Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1877-01-12
SMELLING.
WHAT IS DAILY LOST.
A >hance for Inventors.

Have we reached the limit of our in
ventive faculties in our smelling pro-
cesses? We have made an immense
stride from the first crude operations
of II early history, and the present
furnaces are a vast improvement, but
if n examines the methods he will
find that we are very far from perfec-
ton, the loss entailed by the present
workings being fully twenty per cent.
of the assay value of the ores extract.
ed. The largest item of loss to the
smelter is the vol~atiliZatIon of the ore,
resulting in a dust carried off with the
fumes, aided by the force of the blast.
1t is estimated hat this will to
thirteen per cent. of all the ore smelt-
ed. The loss in the Stag and iron will
reach from seven to eight per cent.
more, and 1t is doubtful if the vein
matter is worked even AS close as that.
The total loss will aggregate at least
twenty per cent.-a fearful waste and
serious in its results. There have
been many attempts to solve the dust
problem, and it is claimed that at
some of the furnaces where it is re-
worked that the lead and silver are
extracted by this final process, but
upon examination it will be found that
the operation reduces the capacity of
the furnaces to such a degree that
there remain no practical results. The
Eureka Consolidated recognizes this
fact and contents itself with saving
the lust from the chambers, and storing
it in anticipation of some cheap method
DE nr@ lao a., Al
Richmond Company mixes the dust
with clay and feeds it to the furnaces
in the shape of a slime, using about
ten tons per day. experienced smelt
ers argue hat nothing is gained by
this method, eve if the lead and sill
yer are extracted by the second work.
ing. The dust has already cost as
much in the way of fuel and labor a.
if smelted by the first process, and its
r%eworking represents thirteen per cent.
additional fuel, power and labor ex-
pended in expelling the mois-
ture. and the capacity of the
furnaces is reduced ten IONS per
day, without any economical gain. The
working capacity of the Eureka Con-
solidated furnaces are at least ten ions
per day in eAcess of the Richmond,
and the company are accommodating a
valuable property in the lust saved
from their dust chambers. The de-
sideratum is not a process that will ex-
tract the precious metal from the waste,
but a more perfect smelling method,
one that will prevent the original loss,
or in other words a closer working to the
dry assay value. Our ores can be work
ed by no other known process, and
nature has done a great deal to further
our success in this line. The materials
for fiuxing are a part of the ores, or
abound in the vicinity. We are highly
favored in this respect, a there is no
deposit of ore in the world hat COM
bines in so great a degree the elements
necessary for their successful reduc-
ton. We have made progress in ev-
cry direction but the improvement of
our furnaces and reduction of the loss
in waste; but here we are at a stand
still. Every dollar gained in smelling
the ore il n net increase in the value OF
our mines, a step forward in industrial
progress, and will add to the further
development Of the of East
ern Nevada. An experiment on a
small scale was made by one Of u
mining superintendents, and was a
success, but the furnace used in the
test was so small that while demon
strating the practicability of the in
vention il gave no permanent results.
We hope the gentleman will be in
duced TO build a furnace of a capacity
sufficient to test the merits of his in
vention, and that we may be able TO
record its complete success.