Getting Gold: A Gold-Mining Handbook for Practical MenJohnson, J. C. F. (Joseph Colin Francis)
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Getting Gold: A Gold-Mining Handbook for Practical Men
Johnson, J. C. F. (Joseph Colin Francis)
Gold mines and mining
I have had no experience with the aluminium bronze screen. I presume,
however, that it is used only for mills where mercury is not put in the
mortars, otherwise it would surely become amalgamated. The same remark
applies to brass wire cloth and tinned plate. Unless the metal of which
they are composed will not readily amalgamate with mercury, I should be
chary of using new screen devices. Mercury is a most insidious metal and
is often found most unexpectedly in places in the battery where it
should not be. Probably aluminium steel would be better than any
substance mentioned. It would be hard, light, strong, and not readily
corrodible. I am not aware if it has been tried.
Under the heading of “Power for Mills” the following is taken from the
same source.
POWER FOR MILLS.
“As the Pelton wheel seems to find the most frequent application
in California, it may be convenient for millmen to have the
following rule, applicable to these wheels:
“When the head of water is known in feet, multiply it by
0·0024147, and the product is the horse-power obtainable from one
miner’s inch of water.
“The power necessary for different mill parts is:
For each 850lb. stamp, dropping 6 inches 95 times per minute, 1·33 h.p.
” 750 ” ” ” ” 1·18 ”
” 650 ” ” ” ” 1·00 ”
For an 8-inch by 10-inch Blake pattern rock-breaker 9·00 ”
For a Frue or Triumph vanner, with 220 revolutions per minute,0·50 ”
For a 4-feet clean-up pan, making 30 ” ” 1·50 ”
For an amalgamating barrel, making 30 ” ” 2·50 ”
For a mechanical batea, making 30 ” ” 1·00 ”
The writer has had small practical experience of the working of that
excellent hydraulic motor, the Pelton wheel, but if by horse-power in
the table given is meant nominal horse-power, it appears to be high.
Working with 800 cwt. stamps, 80 blows a minute, 1 h.-p. nominal per
stamp will be found sufficient with any good modern engine, which has no
further burden than raising the stamps and pumping the feed water. It is
always well, however, particularly when providing engine power, to err
on the right side, and make provision for more than is absolutely needed
for actual battery requirements. This rule applies with equal potency to
pumping engines.
TO AVOID LOSS IN CLEANING UP.
The following, is a hint to quartz mill managers with respect to that
common source of loss of gold involved in the almost inevitable loss of
mercury in cleaning up operations. I have known hundreds of pounds’
worth of gold to be recovered from an old quartz mill site by the simple
process of washing up the ground under the floor.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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