Quicksilver has so
strong an affinity for gold, that the minutest particle of the latter
having once touched, it is deprived of the possibility of escape; and
when the process of washing has been completely gone through, the
whole mass of gold particles will be found bound together by the
quicksilver into a compact lump, in size and shape often resembling an
egg. The gold is thus obtained in the form of an amalgam; but the
quicksilver is easily evaporated, if its loss be of no consequence, or
separated without loss by a more scientific process.
We have more than once used the word _prospecting_, which, we believe,
is peculiar to this kind of mining. The deposits of gold are so
capricious, that the adventurers, in order to lose as little time as
possible in removing from place to place, detach one of their number
on the hunt for a mine--and this is called prospecting. He sets out
with a few provisions, a rifle, a pick and shovel, at all events, with
a pan and large knife; and on reaching some hopeful-looking locality,
he makes experiments on the soil by washing. The considerations that
determine his calling the company to the spot are of course influenced
by the circumstance of their having a common or a quicksilver cradle.
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