GOLD.

Hokitika Guardian, 13 December 1924, Page 4

GOLD.

IN SEA WATER. Professor Fritz llaher of the University of Berlin, and inventor of the Haber process for the fixation of nitrogen, who created, somewhat of a .sensation some time ago with the anuouiicemoii that he had devised a method of extruding gold from sea water, now is in the United Stales following this same line of research.

Professor llaher this week requested the United States Bureau of Fisheries to furnish him. samples of the coastal waters of the North American continent for anaylsis. Like a prospector among quartz hills. Professor llaher is literally seeking veins of gold, silver, and other precious metals running through the oceans of the world. He explained to Bureau of Fisheries officials, however, that lie no longer considers his experiments 11s commercially valuable, and is pursuing them only with the hope of increasing scientific knowledge. The actual procuring of gold from sea water is an accomplished fact, he claims, lint the quantities are mi minute and the expense so great that lie believes the process never can he made profitable. But, like a geologist. Professor Haber expects to discover the interrelation of waters, the courses of ocean currents, and the history ol various sections of Hie sea, through the mineral deposits. The amounts of mineral, whether gold, silver or less valuable minerals, differ according to geographic location of the water, and in many cases this difference is very marked. Analysis of water as to its mineral quantities may prove a valuable asset to oceanography, Professor J labor believes, ill! I as analysis recks is valuable 111 I lie geologist io Irariug the history of different, sections of the country.

It was indicated that the Rurea ol Fisheries may comply with Professor Haber’s request, and that the co-pern-tiou of other Government departments dealing with the ocean may he asked. The best available data at present oil the presence of gold in sea water gives the following figures for different locations, hearing out Prolessor Halier’s claims of wide variation, according to locality:— Deep sea water from the Atlantic Ocean has from 0.15 lo 0.207 pari ol gold per million parts of liquid ; water from Christiania Fjord, Norway, from 0.005 to 0.000 ; and from the coast of New South Wales, 0.032 lo O.Otio ; and from the coast ol New Zealand, 0.005 part of metal per million parts of sea water. On land the lowest gold deposits which it has been found profitable to operate contain about 0.11 part ol gold to per million parts of gravel, which does not have to he crushed to extract tlu> precious metal. The granites of California and Nevada have about 0.37 pai ls of gold per million ; the sandstone, 0.03 and the limestone 0.007.

It will lie noted that some sea water contains nearly twice as much gnld as the lowest grade gold deposit on land found profitable to operate.

Professor llaher was in charge of poisin gas research lor the (-erinaii Government during the war and is credited with the developoment of many of the deadly gases used by the Bormans. As inventor of the leading process for taking nitrogen from the air, and making it available lor fertiliser, he lias made all countries independent of the mineral deposits of nitrate, such as tluSo in ('luli.