The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1880-10-19
THE r snELTER.
\ suceessfsl Beginning for the New
Works.

a euecesnful Beginning Tor the New
Works.
The people of this city have watched with
great and growing interest during the past
the mining operations of the Mon
tana Copper Company. Whether an exclu-
sively copper mine, located several thousand
miles away from the eastern centres of trade
and manufacture could be profitably worked
when brought into competition with the cop
per mines of the eastern states and South
America, between which and New York the
freight rates are comparatively low, was a
question which i'll the minds OF many was
very difficult of solution. But the question
has been settled to the eminent satisfaction of
the citizens of Butte and, what is ore i'm
portant, to the satisfaction of those whose
capital is invested in copper inning in this
district.
During the past eight months the Montana
Copper Company has shipped east for reduc- |
ton in the neighborhood of 5000 tons OF
copper ore. That the experiment has been
successful in a financial point of view there
can be no doubt. If it was possible, there
fore, to Ship ore in a crude state and realize a
profit, it was quite obvious to the company
that the reduction of the ore where produced
would result in a far greater profit. Besides
this, a vast amount of low grade ore was of ne
cessity extracted in order to allow the "sort-
ing" of the shipping ore. This carrying too
low a percentage of copper to warrant the cost
of transportation, the question next arising
was: can this low grade ore be utilized !? The
solution of this question was next attempted,
and there is every reason to believe that it
| will prove a satisfactory one.
Arrangements were al once made for the
erection OF concentrating and smelling works
which have been in process of erection during
the past summer, and which, since last Mon
day, have been making a trial IN. The
buildings cover an area of $4,000 square feet.
They are fitted up with two thirty-five horse
power boilers and a thirty horse power en-
CINE, which are found amply sufficient to
furnish the required motive power. The
process employed, though seemingly compli-
Gated, is, in reality, a simple one. In the con-
cent.ator, the ore is first fed into a rock break
er of the Blake pattern, from which it de-
sends and passes through large rollers. From
these it is elevated to a set of four sizing
screens. The coarser particles which do not
pass through. the screens are then conveyed
to a pair of small rollers, after which the ore
is again elevated to the screens, through
which it all has to pass before it is subjected to
the next treatment. From the screens the
bulk of the ore descends into several sets Of
j~iggers, which are manipulated in such a
manner that the Lighter PARTICLES are thrown
to the surface and washed, away, while the
metallic portion settles to the bottom and is
saved. That portion of the ore, hewever
? which is pulverized in its passage through
the rollers and Is too fine for the jigger pro
cess is concentrated by a different process
1t descends from the screens to a pair of Frut
v~anners, made of wide bands of rubber which
turn on two rollers placed at either end 0
the machine.
In addition to its revolving motion the van
ner has a short, jerky side motion, the YER.
8 singular result being that when the shines
, mixed with a proportion of water, descend t
the rubber table (Which has a slight inclina
tion) the non-mine,al particles are carrie
downward and washed away, while the m {
tallic particles proceed in an opposite dire
ton and descend to the floor from the uppe
:, ;, end. After the ore has been concentrated
either in the jiggers Or on the v~anners, it
elevated again to the reverberatory furnace
where it is de%sulphurized and prepared ft
the mating furnace. The latter will probi
, bly, be fired up tomorrow, when its exact CO
pac;ty will be ascertained.
The smelter has been built and fitted U
under the personal and experienced superv
sion of Mr.. A. Warte weller, who has bee
. untiring in giving the closest possible attel
4 ton to every detail of the work, which
perfect in every particular. The gentlema
!, is certainly to be congratulated on the SUI
cessful completion OF an enterprise requirir
such a combination OF practical and scientit
skill.
Most of the machinery for the interior
Il the building has been set up by Mr.. S. Tu
tie, who has demon strated his thorough a
quaintance with the mechanical portion
i the work. Mr.. John ~Broughall, who set ,
the eng ne and boilers, will remain as m
- cninist and engineer for the company, f
which, as is already known, Mr.. Sally Rau
!, helm acts as general business manager.
l. Progress OF The Railroad.