The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1921-03-19

pectors of the Lynn district, IN Eu-
reka County, about twenty miles
north of Carlin, Nevada, has been
solved, according to officials Of the
Lynn Big Six Mining Company. by
the company's metallurgist, DIR. Ben
r. Koering. says the Salt Lake Tri-
bune.
The Importance of the discovery Of
DR.. Koering. according to mining
men of the district, is great, for it
should make profitable the treatment
of thousands of tons of gold ore. So
successful have been tests of the new
Lynn Big Six milling plant that from
ore which showed by fire assay a gold
content of but 20 cents a recovery of
from Sc to $40 per ton has been
made.
For over fifteen years, ever since
the discovery of gold in the Lynn dis
trict, the evasive character OF Theories
has completely bafied p~rospectors.
Certain aspects of. the problem ,ac-
| cording to DR.. Koering. have been
unrecognized by eminent mining en-
gineers and biologists who visited
the mines of the region.
Lynn district ore, when PANIED,
| gives many colors, but when subject
ed to the fire assay the gold content
is said to be ridiculously low. DR..
Koering has named this ore, because
of its evasive character, spirit ore.
According to his findings, this spirit
ore'' contains a number of elements
which. when combined, carry off in
a fire assay the gold content. Be
cause of the low vaporization of GER
tain of its metal contents, the ore
when assayed for gold by the usual
fire method gives a result which is
absolutely unreliable and incorrect.
DIR Koering sets forth his theory
concerning the mysterious disappear
ance of the gold content of the Lynn
district ore when subjected to an or
binary fire assays as follows:
"Gallium, which forms a part Of
the spirit ore of the Lynn district.
was first discovered in a zinc ore
from the Purrefitte mine in the Ar
giles valley, P~yrenees, France, and
its name Is derived from Gallia, the
Latin name in France. 1t is also
found in the zinc ores of Westphalia,
Germany, and in a few other places
in Europe; but, insofar as we know,
this is the first time that it has been
identified upon the North American
continent.
1T is the only metal that gives a
white ~precipitate in an acid solution
upon the Introduction of hydrogen
sulphide gas. Gallium is a hard,
whitish metal, specific gravity So.
atomic weight 69.4, and possesses a
metallic luster which closely re-
sembles that of nickle. Its most re-
markable property is its low fusing
point, 80 degrees centigrade, which
means that it melts with the heat of
the hand. 1t also forms a liquid al
10y with aluminium.
Another remarkable property of
gallium which we noted was hat by
leaving it in a steel pan the steel
would become plated a silver white.
which completely resisted the attack
of all acids. This property is prob
ably due to the rapid breaking up. or
oxidation in the ore, of the combined
gallium. tin and mercury. This sill
ver-white plating can only be remov-
ed by highly heating the steel.
I'VE also found that the claimed
properties of gallium are such that
1t will keep other metals from pre-
c~ipitating. according to ordinary pro-
cedure. and must necessarily be re-
moved before any reaction for other
metals in the same solution can be
ascertained.
with such a volatile combination
as this, 1t can be readily be under
stood why 1t is impossible to make a
correct fire assay for gold. This vola-
tilization of an ounce of this combin-
alton of metals is easily responsible
for the loss in a similar way of me-
half an ounce of gold. This is the
reason why ore in the Lynn district.
which pans many colors. gives re-
turns Of only 20 cents per ton when
assayed by the fire method. and 1t is
for this a that we designate the
term spirit ore to best describe this
unusual combination of metals.
Gold was first discovered in the
Lynn district in April, 1907, and dur
ing the following Summer the camp
was the scene of one of the usual