Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1885-01-27
OUR LOCAL SMELTER.
1T NJ AGAIN IL TINE MARKEC,
AGAINST THE WORLD,

.A0v Uthef WORKS IN the M9rKet-uOe
Work Done BY Superintendent Aoul-
asu During the Past Iear-Etc.
After over one year spent in alter
ing the works, in experimenting, de-
rebuilding, adding to the
plant, organizing, disorgan,zing, and
recognizing the working force, the
Ketchum reduction works Of the Phila.
deIphia Mining aud SIN l,ing Com
pany have again entered the field as
competitors against the world, on all
classes of orc. There is now no ore so
poor, none so rich, but that the Phila
deIphia Company will not pay at least
as good prices for as can be got from
any othex smelling institution in the
world.
Nor is this all. On certain classes
Of ore, the Philadelphia Company is,
and will remain, ready to overbid the
world. For instance, let the seller
take ore carrying 50 per cent or less
of lead to any sempli"g works, get
his assays, go the rounds Of the ore
buyers, then 60 to the Philadelphia
works, and he will get more from
them than he can from any other buy.
ers. If the ore carries IS to IS per
cent of lead he can still do rs we'll
with the home smelter as he can with
the outside. He can probably do even
better by dollar or two on the ton;
because the Philadelphia Company is
now in the field to stay, and its works
are in such good shape, its plant so
economically orgasized, that it can,
and does, compete with the world.
For some short time just past the
Philadelphia Company, though run
ming but one stack, has operated at a
proit--on a small profit, tc be sure,
but still profit; and the time having
therefore come when it can safely en-
large its scope of operations, the man.
agemen: is taking steps to do SO.
But it has been truly herculcan
task to bring the works up to their
present high degree Of efficiency and
economical working. When Mr.. Moul.
ton took charge as Superintendent
and General Manager, he found all
extensive plant and huge mounds OF
ore. tiux. charcoal and other material,
all SO jumbled up together thati it was
difficult to tell one from the other
There were four stacks, having a ca
pacity of 1870 tons per- day, where one
stack would have sufficcd. Men and
teams without number, almost, were
busy in handling over and over stuff
that should have been handled bu
once. The primitive mating furnaces
were worse than useless, as it cos
more to roast the matte, by theiI
means, than there was metal in it
The old management, recognizing Thu
fact, roasted the matte in piles, tn.
layers OF matte alternating with layers
Of cordwood and charcoal. Thi!
possibly ei6cacious but certainly SLOW
process would have required nearly
square mile of ground for each stac|
at work! The charcoal, made on tn
ground, was from common fir, wIic
loses about 40 per cent in handling
The stacks were so low that frequen
freezing resulted, necessitating enor
nous expense for removing the "sows
thus formed. The electric light wa
defective, and to such degree tina
common coal oil lamps had to b
used. The men were inexperienced
from manager to hostler, and no Oh
seemed to know what they wer
about, except the company, whose il
vestment OF over one million dolla,
was steadily growing larger, withou
any promise of returns.
: Mr.. Moulton 1T once called hal
and began rebuilding and reorgani;
ing. The 1O00-odd men and team
were discharged, the iron, charcoa
and heavy lead ore contracts Cal
: celed, the fir sold for cordwood, an
good pine procured instead to max
charcoal, a water power elevate
y lcostiug about $50 all told.) was p.
, in to raise the matte, ETC., from II
dump to the chsreing.Aoor, and ov'
$500 per month thus saved right her
the stacks were raised three feet,
give them better draft, and thus d.
g crease the liability to freeze, as we
as the quantity of aue-dust: the sam