Getting Gold: A Gold-Mining Handbook for Practical Men

by J. C. F. Johnson

A few words of advice also to directors of mine-purchasing companies and syndicates, of which there are now so many in existence, may probably be found of value. It is not good policy as a general rule to buy entirely undeveloped properties, unless such have been inspected by your own man, who is both competent and trustworthy, and indeed who should have an interest in the profits. Large areas, although so popular in England, do not compensate for large bodies of payable ore; the most remunerative mine is generally one of comparatively small area, but containing a large lode formation of payable, but often low grade, ore.

It is worse still, of course, to buy a practically worked out mine, though this too is sometimes done. It must be remembered that mining, though often so profitable, is nevertheless a destructive industry, thus differing from agriculture, which is productive, and manufactures, which are constructive. Every ton of stone broken and treated from even the best gold mine in the world makes that mine the poorer by one ton of valuable material; thus, to buy a mining property on its past reputation for productiveness is, as a rule, questionable policy, unless you know there is sufficient good ore in sight to cover the purchase cost and leave a profit.

The point may be put thus: Human industry is (1) Productive, (2) Constructive, and (3) Destructive.

(1) Productive.—Intelligent culture of the soil, including the depasturage of profitable animals. This is the oldest.

(2) Constructive.—The manufacture of raw products, animal, vegetable, and mineral, into articles of a necessary or æsthetic character.

(3) Destructive.—Mining, in all its forms, because the natural stores of valuable minerals and metals won and used are not replaceable.

One of the greatest causes of non-success of gold mining ventures, particularly when worked by public companies, is the lack of actual personal supervision, and hence, among other troubles, is that ultra-objectionable one—gold stealing from the mills, or, in alluvial mining, from the tail races. As to the former, the following appeared in 1893 in the London Mining Journal, and is, I think, worthy of the close consideration of mine directors in all parts of the world:—

“No one that has not experienced the evil of gold thieving from reduction mills can have any idea of the pernicious element it is, and the difficulty, once that it has got ‘well hold,’ of rooting it out. It permeates every class of society in the district connected with the industry, and managers, amalgamators, assayers, accountants, aye, even bank officials, are ‘all on the job’ to ‘get a bit’ while there is an opportunity. To exterminate the hateful monster requires on the part of the mine proprietors combined, stern and drastic measures undertaken under the personal supervision of one or more of their directors, and in many instances necessitating the removal of the whole of the official staff.”

The writer narrates how about twenty-five years ago he was led to suspect that in an Australian mine running forty head of stamps, in which he held a controlling interest, the owners were being defrauded of about a fourth of the gold really contained in the ore, and the successful steps taken to check the robbery.

“We first of all dispensed with the services of the general manager, and then issued the following instructions to the mine and mill managers, I remaining at the mine to see them carried out until I substituted a practical local man as agent, who afterwards carried on the work most efficiently:—

“(a) Both of these officials to keep separate books and accounts; in other words, to be distinct departments.

“(b) The ore formerly was all thrown together and put through the mill. I subdivided it into four classes, A, B, C, and D, representing deep levels north and upper levels north, deep levels south and upper levels south, and allotted to each class ten heads of stamps at the mill.

“(c) The mine manager to try three prospects, forenoon and afternoon of each day, from the dumps of each of the four classes and record in a book to be kept for that purpose the estimated mill yield of each one.

“(d) The mill manager was required to do the same at the mill and keep his record.

“(e) There were four underground bosses in each shift, twelve in all. I had a book fixed at the top of the shaft in which I required each of these men, at the expiry of every shift, to record any change in the faces of the quartz and particularly in regard to quality.

“(f) Having divided the ore into four classes I instructed the amalgamators, of which there were two in each shift, six in all, that I required the amalgam from each to be kept separate, with the object of ascertaining what each part of the mine produced.

“(g) I procured padlocks for the covering boards of the mercury tables and gave the keys to the amalgamators with instructions that they were not to hand them over to any one except the exchange shift without my written authority, and instructed them that they should clean down the plates every three hours, and after cleaning down the amalgam, buckets to be placed in the cleaning room, which I instructed to be kept locked and the key in charge of a watchman night and day.

“(h) The whole of the amalgam taken from the plates during each twenty-four hours to be cleaned and squeezed by the two amalgamators on duty every forenoon at nine o’clock in the presence of the mill manager, who should weigh each lot and enter it in a book to be kept for the purpose, and the entry to be signed by the mill manager and both amalgamators as witnesses.

“(i) Every alternate Friday the mortars (boxes) to be cleaned out; the work to be commenced punctually at eight a.m. by the six amalgamators in the presence of the mill manager, assisted by the three amalgam cleaning room watchmen and the four battery feeders on duty, prohibiting any of them from leaving until the cleaning up was finished, and the amalgam cleaned, squeezed and weighed, and the amount entered by the mill manager in the record book and attested by the amalgamators.

“I think the intelligent readers (particularly those with a knowledge of the business) will see the drift of the above regulations, viz., for there to be any peculation the whole of the battery staff—fourteen in all—would have to participate in it, and the number was too many to keep a secret. Formerly the amalgam cleaning room was sacred to the mill manager, and on announcing to that official the new instructions he at once tendered his resignation in a tone of offended dignity, immediately followed by that of the mine manager. It is a significant fact that shortly afterwards these two officials purchased a large mill and other property at a cost of £10,000, and that the mine yielded for the following three years during which I was connected with it an average of over 17 dwt. to the ton, as against formerly 10 to 12 dwt.

“The reader must draw his own conclusions. I used to make it a practice to visit the mine daily and prospect the ore, and having the mine and mill managers’ daily prospecting as a guide as well as my own, every man at the mill knew it was impossible for them to thieve without my detecting it; moreover, I made it a rule to discharge any of the mill employés that I discovered were interested in any small private claims.

“The crux of the whole thing is having a practical miner at the head of affairs, and it is impossible for him to thieve if the work is carried out in the manner I have described.”