100 ON A METHOD OF EXTRACTING GOLD, SILVER, 
and yielded from 3 ozs. 12 dwts. to 5 ozs. 1 dwt. of gold, and from 
46 ozs. to 46 ozs. 3 dwts. of silver per ton. This showed that all 
a portion only could be obtained in solution either in mercury or 
in water as cyanide or chloride, whilst none could be obtained as 
sulphide. 
There being therefore no method by which the precious metals 
could be removed and the base metals left, it remained to fall 
back on one of the first principles of metallurgy, viz., to remove the 
base metals at the earliest stage possible, and leave the precious 
metals as a residue. In ordinary metallurgic operations this 
end is attained by dressing and successive smeltings. I however 
arrived at the conclusion ‘that s melting was not a desirable pro- 
we consider that glass will hold a large amount of gold in solu- 
tion. ce calculating from the quantity of gold used to form 
which is perfectly colourless when first melted, I find 
that it iectiaion 10°88 oz. of gold per ton, imitation topaz 8:21 o7. . 
d 18a 3 
in e above numbers, f chloride of gold—an 
t being added at the same ti elting 
operations the ferric oxide would act as an oxidiz ent, and 
in 
n once in solution it seems improbable that a, practicable 
amount of smelting in presence of other metals would reduce 
and collect all the gold. 
Thinking, einen that in spite of these objections a process of 
smelting was the only one which was likely to be successful, [ 
my attention to the removal*of the copper, so that I 
might obtain it separate from the gold and silver. Although 
xtraction processes it 
RE ae ON a IS al Oe MES RE eg Sees OEE RIP SOR, eRe aiden Ie Sea ee aes Eee 
Se Ba 2 gl 
