washed fred
of acids and melted into bullion, 998.7d
fine. |
Platinum valladium. iridium and cop<
per are recovered as by-products. Thid
is the only system Of melting in the coun-
try In which silver and gold are the
metals sought after. In most instances.
they are considered the by-products. Cd
these by-products. platinum was the one
most etensively produced during the war;
the department bending every effort toI
get out this metal, which contained some
Of the prime requisites of explosives.
The silver bullion Is made up into small
squares and piled in the vaults for ship,
ment The gold bullion is shaped like the
gold brick" of stage fame and ranged
in size from the small 800 piece. about
an inch thick and four inches long, to AZ
size worth $1,000. 6N inches long. s1a
inches across and NJ thick. 1t takes q
strong man to hold one Of these out an
arms length. The platinum is kept in
small pans. like those used in our
kitchens for baking cakes, piled in
seeming disorder. looking like a small
heap Of ashes that had been rtined on
and frozen.
Extraordinary precautions are taken
by the authorities to guard against the
smallest particle of metal being taken
out Of the plant. Every drop of water
used by the men for washing themselves.
or any Of the metal. is strained and tested
before II is admitted to the sewer, and,
the men. before starting to work. change
from their street clothing to working OUT
fits, and these latter never leave the,
building. When they become unservice-
able they are burned and tested for stray,
bits Of metal. The rooms are watched
night and day.
When the time comes for them to 20,
home the men change back to their street
clothes, after a thorough wash. punch a.
time clock. exactly as i'd
they were engaged in manufacturing
shoes or cloth instead of millions In bull
lion, and pass out the door to be lost in
the throng of brokers' bankers, clerks
and office workers on their way home.