This Extraction doth likewise serve for the drawing forth Gold out of Silver, tho’ it be not gilt, which to do is not in every ones power, tho’ many know that Silver hath Gold in it, yet if it be not of so much value as to quit the Costs that are necessarily to be expended upon it, it is left as it is; and now there is no where separated Gold out of Silver, unless it be gilt, and they see it sticking thereupon. Any other silver whatsoever, how much gold soever it possesseth, is not separated, when as though, sometimes there might be made more gain thencefrom. But I must needs confess, that the separation of the Gold from the Silver, the usual and known way is conjoined with abundance of labour, and not worth the costs spent about making the separation, unless, haply, the silver partakes much of the Gold: Whereas on the contrary, this my way of separating is done with light labour and small costs, and therefore may be used about all silver whatsoever, though it has in it never so little Gold.
But that the business may be yet more clear, and the better perceived, it will be useful to add this information. When you would separate the Gold from the Silver by Aqua-fortis, it must first be purified with Lead, by burning it upon a Test, now in this work there’s the Test, Fire, the sufficient portion of Lead, the labour and time spent hereon to be considered, and when all this is done, then the Lead has entred, together with the Copper that was in the Silver, into the Test, and may be esteemed of but as a thing just kept from being lost. Besides too, the Copper carries away with it, a good part of the silver into the Test. And altho’ that by a most vehement blast of Bellows the Test may be molten, and part of the Lead, Copper, and Silver recovered, yet the expences necessarily requisite to this operation, are more than the regain’d Metals are worth, so that these costs, charges, and troubles are too great. Then finally, when all this is done, and that the silver shall have been depured by burning, then it must after all this, be granulated, and this is some charge, and then when all this is done, it may be separated by Aqua-fortis, and being separated, be again molten into a Mass.
Now my way of working is freed from all these kind of linked labours, and so much trouble and loss of expences and time may be avoided; for when I take on me to separate any Silver, whether it has much or little Gold, I cut it into bits about the length and bredth of my Finger, so as that I but put it into my separatory Vessel; then I make it gently or by degrees red hot, to the end that the defilements may be the better washt off, and the separatory water may the better work upon it. Then pour I in the water, and suffer the Gold, Silver and Copper to be dissolved; then (after this) do I precipitate the Gold, then the Silver, then the Copper; all which operations, from the beginning to the end, are done in three or four hours space, nor requires it any expence save only the water, and a little fire, to keep the water warm, that it may the more strongly work upon and dissolve the Silver; the Metals thus separated from each other and edulcorated, may be melted; and now from thence may any one see, how much difference there is betwixt ours and the common separation of metal, by the moist way; and if there be any one that would use this way of mine, of separation, he would doubtlessly get much gain and riches, neither could any one endammage him by way of prevention, and he would get himself an exceeding profit wheresoever he be, not only out of guilt Silver, but also out of any other; for there is not a City so small, but it hath a Silversmith, who buys up the old Silver, and separates it his own way, which is very laborious and costly, and therefore he would the willinglier give his Silver to another to separate, whereby himself might be spared the labour and cost, were there but any one that would offer him his help thereabouts.
And seeing that all Copper holds Gold hidden in it, and that that Copper is not any impediment in this my way of separation, but is resolved together with the Silver, therefore doth it always bring some increase to the Gold and consequently more gain; but the labour will be yet more gainful if it be prepared with a separatory water, which hath other Golden species or things added thereto in the making, and which render the water aureous, such as are Lapis Calaminaris, Zink, the Minerals (or Ores) of Iron and Copper; for hereby is made a water that is in it self auriferous, and which doth readily (in the separation) join its volatile Gold to the Silver, and suffer its self to be incorporated; in so much that even such Silver as hath already been separated and purged, will yield Gold enough in the separation, if it be dissolved with such a separatory water, which hath been impregnated by graduating things.
And even as this same extraction which is done in the moist way, by the water of Salt-petre is exceedingly eminent and of much use, as being sufficient to supply many thousands of men with food and necessaries for life, so as that they need not at all to be compelled to deceive or damnify one another; so likewise, no less excellent is the extraction, which is done by the dry way; if, viz. the Volatile Antimonial Minerals, or Ores (whether they contain in them Gold, or Silver, or Copper, Iron, or Tin, and what metals soever they contain in them) be molten with twice, thrice, or four times as much Antimony in a Crucible, and be (by the means of Iron) precipitated into Regulus’s; for by this work, what good soever there was in the Ores, and even the Metals themselves, may be obtained each apart: for when the Antimony hath extracted the Gold out of the Minerals, the Gold may then be first precipitated, then the Silver, lastly the Copper; and all of them with a very small cost and little labour, insomuch, that in one days time many pounds of Gold and Silver may be drawn by this art out of the Minerals: and this too by a little fire. For the Antimony penetrates the mineral like water, and dissolves what is good in it; and as for that which is of an earthy nature it casts off from it self, and brings it into scoria. But it brings the Metal to a Metalline form in the precipitation, which must then be cupellated, or purified by the help of Salt-petre. And if haply you cannot get Antimony for this work, than common Brimstone may serve in its stead, and it will perform the same thing, if the Minera be ground and mixt therewith, and be molten in a covered Pot or Crucible, and be precipitated by Iron, for so the Metals falls down in a Regulus, and the Sulphur abides behind in the scoria. But this kind of work requires a skilful Artist or Melter, who hath already been long and much versed in precipitations; for else he will be intangled therein, and not find the wish’d for success.
