Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1881-10-04
THE HAMILTON PROCESS.
NEW AND CHEAP METHOD OF REDUCING
ORES,

The American Exchange Of Septem-
Der 17th, has the following relative to
the new method of working ores,
which is now being practically tested
in New York city:
The inventor Of the machine and the
general manager of the company,
which is known as the Hamilton Re-
duction Works, is Walter Hamilton, a
mineralogist and assayer Of many
years experience, and graduate of
the University of Frieberg. He has
devoted nearly ten years to the per-
lection of his process.
He claims for it, that it will reduce
any quality of ore, be it what it may,
at a cost Of about 81 per ton, leaving
tailings from which not vestage of
metal can be extracted afterwards,
and furnishing as result of its oper-
alton perfect amalgam, every part
Of which will be equally charged with
the precious metal. The works now
in course of erection, and the smaller
machine, which has previously been in
operation, and with which numerous
experimental tests have been made
with the most satisfactory results,
have been examined by experts and
pronounced perfect, not only for the
completeness of their details, but as
we'll from the simplicity of their con-
struction aud the fact that neither wa.
ter nor chemicals are called into use
in the process of reduction. The ma
chine heretofore used at the works
was little more than working-model,
although it had a capacity of reducing
100 pounds of ore in twelve minutes.
With this machine ores from the Com
stock, Silver Cliff and other mines
have been worked to the best advan-
tage, and it, as is hoped, the larger
works will perform the work as we'll,
the success of the company is assured.
So well satisfied are those who have
examined it of its ultimate and COM
pete success that orders have already
been received for 500 machines OF ca
pacities varying from 25 to 100 tons
per day, these orders, Of course, being
all made dependent upon the success
of the works now in course of erec-
ton, and of which the following is a
brief descriptions:
The ore to be reduced is first pass
ed through the ordinary Blake crusher.
after which it passes between a series
of discs, which revolve together with
a curious movement, and placed at
varying distances above each other
This reduces the most refractory ore
to powder as fine as ordinary -four
in which condition it falls into chan
mel and is carried along an endless
belt distance of perhaps forty feet.
Here it is taken up by elevators into
the dust chamber and conveyed by a
revolving screw shaft into a rotary
furnace constructed of iron and liled
with iii e-brick, where it is thoroughly
heated, the furnace, by means Of shaft
ing, being kept constantly revolving.
Thence it is conveyed to the top part
of vacuum machine, in which it pas
ses through a peculiar and entirely
new process, and then passes into a
bath of twenty-five tons of molten
lead. From this point it is made to
pass between curious system of
plates, whereby the ore is brought into
intimate and absolute contact with
every part Of the lead, which occupies
a little over one minutes time. The
actual capacity Of this portion of the
machine is twenty-five tons, but as the