372 REPORT—1905. 
(c) This question was considered from the standpoint of the older universities 
of England. The author contrasted the value of the science schools of Oxford 
and Cambridge with similar schools in American universities. He deplored the 
want of true perspective evidenced in the former schools and the too great differen- 
tiation of the theoretical from the practical. Only by the breaking down of this 
artificial barrier’can the older universities compete with the broader schools of 
newer universities. 
(d) The equipment of the laboratory, metallurgical testing works, and general 
control of the plant were briefly discussed. 
In conclusion, the author expressed his consciousness of the brief manner in 
which he had outlined the scope and utility of the metallurgical laboratory, but 
he is confident that the establishment of a central department on the lines laid 
down, and maintained at the cost of all the mines, would furnish abundant justi- 
fication for the optimistic views which he holds as to the value of the metallurgical 
laboratory to the gold-mining industry of the Witwatersrand, 
3. Notes on Economic Problems in Metallurgy on the Witwatersrand. 
By 8. H. Pearce. 
This paper consisted of a discussion of the broader principles of metallurgy 
involved, under various headings :— 
1. Sorting.— Under this heading a plea was made for a more systematic sampling 
of the quartzite adjacent to the reef matter mined, in order to avoid discarding 
‘ waste’ from the sorting tables which carries payable values in some cases. 
2. Milling.—This subject included discussion of the fineness to which the ore 
should be reduced, both by the stamp mill and subsequent regrinding by the tube 
mill, and concluded that the marked increase of duty with the coarsest mesh used 
indicates probable development in this direction in the future. 
3. Amalgamation.—This section pointed out the advantages of amalgamation 
prior to cyanide treatment, and that the percentage recoverable by this method is 
largely dependent upon the fineness to which the ore is reduced. 
4. Concentration.—This section gave the reasons for discarding mechanical 
concentration, by reason of the high extraction possible from the pyritic portion of 
the ore by cyanide treatment after regrinding. 
5. Slimes Treatment.—Various methods of slimes treatment were discussed, 
and the local advantages of the decantation method were shown, as compared to 
those processes in use elsewhere. 
In conclusion, the advantages of the proposed ‘all-sliming’ of the ore were 
compared to the present method of separate sand and slime treatment; and modi- 
fications of plant design were given, which appear to show a saving of nearly half of 
the present cost of installing the reduction plant. 
4. On a Radio-active Substance Discovered in the Transvaal. 
By R. Lewis Cousens, 1.E.E. 
The author described the experiments which he had conducted with an alluvial 
ore, consisting principally of pit clay with sand, and leaving on concentration a 
heavy deposit of black iron sand and other minerals, and which tended to prove 
that the ore contained a radio-active substance. The radio-activity of the ore was 
tested by means of the electroscope, by photographic methods, and by proof of the 
ionisation of the air in a bottle containing some of the concentrates. ‘The results, 
together with the results of chemical treatment of the concentrates, pointed to the 
presence of radium in the ore, although apparently both uranium and thorium 
were absent. The author suggested tentatively that the radium may have been 
produced from titanium, which is present in the form of rutile in the concentrates. 
