METALS AND CYANIDE PROCESSES 241 



acter of the process and the apparatus used; in the location 

 of the mill with regard to the supply of ore or taihngs used; 

 and the source of power, water, materials and labor. 



Apart from the phenomenal annual increase in the pro- 

 duction of gold during the period from 1841 to 1855, which 

 includes the discoveries of the rich placers of California and 

 Australia, the increase in the world's production during the 

 last decade of the nineteenth century was unprecedented. 

 It was most marked during the period from 1891 to 1895, 

 following the opening of the banket reef of the Rand and 

 the introduction of the cyanide processes, but it was contin- 

 uous throughout the decade, except during the period of the 

 Boer war. It is true that the use of the cyanide process is 

 only one of several causes contributing to this result, but that 

 it is an important one is indicated by the fact that the returns 

 for the last census show that the amount of gold recovered by 

 the use of the cj^anide process in the United States in 1902 

 exceeded that won throughout the w^hole world by all existing 

 means during any year of our record up to 1661, and probably 

 up to 1701. 



Vol. 6—10 



