Arizona silver belt. [volume] (Globe City, Pinal County, Ariz.) 1878-19??, 1883-09-01
Robb'ss RumbIeS.
Three New Appliances for the Treat
ment of Ores.

W Soeii w w ~ iSNoS1 hif'N
The acme has not been reached yet,
though human ingenuity has taxed
itself, seemingly, to its utmost limit.
It is question if it ever will be.
Smelling, amalgamating and lixivia-
ting ores need distinctive treatments;
and each of these present new constit-
uents, or changing quantities of them.
The perfect machines, when they do
come, will need to be supplemented by
perfect chemical and metallurgical
knowledge. Scientific empiricism and
guessing must give place to demon
stable facts.
| had the pleasure of visiting, while
in Boston, the foundry where the va
por fuel is used for the smelling Of
pig iron. The readers of The BELT
will remember a description of the
vapor fuel furnace which is being
erected at the Old Dominion works
in Globe. 1t was substantially cor
rect. have not been able to discover
that ores have been smelted by the
use of this fuel, but the attempt will
shortly be made in South Boston.
The claim is made that the cost of
smelling, using the hydro-carbon
flame as reducing agent, will not be
greater than one-sixth that of coke
forty gallons of crude petroleum will
do as much work as one ton Of the
best coal. The intensity of the fame
is an acknowledged fact; and the in
evitable law which makes the heavier
portions of molten mass sink to the
bottom while the lighter rise to the
surface would seem to settle the ques-
ton of the practical application of this
fuel to the reduction of smelling ores.
When the fuel for ton Of copper ore
can be laid down in Globe for IS or
S10-as petroleum would be with the
Arizona Mineral Belt railroad built.
instead of the $50 it costs now, a 5per
cent ore would be better proposition
than the IA per cent ores now used.
While | was in Boston | also saw a
most remarkable ore concentrator.
Our old friend, Col. Newcomb, is the
agent for it. It is remarkable for its
small size.17 inches in diameter: is
its weight, lo5 pounds; its perfect ac
ton; its simplicity and its cheapncss-
5000 and an insignificant royalty. If
you saw the little thing and were told
that it could handle 40 tons of ore in
day, you would scracely believe it,
The crushed ore drops through q hop
per into the cylinder, into which
streams Of water enter through per-
forated bottom. The water is forced
in and rises through the mass, which
is kept constantly stirred by means of
series of iron teeth fastened to a re-
volving cover. The agitation of the
ore is even and perfect, and the lighter
matter-the gaugue-rises to the top
and passes off with the water, while
the heavier, the concentrates, are
drawn off at the bottom, The opera
ton is continuous. 1t is little giant,
and at the same time is simplicity
itself.
OF the third machine, | can say lit
tle--it is the Hamilton lead bath pro-
cess Last summer while | was in
New York, | sent Il full description of
it to the BELT, and predicted its fail
ure, because the means employed to
get the pnlverized and desulphurized
ore into the lead were totally made
quate to the work. The whole system
in that respect has been changed; and
now, instead of expecting the weight
Of the ore, confined in a IA inch cyl
inder, to force it into the lead, it is
carried into it by ingeniously con-
structed buckets attached to endless
chains. The buckets empty at the
bottom, and the ore passing through
the lead leaves the gold behind. An
inverted cone is placed in the bath to
prevent the massing of ore-as it rises
it strikes the cone, is broken up, passes
over a series of plates, is delivered
over the edge of the tub or vat, in the
form Of clean tailings, and the gold
remains in the lead and forms an
amalgam. AS the machine is con-
Structed now, its cost is much less
than the first one. and it certainly
ought to be more effective. | have
not seen it in operation. There can
be no doubt about the correctness of
the amalgamating principle involved,
the only room for doubt is about get
ting the ore into the bath, and keep
ing it there long enough to effect its
complete disintegration, so that the
metal may be liberated, and made
ready for the lead. Mr. Hmilton is
thoroughly equipped man. scientif-
cally and practically, and l feel sure
that his industry and persistency will
he rewarda1