Abstract
THE molecular distribution of the metal in alloys of gold and of metals of the platinum group has been described by me in several papers, the most important of which has been published in the Philosophical Transactions. New interest in the subject has however arisen in connection with the extraordinary development in various parts of the world, and especially in South Africa, of certain processes which are now employed for extracting gold from its ores. Their use has been attended with the introduction into this country of a series of alloys of gold and of the base metals, which have hitherto rarely been met with in metallurgical industry. The base metals associated with the gold in these cases are usually the very ordinary ones lead and zinc; but their presence in the gold has given rise to unexpected difficulties, as the distribution of the precious metals in the ingots which now reach this country is so peculiar, that it is not possible to estimate the value of the ingots by taking the pieces of metal required for assay, by any of the well-known methods at present in use.
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MATTHEY, E. On the Liquation of Certain Alloys of Gold1. Nature 54, 256–258 (1896). https://doi.org/10.1038/054256b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/054256b0