Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1888-04-26
ORE SORTING.
A PRACTICAL MINER RELATES HIS
EXPERIENCE.

LAI LnlENVEs
A Cheap Method Which Seems Wei,
Adapted to the Majority Of Our Wood
River Ores.
To my mind there is not attention
enough given to the sorting of ores by
hand. Mine managers as a rule ina
CINE that hand sorting is too slow and
expensive, and look to the highly
complicated mechanical concentra-
tors for relief. While it is true that
there are few good mechanical
dressing machines to BE- had in the
market; it is also equally true that
for every success in this line there are
five failures. A really good, simple,
cheap, compact and durable system
for mechanical dressing has not yet
been discovered. The patent Office
swarms with inventions for separating
from the worthless rock but none in
fifty IS ever heard from after the first
trial. All sorts of claims, with pos.
sibly the exception of perpetual mo-
ton, are made by the sanguine in.
ventor. All kinds of principles are
represented, from an old fashioned
'long tom" to the most marvelously
complicated affairs, with more cranks,
pulleys. pistons and mechanical mo-
tons than the renowned "keeley
motor" Most of them, like the
motor, will not "mote" 1t looks
mighty easy this little problem of
separating such stuff for instance, as
galena from the much lighter rocky
material; but a many novice has
buttcd his head against it in vain
However, this paper does not purport
to discuss cono entrating machinery,
but rather to take up the much
neglected of hand-sort
Every miner, with rare exceptions,
on opening up his mine, soon finds
himself cornered, as it were, OF the
question of what he shall do with tie
certain mixed classes of ores which
cucumber the dump. Often he is too
poor to erect concentrating works
often his ore is of such a charact
that it can not be concentrated
Breaking by hand and picking the
ore as it comes up daily is st best
slow aud expensive; hut for all that,
t is the only way in which many rich
ores can be sorted. The thoughtful
man can not help believing that there
must be some happy medium between
the high cost dressing works and slow
hand-sorting. AS have been through
an experience that many others will
start upon. propose to describe as
plainly as possible my course of treat
ment and its results.
In opening and starting the Milan
mine in 1882, it was found desirable
in order to get the market for pyrites,
to produce this mineral in very pure
form. The run Of the mine was a
mixture of cupriferous iron pyrites,
very massive, with rich copper ores,
zinc blende and galena. More or less
slate quartz had also to be taken care
of. 1t was essential that fine clean
separations of the ores should be made.
The pyrites especially, if sold for acid
making, must be free from zinc and
lead, and comparatively free from
copper. Moreover, the galena wa.
rich in silver, and the better coppe
ore was abundant and suitable fol
smelling on the spot; so that sorting
was at once forced upon us.
A fair trial of three months at hant
breaking and sorting on the floor O.
the shaft house convinced me that i
cost too much and was altogether too
slow. Concentration was out of thu
question, because we could neithe
sell finely crushed pyrites nor seperat'
the copper, galena and zinc, if we pu
up concentrating works. The follow
ing scheme was adopted and tried AM
proved perfect success.
A Blake crusher was put in havin!
jaw opening 10 inches by II inches
and set to crush 2 inch gauge.
link belt elevator carried the crushe'