Cross-Cuts GOLDEN GRIDDLE

“Pure unalderated gold would make a superb frying pan because it diffuses heat more evenly than iron or copper. Being chemically more stable than copper, iron or stainless steel, it is even less prone to impart a taste. Such a frying pan might weigh, say, 26 troy ounces. The gold (of which it consists) would cost about $14,000 (us) at current prices, apart from the fabricating cost.” The information above comes from a book written by noted precious metals authority Thomas Mohide. It was published by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources in 1981, and we felt you might like to know that the gold frying pan would only cost about $9,633 (us) at today’s prices. It’s a deal you can’t pass up. UP, UP, AWAY * * *

Former U.S. astronaut and senator from New Mexico, Harrison H. Schmitt, says mining could spark a revitalized space program. The exploration/ development target could be helium-3, which Apollo astronauts discovered in lunar soil samples retrieved from the moon, he said in the July issue of AMC Journal.

“Indeed, fusion power plants fueled by helium-3 from the moon could supply the electrical energy human civilization will require to maintain and expand its quality of life as we move through the 21st century with 10 billion or more inhabitants.” NICKEL VALUE SURPASSES GOLD

What a difference a year can make. In 1987, nickel production in Ontario topped out at 130.2 million kg. The value of that output was $869.3 million. In 1988, the province produced 142.3 million kg, only a minor production increase. But the value of that metal skyrocketed to $2.2 billion. As a result, the value of nickel produced shot past the value of gold the province produced by about $1 billion. In both years, gold production reached a value of roughly $1 billion, according to statistics supplied by Energy, Mines and Resources Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines. A CAUTIONARY TALE

“A number of men with scientific tendencies were making experiments with dynamite on a lonely mountain tarn in Wales. A dynamite cartridge with a time fuse attached was thrown into the water so as to allow the men to judge the power of the explosive from the volume of water thrown up by the explosion. While the operation was going on a sportsman, accompanied by his dog, appeared on the scene, and as the dynamite was thrown into the lake the dog, true to its natural instinct, instantly sprang into the water, seized the cartridge, and brought it ashore.

“The owner of the animal, realizing what was being done, shrieked to the dog to drop his dangerous prize, but the faithful animal insisted on carrying it to his master, who incontinently took to flight followed by the experimentalists, whi with difficulty kept the dog at bay by a continuous shower of stones. Ultimately the fuse exploded, blowing the unfortunate animal to pieces, while his master and friends narrowly escaped the same fate.”

(Reprinted from Downline, a periodical published by ICI Explosives International Ltd. This unhappy incident was first reported in “Strange Uses of Explosives,” published circa. 1910). For modern explosives-handlers, ici recommends the following precautions: DON’TS BECAUSE 1. Don’t let it melt * increased probability of

decomposition 2. Don’t let it get damp * lowers melting point 3. Don’t allow contami- * they all increase proba-

tion by: bility or rate of

— organics decomposition

— metal powders

— chlorides 4. Don’t confine it * decomposition transits

to explosion

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