slgwv's photos with the keyword: cyanide

Tonopah Mining Museum, Nevada, in the old hoist shack for the Mizpah Mine. That's what the interpretive sign says. Hughes (or rather, his minions) bought up lots of old Nevada mining properties in the late 60s and early 70s, and some tests were actually carried out--altho it was (and is) suspected he was just the latest for fall for a mining scam!

Gold Hill, Nevada. Probably an early cyanide vat--they were made with redwood staves and steel hoops originally.

Antelope mine

Antelope mine. A silver-lead producer. The tails were probably later cyanided for Au. Antelope District, Pershing County, Nevada.

Antelope mine. Another view.

A 1930s era vat made of steel. It is located on the ridge east of the main part of Bodie. There was an attempt to revive Bodie in the early 1930s that foundered due to a fire, because after the fire they couldn't raise additional capital due to the Depression. This historical accident is probably why Bodie is preserved today. Btw, the cyaniding reaction requires oxygen, and hence exposure to the air. That's why the reaction vessels are "vats," implying a relatively shallow container with lots of surface area. It was discovered early on that nothing happened if you just put the cyanide solution and ore together in a tank in the absence of air.

An old one--they made them out of wood (usually redwood) in the old days. Calfornia, USA. Bodie was about the first gold-mining camp in the western US to electrify, and to adopt the cyanide process, both in the mid 1890s.