Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1878-04-03
SMELLING IN COLORADO.

A correspondent gives the following
account Of smelling operations at
Black Hawk, Colorado, which will
doubtless prove interesting to the
miners of this section /; "The Boston
and Colorado Smelling Works, prob
ably the best paying stock in the world,
are situated in the gulch, right under
the towering mountains, and, with
their acres of buildings and yards, their
tall chiinneys sending up back smoke
and sulphur fumes, their side tracks
from the railroad covered with trains
OF ore from every section Of the State,
their hundreds of busy men, all tell
loudly of the industry that is carried on
within. AT the business office We
were received by Mr.. Henry X. VOL
colt, the superintendent, and obtained
bis, written order tn be conducted
ilirongh tile establishment. We pass
throtigh III IMMENSE shed filled With
heap, Of ores of every grade, color u
value, awaiting their turn u be roast
ed. Here is a heap If telIurlum ore
from Boulder county, third class,
worth about 81 200 per ton, and here
i another from the same lode for
which WAS paid S20,000 per ton. We
will not price the other heaps; they
are two Insignificant. Besides, we
must see how these fabulous sums
OF money are extracted from
the frockJ and dirt that looks
so valu.less. We will take each
process in regular order. Thuse hea ps
Of dirt there from which you zee the
sulphurou- smoke rising. consist OF
ores containing sulphur, zinc and lead,
which must gO through this roasting
process, for three months in order to
prepare them Tor a second processes
passage through the Blake crusher and
CORNISH roller. which p%ontierous ma
chimes reduces them to small particles.
These are then thrown into large fur
naces-about u tons To a Charge
aud subjected to an Immense heat
from five to seven hours. BY this
time the whole is a liquid mass; the
base metals being the lighter, are
skinned off, forming those ugly
blocks you zee, called Stag. The gold,
silver aud copper remain together ami
are drawn of into beds OF sand, and
when cold ARE black ,unshapeiy Jumps,
called matte. We will not follow these
into the mill, where they are ground
AS fine as -four, for the dust is intoler-
able. But we see here the black flour
AS it comes from the mill; we see it
again roasted in furnaces; we ste il
taken to a department where it is
placed in large wooden tubs or barrels;
streams OF hot water are run through
these, carrying with it,, through
a wooden spigot at the BOT
tom vi the barrel. the pure silver
which Is deposited IN wooden trough>
lined with copper. The last Roasting
had formed sulphdte Ut silver, and the
hot water had liberated the silver from
the solution. The silver, 9994 fine.
has only TO be taken out at intervals,
the gliltering white Hour Is pressed
into cakes. melted n run into bars,
which are sold in New York above the
Mint silver. The remainder in the
is gold and copper. We ave seen
now as far A. Wa can see, The separa
tion of these metals is the great secret
OF these works, and is performed en-
tirely by Prof. Richard PIERCE. the dis.
Of the process. But we are
informed that in sumo mysterious WAY
the pure gold is separated from the
copper; that the remainder i 10 per
copper, and is finally converted
into pure copper bars, ami that the gold
and silver product for the year 1877
will be 81, $50 900 and the copper $780,
900. Five huge furnaces keep their
fires burning day and night, seven
of the week. One hundred men
labor increasingly by relays, and 81, 800
of metals ARE turned out every twenty
four hours. 1t is a bonanza Tor its
Boston owners.