The Stamps

Posted by Steve Rice (Olympia, United States) on 20 July 2011 in Business & Industry and Portfolio.

This was a two stamp mill. The gravel-sized crushed ore would be mixed with water and mercury and pounded into a wet sand consistency. This mixture would be washed down the sluice, in front of the stamps, over mercury coated plates that would trap the gold. This mercury paste would then be retorted to retrieve the gold.

This mill is a much heavier duty version of this one.

Joshua Tree National Park
Part of the Great American West series.

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Comments (33)

Marie LC from Entre montagnes et Bretagne, France

I like very much the colors of the wood and the rust on this image, beautiful warm and alive colors in spite of the time which passed on this place

20 Jul 2011 5:32am

Bill Brown from California, United States

Excellent colors and detail Steve!

20 Jul 2011 5:35am

kitty from Seoul, South Korea

Beautiful warm light. It feels very homely ^^

20 Jul 2011 5:39am

jpla from St Barthélémy d, France

Jolis détails ! Je te souhaite une agréable journée
JP

20 Jul 2011 5:46am

Z from Shanghai, China

Comfortable lights! This is a truly old machine... I like the old industrial stuff!

20 Jul 2011 8:04am

Battements d'Cils (Peggy M) from France

Magnifique rencontre ici, un bois plein d'histoire... j'aime beaucoup. Bises

20 Jul 2011 8:51am

Sarito from Basingstoke, United Kingdom

The tones and texture are really great.

20 Jul 2011 9:12am

Michael Fresh from Chester, United Kingdom

One can still sense the noise and dust, but it's quiet now. An excellent shot and archive document.

20 Jul 2011 9:53am

k@ from Paris, France

I enjoy your light here, it offers delicious tones.

20 Jul 2011 10:06am

Heinz from Hamm, Germany

schönes Licht und gute Farben.

20 Jul 2011 10:25am

MARIANA from Waterloo, Canada

lovely ! tones and texture are very nice !

20 Jul 2011 11:58am

Eric Cousineau from Sherwood Park, Canada

Beautiful light and the general rusty feel of disuse gives this shot a wonderful feel Steve! Nicely captured! ;-)

20 Jul 2011 12:08pm

Williams from East LaHave, Nova Scotia, Canada

Great shot. All that mercury would have today's environmentalists screaming!

20 Jul 2011 12:10pm

PATRICK from miramas, France

superb

20 Jul 2011 12:21pm

Veronique from Hautes-Pyrénées, France

!! very interesting, j'aime !

20 Jul 2011 12:21pm

Stephen from Canberra, Australia

Certainly is a heavy duty version. Great shot of this remarkable piece of industry. Marvelous light you capture here as well.

20 Jul 2011 12:29pm

António Pires from Lisbon, Portugal

Good colors, well exposed picture.

20 Jul 2011 1:07pm

Tede from Aubenas 07, France

A machine that had to go see the nuggets! Too bad there is mercury, which is too polluting. Very nice image. Good day.

20 Jul 2011 2:09pm

Don from Spokane, United States

I like the ambient light with the highlights of direct sunlight. Excellent detail in the wood patterns. This describes a process I was did not know about.

20 Jul 2011 2:39pm

RBL from Oxford, United States

Cool shot, I love the textures, tones and lighting in this shot too!

20 Jul 2011 3:23pm

Viewfinder from Bradenton, FL, United States

Thanks for taking us in close.

20 Jul 2011 4:03pm

Mhelene from Paris, France

very interesting ! Great framing and superb light .

20 Jul 2011 5:01pm

Phil David Morris 2011 from Saskatoon, Toronto, Canada

Could that rock near the bottom left be a chunk of gold, makes you really wonder when
you see a place like this. I don't know if I have picked up the bug yet, but could I leave a
place like this without finding a piece of gold ??!! I somehow doubt it.

20 Jul 2011 5:03pm

Becky from los angeles, United States

this is so interesting - I just love all the information and history we get from you - and this great shot!

20 Jul 2011 5:27pm

john4jack from Corvallis, Oregon, United States

superb capture and processing

20 Jul 2011 5:46pm

Isidro from Barcelona, Spain

Good colors, well exposed picture and processing !

20 Jul 2011 8:19pm

Steven from Chicagoland, United States

What an intriguing process you've shared. Great colors and light.

21 Jul 2011 1:43am

Jason Politte from Conway, AR, United States

Fantastic shot of this machine - love seeing that rusty metal and wood combined in this shot.

21 Jul 2011 2:24am

J.R. from Ginowan, Japan

Neat, not at all like the stamps I use for Air Mail! LOL!

21 Jul 2011 2:44am

Calusarus from St Sorlin en Valloire, France

Very nice with these warm tones

21 Jul 2011 4:30am

Sunder from Chennai, India

Wonderful shot! Nice lighting...

21 Jul 2011 4:38am

Bettina from Los Angeles, United States

Fascinating to see. I love the light you captured and the colors are, as always, great!

21 Jul 2011 4:48am

Anne from 新加坡, Singapore

Wonderful documentary..great series!! the tones and light are awesome..

27 Jul 2011 10:51am

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