The Black range. (Robinson, Socorro County, N.M.) 1882-1897, 1884-03-07
BOOM I!
THE COMMENTATOR
Began Crushing Ore Yester-
day.
II Works Like a Charm and
Chloride's Future is
Assured.

SSA Sos
The successful working of the Chic
ride concentration is no longer a matter
of doubt. The machinery has been
tested on the hardest rock and most
difficult ore to concentrate of all those
expected to be handled by it, and the
skill and expedition with which 1t per-
forms the labor expected of it brings
pleasure to all who are in the least in
terested in its success. Chloride is en-
thusiastic; Ii. N, Castle. president and
manager of the Black Range Milling
company, owner, is delighted, and j..
b. Milford the superintendent of con
structiOn is perfectly satisfied. Con-
trary to the oft reiterated predictions
of the timOrOus or the malicious the
water supply has not failed, the engine
did not settle in six hours, the engine
has ample power to do its work and to
spare, there was no smash up the first
day, the gearing vas in perfect line. the
machinist evidently understood his
business, the building appears to be
satisfactorily braced and is not likely
to require immediate rebuilding, the
foundations are strong, and finally the
whole institution, manager, mechanic
and machinery is not a tenderfoot out
fit devoid of common sense, skill or
value. The whole thing works like a
charm, and the lrrepressible croaker
is compelled to use his ice water on
something else hereafter.
THE START.
Ore was first fed into the rapacious
crusher yesterday, March 9th, 1884, at
one o'clock p. m. Button ore was used
for the start it being the only mineral
yet in the bins. The Button was prov
ed by previous experiment to be the
most difficult to concentrate of all the
ores in the camp and it was reluctantly
used to make the first test.
The Silver Monument ore, which is
the easiest of separation, was desired
for the start, but the teams sent for it
not arriving the Button ore was used.
The result was entirely satisfactory.
The crusher crushed 1t, the rollers pull
verified it partially, the screens screen.
ed it, the jigs sifted it, the pulverizer
for the tailings ground them to a pow
der, the vanners and tables did their
duty and finally the tailings that accom-
the ever present flow of water
to the gulch outside was white as lime
itself. Everything was perfect. Not
a belt slipped, not a box grated and the
two hundred revolutions per minute OF
the heavy balance wheel of the engine
moving all the ponderous machinery
gave the building scarcely more than a
%perceptlble jar. There were anxious
eyes watching the first operation of the
pioneer machinery in Chloride but the
drawn brows relaxed and every heart
beat more regularly when the white
slime began passing through the waste
troughs.
THE PLANT.
The Chloride concentration is a wet
process works of a capacity of sixty
tons per day. The boiler connected
with 1t furnishes motive force of
seventy-hve horsepower and an up
right steamboat engine of seventy
horsepower drives the machinery. The
water is taken from the well at the rate
of seventy.two gallons per minute and
deposited in a tank of a capacity of
six thousand gallons. About five min
er's inches of water is required to dc
successful work when running at full
speed. The building is 30xS5x20 in di.
mansions, being built with a view OF
enlarging the capacity of the mill at
any time desirable. An assay office
2OxS0 is conveniently located ard
blacksmith shop complete in all appoint
ments adjoins the engine house. Ore
bins of a capacity of 100 tons are con-
nected with the crusher by a track on
which a car brings in a load of ore
} through the slight effort of one man
The machinery most of which was pur'
chased new while the remainder has
had very little use, consists of a Blake
crusher, cornish rolls with Pueblo stee
shells, Bradford revolving screens
iigs and slime tables, Embry vanners
and Thompson pulverizer for working
the tailings. The Bradford system Ii
followed as to the manner of combining
and using, with several new point:
which are original with Messrs. Castle
and MILFORD. The plant as it now
stands is capable of readily working
the hardest ore in the Black range will
a speed of forty tons per day at a say
ing of from eighty to ninety per cent
of the assay value of the ore. This ii
twenty to fifty per cent. better than il
generally done by concentrators. Tit
r~eworking of the tailings is n of thu
features which is novel, only two other
instances being known where this il
used. The idea of this saving which
r. II-aa 10 TON 1nlta ~ q