The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1880-10-12

The Stockton Independent describes a new
process Of roasting in connection with chic
~rination works near Murphy's. A prospect
i've revolution in quartz mining is claimed as
the result. 1t says: The point of interest
in the mill is the new roasting process. This
is according to the patent OF Il. A. Willard,
taken out three years ago, and was never
practically tested on a large scale until now.
The ore has sulphurets, also free gold, and
contains sulphur, iron, anthony, galena and
zinc blend, arsenical iron, copper pyrites and
gray copper. Any Of these combinations may
be worked by this process. The ore is
crushed dry, then elevated into a screw con-
veyor and mixer, mixed with saWdust, dam
pened and carried to a bin above the furnaces.
The bottom of the furnace is a perforated
iron plate, and but little fuel is used under
meath. The heat is low, combustion and
heat by means of the sawdust among the par
ticles of ore. An air blast underneath the
perforated bottom of the furnace forces air
/ through the mass through the intcrstices left
| in the place of the consumed sawdust, oNid-
izing the metals and preparing them more
perfectly for chlorination than by any other
process yet devised. Sulphur, arsenic, anti
mony and some zinc are driven of by the air
blast. The roast is a dead one and entirely
free from sulphatc of iron. In working sill
YER ore where a chiorination is wanted, two
per cent. to five per cert. of salt Is added.
From three to six hours are occupied in roast
ing, according to tire ore. After the ore is
| roasted it is thrown out on the cooling floor
and passed through Cornish rolls and then
passed into the COLONIZATION building on the
upper floor. Thu floor occupies one-half the
width of the building. On the floor stand
! ten tanks two and a half tons capacity, each
with false or movable bottoms. In these the
finely pulveriZed ore is placed, dampened
and chlorine gas introduced, underneath by
pipes, dissolving the gold and silver. The
ore is then covered with water andthe precious
metals leached oft into ten tanks on The floor
beneath, where it is precipitated in the form
of a black sylvia mass. three-tourtlls gold in
bulk,
The water is then drawn, the mass collect
ed in the laboratory, where Mr.. Morse, the
chemist, by the aid Of chemicals, cleans up
the gold. They are particularly successful
with galena and zinc ore, getting higher re-
turns than by any other process. They en-
tract 90 per cent of the assay. They own the
Willard patcnt.rislt in Calaveras county and
have sold one right to Il company who have
erected IA mill at West Point. They are do
ing some custom work., charging Slu per ton
for ore. They ar" working two out of halt
a dozen mines which they "wn. and run the
mill steadily. In their mine (the Orc Plata
the foot-wall streak ASSAYS Sl:i5 per ton. The
: other. a hanging-wail seven feet thick, assay:
$50 per ton. They propose to erect concen'
,ration works and enlarge their capacity
They can concentrate for Sl.io per ton, re
ducing from - II 100 tons OF rock to the
weight and bulk of one ton. They can thei
concentrate and clnlorinaIe for from 81 to 81
per ton. In tins way much custom work may
be done, low-grade rock crushed at a dis
tance. the free gold extracted, and the sui
- ,-t1R lLa,n 4 ana n M ROT o.
sometimes yield $1,000 per ton. MessrS
Blaisiall, Morse, ami Wheeler have ~fnveste,
$50, 900 up to date, and propose to increas'
their capital to $4,000 this fall.
PIRn GAG assortment inst re