NB. This is to be understood of that kind of Minerals and Fossiles which partake of Antimony, Arsenick, Cobolt, Marchasite or Sulphur, being such as Antimony and Sulphur love to seize upon and dissolve in the melting: such Minerals or Ores as have sand and stones among them, they (viz. Antimony or Sulphur) will have nothing to do with them; of this kind are Granates, Talk, and such like: so neither, doth the water of Salt-petre in the moist way extend its virtue to all the Minerals, nor extracts it Gold and Silver out of all of them; but especially it acts not at all on them which are very sulphureous, unless they are first Torrified or Calcined as ’twere, and so freed from the Sulphur, then at length the water performs its office else not. Nor doth the water act upon Granates or other Minerals and Fossiles which are (as to the outward appearance) smooth and as it were glassy. And therefore all such must first of necessity be master’d by an incense fire, and subdued.
There are likewise to be found some Minerals and Fossiles which suffer not what they have in them to be introduced into either Lead or Antimony, or to bestow their Treasure upon them; nor will they be forced out nor cupellated, but both are and remain scoria, and do retain that form of glass which they afore had unless haply you make them stoop, and master them by a most strong blast; for by this means they suffer their Gold and Silver to be wrested from them: But they may be mastered too, if you thereto add in the fusing some Potters-ashes, or salt of the Lees of Wine, or Ashes made of Wood, and melt them together, for so by this means also will they be obedient to thee; for salts dissolve in flux all stony Minerals, and such as resemble glass and scoria, which otherwise no other fire is able to do. But to make any more accurate description of that thing, appertains not to this place, but to the following Third Part of this Book; that which we have here minded, is only to make light touches as ’twere about shewing the variety of Fossiles and Minerals; and that, if haply any one should light on such a Mineral, out of which he cannot extract the metal, neither by the help of Antimony, nor by the water of Salt-petre, he should not think it void of every thing or that he has not dexterously and conveniently enough handled the same, but may know, that the only cause is, the property of the Mineral it self.
And now, even as the Sulphureous minerals do chiefly admit of being separated by Antimony admixed in the melting, and those that are stony, not so; even so the water of Salt-petre doth more willingly extract the stony Minerals, than the sulphureous ones; but yet, if the sulphur be taken from them by Torrefaction, it is able to dissolve even these too.
But it chiefly loves those that have Stria, and are a spotted (Quartzig) sandy, poor kind of Minera: which (otherwise) you cannot extract commodiously neither by Fusion or by Mercury: But that you may never be deceived here, it will be altogether expedient to be acquainted with both ways, both with this which is done by flux, & with that moist way which is done with Water; both ways are good, and exceedingly profitable in the separation of the Minera’s or Ores; and that not only of such as may be every where had, but likewise of metalline mixtures: whether it be by melting them together, or else by some sad mischance of your Houses being burnt; or finally, if it proceed from thence, that Gold and Silver do lie hidden unknown in copper, Tin, Iron, or Lead; now they may with ease be separated from each other by both those aforesaid ways, and on such wise as that nothing may be lost.
The ancients knew not how to extract the Gold and Silver out of Copper as the modern Refiners are wont to do, but took them together as they lay and so applied them to any uses whether to make Bells or great Guns. Neither was the separation by Aqua-fortis so much in use in those days as in ours: Nay more, if in a Mark of Silver there was no less than the quantity of a Ducket of Gold, yet notwithstanding they did not separate it, but did make it up into money as it was, as the old Coins do sufficiently testify. For it is evident that all Silver almost, partakes of Gold, and ancients being unexercised and not well versed in the Art of separation, all the Silver though never so auriferous was Coined into Money, or put to other uses; but their successours smelt out what they had done, and therefore bought up all such Money, and separated it, & made thereof an exceeding gain: so that there is not in our age so much as a Dollar, Schrenckbergick, Gross, Crucifer, even to the smallest half Penny, of Gold Coin to be had throughout all Germany, all being changed and bought up and wiped off the Gold. But yet there is Silver enough left, both made into money, and wrought up by the Gold-smiths, a Mark whereof contains, ⅛ or ¼ of a Ducket of Gold; and therefore seeing the common way of separation by Aqua-fortis cannot be of use here, because the costs are too great, and the little portion of the Gold will not countervail the same; it may be done this way, and separated by either the moist, or by the dry way, and that with profit, though there should be less than ⅛th part of a Ducket in a Mark of Silver. And besides, Bells ever have much Silver in them, neither was it separated therefrom by the ancients (as we have said afore): and likewise old Tin hath a great deal of Gold and Silver in it, which was of old wont to be molten and wrought up with the Copper into Bells or great Guns. Many there are that well know, that there is Gold and Silver in these things, but how to extract them thence, they know not: For Copper admits not of being cupellated (or purified) by Lead, much less of being separated, & yet more difficult is it to do it by Aqua-fortis. But yet, it may be effected and that with a great deal of profit by the way which we have shewn, both the moist and dry too. And therefore he that shall be well skill’d in these operations, doing it either by melting with Antimony, or by the Water, will get abundance of profit out of your old and broken pieces of Bells: Nay should he buy them whole, yet would he get no small matter, for he may extract their Gold and Silver, and then melt them anew. For there is not barely in Bells that portion of Gold & Silver which the Copper and Tin had naturally in them, and of which the Bells are made; but also, it was the custom of the ancients, (when a new Bell was molten or founded,) to call some God-fathers or Witnesses (according to their ancient custom) who named the Bells afore they were baptized: And like as it is even at this day the usual custom every where throughout Christendom in the baptizing of Infants for the God-fathers to give their God-child some Money (or Plate) as a remembrance; so the ancients did do in the baptizing of their Bells, as they were flowing in the Furnace they cast thereinto Gold and Silver, to testify their affection to Holy uses, and also that the Bells might fuse the better, and yield a clearer sound. Upon this account I say, that ’tis no small gain that may be gotten out of old Bells, seeing there never is a Bell which is destitute of Gold and Silver.