In 1880 a chlorination plant (the Davis and Tyson Metallurgical "Works) was erected two miles south of Salisbury, 2s. C. The process used was known as the Davis process, which differed from the Mears only in the method of precipitating the gold with charcoal instead of ferrous sulphate. These works were in spasmodic operation on custom ores for several years.
In 1881 a Davis plant was erected at the Reimer mine, North Carolina, but was shortly burned down, before thorough testing.
In 1882 the Plattner chlorination process was introduced at the Tucker mine, North Carolina, but was not successful, and in the following year the Clears process was substituted, which also had a short existence here. These failures were, however, most probably due to the impracticable application of the methods rather than to the character of the methods themselves.
Experiments were made several years ago by Mr. P. G. Lidner at the Brewer mine in South Carolina, and at Dahlonega, Ga., with a chlorination process for treating the ore in bulk; and a plant for a patent electrolytic-chlorination process was erected in 1895 at the Clopton mine, Villa Rica, Ga. None of these have, however, met with practical success.
At the present time the Thies process is in successful use at the Haile mine, South Carolina, and the Franklin and Royal mines, Georgia.
THE CYANIDE PROCESS.
The cyanide process has so far found but little application in the South. In May, 1892, Mr. Richard Eames, of Salisbury, K C, experimented with cyanide at the Gold Hill mine, N. C, extracting 60 per cent of the assay value. In the summer of 1893, a 10-ton cyanide plant was working at the Moratock mine, N. C, but the operations were soon relinquished here on account of the low grade and character of the ore. Later in the same year, a cyanide plant was in operation at the Gilmer mines in Goochland county, A^a.; with what success could not be ascertained. At the Tranklin mine, Ga., a treatment of the ores with cyanide was attempted before the introduction of the chlorination process. It proved successful on the oxidized tailings from the old dumps; but the extraction from fresh sulphurets was insufficient to warrant its continuation.
In 1895 cyanide experiments wTere made at the Sawyer mine, in Randolph county, N. C, but were soon abandoned. In 1896 a 30-ton cyanide plant was erected at the Russell mine, N. C, by the American Cyanide Gold and Silver Recovery Company of Denver, Col., and a small plant was also built at the Cabin Creek (Burns) mine, N. G, by the same company, but neither of these has yet been put in practical operation.
