Article August 26, 1905 Issue

Gold

M. G. KAINS.

No metal has attracted more attention than has gold. While it may not be the most valuable substance, in human reckoning, nevertheless, from the dawn of time it has held the honored rank of king of metals. Among the ancients, it is thought to have been known earlier than silver, copper, tin, iron, or lead, which were the only other metals then in use. In ancient Egypt its value was thirteen and one third times that of silver, and in Greece and Rome, prior to the Christian era, the ratio was ten to one. Valuations then as now were dependent more upon the use of the metal as a medium of exchange and for works of art, than upon less utilitarian or aesthetic attributes.

Could we look beneath the surface we might perceive upon every page of human history the imprint of golden letters. The desire for gold has directly led innumerable expeditions, and indirectly instigated countless others of less peaceful character. But even beneath this golden glamour may be traced the desire for the power which has long been attributed to this metal simply because of the fictitious valuation placed upon it. This desire has not only led men to search, but has suggested and assisted them to improve upon the methods of securing larger proportions of gold from given volumes of ore.

Apart from the mere picking up of nuggets as they happen to be seen, pure or native gold is secured from natural sources in three ways: by washing, by combining with some other metal, such as mercury or lead, and by more elaborate chemical processes. The first method is dependent upon the difference in specific gravity between gravel and gold; the gold sinks to the bottom of the pans, sluices, or other apparatus used in washing, while the gravel is borne away by the current; the other two processes depend upon affinities of certain elements or chemical compounds for gold. All three methods are practised to-day; anciently only the first was known. This method is very imperfect, since often fifty per cent of the gold is left in the gravel. The second, amalgamation, a more modern process, is extensively practised, often in conjunction with the washing process; but it is also more or less wasteful. The most recent and perfect method, that of treating the ore with a solution of cyanide of potash, or first with chlorine and then with water, caps the climax of efficiency and may be used to secure the last vestige of gold from the ore. Because of its perfection it is often employed after one or both the other processes have been utilized so far as they are practicable. In countless cases these chemical processes have been applied to the dump-heaps of abandoned gold-mines, and they have often enriched the experimenters even beyond their most golden dreams.

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