GOLD IN THE CHIMNEY.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIX, Issue 59, 1 July 1914, Page 4

GOLD IN THE CHIMNEY.

It was stated a short time ago that over £2OO worth of gold was extracted from the soot of a chimney of ; the Royal Mint at Berlin when it ' was swept. It is interesting to know that at the London Mint, whenever the periodical cleaning of the chimneys takes place, many pounds' worth of silver and gold particles are discovered in the soot, When an American gold and silver refinery moved its works a year or two ago, the chim-! neys and the underground flue that connected the furnaces were found to be permeated with gold and silver settings. The valuable metals were abstracted, and it was said at the' time that no less than £20,000 was realised from the soot. Several of the rooms in the various mints of the world are spread with c»r P ets. and after a time the oarpets are.literally worth their weight in gold. During the handling of coins while undergoing the various processes of manufacture, minute portions of gold are swept to the floor, and are trodden into the carpets. It is the. custom to bum the, mint carpets atter they have been in use for a considerable period, in order to obtain the gold embedded in them. One such carpet, when destroyed recently in a furnace, yielded several ounces of gold.