New-York tribune., 1872-05-23
THE INSTITUTE OF MINING ENGINEERS
SECOND DAYS sEssION-INTEREsTING PAPERS ON
INDIANA BLOCK COAL AND TIE ECONOMICAL
TREATMENT OF ORES BY FUSION.

SECOND DAYS SESSION-INTERESTING PAPERS ON
INDIANA BLOCK COAL AND TIE ECONOMICAL
TREATMENT OF ORES BY FUSION.
Several important papers were read at the
second session of the American Institute of Mining En-
eneers held yesterday at the Cooper Institute The first
on Indiana Block Coal in Competition with Rival
Fuels" by John s. Alexander of Philadelphia, was in
substance as follows:
Chicago has thus far been the chief consumer Of In
diana block coal In the blast furnaces rolling mills,
and BesseIner steel works, the fuel has had a
thorough test with results that lead to the
the Chicago market. The mining firm in Brazil, Indiana
have also contract for 80 tns of block coal per diem
over Chicago in reduced freghtage; Attempts
objection urged TO the block coal is the irregular supply
owing to the badly managed railroad transportation,
but this Will probably be remedied within short time.
Nevertheless there is an opinion that ST. Louis will
eventually be more economically supplied from the
The quality Of iron made at GaTondelet by the use OF
block coal is very SUPERIOR and the coal is equal TO any
poses The yield of the furnaces in which II Is used is
very large, the writer having seen an eghthour cast
tun and the product for the "a hours preceding his visit
was reported by the superintendent TO be Al ns of No
Of 'CUq course. to the use Of CO per cent Iron
Mountain The fun charge in the furnace using the
Iron Mountain and Indiana coal Is p tuns OF 1000
pounds the temperature of the blast usually ranging
from 1909 to 500 Fahrenheit 1t is confidently believed
however that by increasing the size OF the furnaces and
raising the temperature the high points reached else
where 1000 pounds Of this fuel will be ample Tor the pro
duction Of 2.26s pounds Of No. l Foundery pig.
In the opinion of Prof j. W. Foster the straab coal of
Spencer County Indiana & which ta is the finest block coal
density, and its freedom from deleerious substances
would, no doubt, prove peculiarly valuable as
II IS found advantageous TO mix 20 per cent OF
Connensyile coke with the block coal this mixture being
easily managed In the than the coke alone.
III tho different rolling mills in Indianapolis, Chicago,
freely, and that the time and labor expended is
he mills Of Illinois rolled zoos tGns of rails including
IL
production OF 978 tuns OF railroad bars which places
illinois next Pennsylvania in the manufacture OF rails
The block coal is also supersediug the OF wood in
the engines OF many Western railroads Large ship
ment Of this coal made far north Milwaukee
aud Kalamazoo and 3s Of the As Chicago tugboats
peers When the block coal of Indiana is placed upon
the Ohio River, an immense market will be opened.
Dnring last February 1000 tuns of block coal were
ment may safely be made that the block coal fulfs all
the requirements OF firstclass fuel.
John A. Church of New-York read paper Eco
nomical Results in the Treatment Of Gold and Silver
Ores by Fusion" In this paper the results attained
the works at Lend in Austria compared with those
obtained by the mill process in Colorado. The are
the same being suphides OF rOn copper lead and zinc
In a rock which is mainly siliceous The Austrian
ounce of gold and Il ounces of silver TO the tun Of 1900
pounds. Their value is therefore about $40 ls tun.
After describing the process used, which is merely the
ordinary fusion OF pyrtferous with lead the writer
said that n one fusion per cent Of the silver and 90
per cent Of the gold is obtained while subsequent fu
sions bring the yield 90 per cent OF the silver and
30 per cent OF the gold. These the results OF IL
years practice. Beside the precious metals there is
about5 per cent of copper in the ore, and this is
obtained in matte. The cost Is In ma,
terals, II days labor bushels of charcoal (about
800 poundsl threequarters Of cord of wood and 10
pounds of lead Estimating these quantities at the Col
0radO prices the cost OF treatment there would be $40
to s22 un The richer class of Colorado contains
average ounces OF gold and "a ounces Of silver
70 the un, worth about $40 Treated by this process
there would be about $40 tun for mining expenses
and profit, besides all the "copper" which is much bet
ter showing than the mills have yet made The COM
OF the territory worth about S6 tun in gold
and silver The mills extract only about Sl of this or
when the angs sold $40 tun at the hghes at cost
which equals the yield Treated by concentration
and smelling this wouldcOst about $40 10 work
and leave profit OF about - tun which would give
excellent dividends, the amount OF raised very
large Tns proh, does not include the value of the cop
per IN the matte great deal is said about the ancied
imposslbllty OF treating ordinary Western ores Ivy
kme tng, Dut when this method ~ placed in good hands
and receives Oneenth the attention and persistent effort
Which AillIg has Ead, may be that methods
which have long been successful elsewhere will fail
here.
Eokiey a Coke OF PeRnsyysns read paper upon q
new method OF sinking shafts through rock, in
osssfu operation Poikve Penn. After describing
tDe 'ocal geology and the for nnkng the two
shafts, which will be 1900 feet Deep Mr. Core specified
the novelties of the method Instead OF drilling tho