Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1878-10-02
TEACHING.
what the salt Lake "Tribune- says
About the Pro~e~s A. Utah

nnt INC Saht Lake Nay
About n Process fn Utah.
1t has been noised abroad about expert
ments that were to he made at the old
Lennon mill below the Eureka CONSOLE
dated furnaces, and we have said nothing,
hoping to hear Of good results and then
calculating to tell what we know and could
find out about this comparatively new pro-
cess, for the benefit Of our readers. From
what we hear and can learn Of it's work
through the Salt Lake Tribune, it is a sue
cess wherever tried by experienced men,
but like all new projects, fails under the
supervision Of big-headed ignoramuses,
who rush ahead on "chin music alone.
not stopping to count the Price Of labor or
the value Of the ore.
A year, or less, ago, the excitement over
in Utah was at its hight in regard to leach
ing, and all q man needed TO secure him
the superintendency Of new works at old
mines was a pair Of goggles, a loaded ex-
preston to the complexion, and a signii-
cant silence as regarded chemical knowl-
edge. He was gobbled up Immediately as
the man who would run out Of those ten
thousand conglomerate dumps Of shale and
bits of quartz untold millions. The class
Of men who live, nobody knows how. but
they live and dress well by an occasional
excitement, wherein good clothes and a
little smooth talk governs the u%nsuspecting
miner-who, by the way, almost ALWAYS is
ready to overestimate his projec.-this
class, We say, came nigh bringing the
lesehing process in Utah into bad repute !;
but the few who did understand the bust
ness, and who were reliable, have STAYED
by and their results are, SO far, salts
factory.
The process OF Mr.. Holden, who works
in the Old Telegraph ore, close by Salt
Lake City, is about as follows The orc is
put through a pair Of Cornish rollers, from
which it is conveyed to the teacher and
dumped into the tanks. These tanks. of
which there are ten, with a capacity Of fl
teen tons each, are constructed of redwood,
and are necessarily water-tight. About
-four inches from the bottom and supported
by cross-pieces, is a network Of wood
covered with ordinary coacoa nut mating,
through which the liquor filters after per-
c~olating through the ore and taking up a
proportion q silver, which is held in solu-
ton. By means Of numerous taps placed
along the lower part OF the tank, the liquor
is then drawn off from the false bottom
into the precipitating tanks below. The
latter receive the liquor in a perfectly clear
state, and what is generally known as cal
cium, or more correctly poly sulphide Of
calcium, is added in proper quantities and
thoroughly stirred, the result being to
separate and precipitate to the bottom all
the metal dissolved and taken up by the
liquor in its passage through the ore. The
sulphide OF calcium, as all chemists will
readily understand. is composed Of sulphur
and lime, united in certain quantities. 1t
is generally made by adding one pound Of
sulphur to four or five Of lime, boiling the
ingredients briskly for several hours.
One gallon Of this solution, il properly
made, will take up about one-half pound
Of silver.
The nature Of the teaching liquor itself
is not generally understood, though its
manufacture is extremely simple. There
are several solvents known to those we'll
informed on the subject. which might be
employed in the the business of teaching
more or less probably but Mr.. Holden
seems to to have selected a solution of the
hypo sulphite Of soda, and his success in
operating with it is perhaps the best evil
dence Of its value.
Great accuracy and much scientific skill
are required to properly regulate the
strength Of the liquor. 1t is an error to
suppose that the stronger it is made, the
better will be the results for II too much
soda be added. the bases Of the ore are
attacked, and the liquor speedily under
goes a chemical change sueh as to render
it comparatively valuolcss.
The gentlemen experimenting here
their business thoroughly, and their
success with our ores will be judged by
their future operations, which we shall be
ready and glad to give the SENTINEL. read
ers ut the earliest convenience.
or the enthusiastic teacher, who got dis
couraged and got in debt. now sits on a
rock overlooking the city Of Salt Lake, ard
bats his eyes like a toad under a cab
bage leaf. and who is ready to pronounce
the process a dead failure" 4 late copy Of
the ''Tribune" says
We are induced to believe, however, that
the fault rests with the teachers themselves
rather than with the process. Men be-
came too enthusiastic and expended their
means before they ascertained what they
could accomplish. They should have put
the ore they intended to work through a
series Of experiments, and should have
demonstrated on a small scale what they
could do on a large one. Efforts should
have been made to secure suitable ore con
tanning little else than silver In a chloride
form, instead Of jumping at dumps not
susceptible of treatment. The higher
of ore should have been sought in
stead Of the most worthless dirt that could
procured, for the fact that passably low
grade ore can be worked TO a profit is no
argument against the ~expediency of secur-
ing high grade ore, as the profit is pro-
portionately larger, while the cost of man
ipulation remains the same. Then again,
and frequent assaying should be
to, for no intelligent progress can
be made unless the value Of the ore, before
and after being worked, is fully determined.
precaution should be taken against
the spilling of liquor, the manufacture Of
which should also be thoroughly under
stood. If it is made too strong, the bases
of the ore are attacked, and a sulphate
formed in which the chloride Of silver is
not soluble.