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Re: OLD MEXICAN SMELTER
Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 1:46 pm
by Jim Hatt
Kurt,
LIME! Betchya that is what all that white stuff was that we found laying around there.
And... What the bright white stuff is in the Google Earth photo I emailed you this morning.
Thanks Alfonzo, You can't always believe what the Forest Service calls things on Topo maps tho. They do mis-label things (on purpose) sometimes for their own reasons. This smelter looks a lot different than the photo of the Lime Kiln photo in the link you provided.
Jim
Re: OLD MEXICAN SMELTER
Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 1:53 pm
by silent hunter
Yes and I bet you can see it from space it was so white!!!
Re: OLD MEXICAN SMELTER
Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2010 10:22 pm
by gollum
In a cyanide mill, lime and cyanide are added to the ore pulp in the grinding circuit. The lime has several functions: it protects the cyanide from being destroyed by naturally occurring chemicals called cyanicides and improves the settlement rate of the pulp in the thickening stage.
Cyanidation (the actual dissolution of the gold) begins in the grinding step. Cyanide and lime solutions are introduced here, where newly liberated gold particles are constantly being polished by the grinding action and the solutions are heated by the friction. Depending on the ore and fineness of grind, from 30% to 70% of the gold may be dissolved during the grinding process.
Be careful there. If anybody did much cyanide leaching it could be hazardous.
Best-Mike
Re: OLD MEXICAN SMELTER
Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 6:06 am
by silent hunter
I found and uncovered a mine tunnel close to the location of the smelter Jim and I discovered.
Re: OLD MEXICAN SMELTER
Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 6:08 am
by silent hunter
Re: OLD MEXICAN SMELTER
Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 6:08 am
by silent hunter
The above photo is what it looked like when I found it.
Re: OLD MEXICAN SMELTER
Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 6:09 am
by silent hunter
This is after digging a few feet
Re: OLD MEXICAN SMELTER
Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 6:11 am
by silent hunter
The mineral vein is now uncovered
Re: OLD MEXICAN SMELTER
Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 6:14 am
by silent hunter
three hours later and we have a tunnel. The tunnel only went in 40 feet I have taken samples,but have not crushed or panned out the material. As I said befor this find is located close to the smelter Jim and I discovered
Re: OLD MEXICAN SMELTER
Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 7:05 am
by Jim Hatt
WOW! Great find Kurt.
From the photos it appears they were digging into decomposed granite, which has been known to carry some fantastic quantities of gold. I have seen samples of decomposed granite, so decomposed that the only thing holding it together, was the was the strings of wire gold in it. You could actually break it apart with your bare hands, and the gold nuggets would just fall out of it.
There may be a lot more to the history of that "Lime Kiln" than we previously suspected.
Can't wait to hear about what you find when you get it crushed and panned.
Best.
Jim
