Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1890-05-02
iHANGEyILLE, IDAHO.
For the FREE PRESS. by cHAs +. ToRRANrEl
fSecond papprl


Since writing my former article for
this paper, Mr.. Bartlett informs me
through the columns of the Engineer
ing and Mining Journal" replying to
some notes of mine in that paper, that
he has published occasional papers on
this subject for some ten years past, that
he has long recognized the necessity for
an excess of sulphur in tile furnace
churge, that the use of lead in small
quantities has been fully discussed by
him, and that he il intending to publish
soon short treatise on pyritic matte
smelling for silver based on actual prac-
tical work.
Nought that 1 wish to say, or that |
could say can detract from the credit due
this gentleman for his discoveries and
inventions, and am pleased to learn
that his larger experience and the de-
dnctions based upon il are substantially
in accord with the theory which l have
formulated from a careful theoretical
study of the principles and chemistry
, of metalurgic practice.
Differences of opinion are inevitable
among different persons, and Mr.. Bart
, let's wolk, like my own. must be sub
jected to the test of time and criticism.
To the mine-owners and furnace men
, who are in need of practical help, the
, Interest lies in the results, and not in
, the source of a new process. To them,
N paff ~ tf, hot q
mental principles have leone down"
from the time of Tubal Cain or have
been newly discovered, if they can be
made to understand and apply them
probably.
Practice without theory does not ex-
ist, and clear understanding Of princi-
pies is necessary to success. Such an
understanding We call true theory"
and this is the handle to the hammer of
practice. If our handle be loose in the
eye, broken in the neck and tied to-
gether with string-we have all been
there then the blows will never hit
the exact point which they are aimed
at. Ny object in writing is to help along
the general understanding in this mat
ter of matte smelling for silver; and, al
though 1 would that | knew more, /
trust that it is not quite as "the blind
leading the blind"
Mr.. Bartlett has found "a large excess"
of sulphur necessary in his practice.
The reduction of the necessary excess
to.a minimum is. it is evident, matter
of importance in many cases, as permit
ting larger proportion of poor non
snlphurized ores to be carried. In in
sisting. in my former article, on the
absolute necessity of an excess of sui
phur in the charge in furnace, / want
to be understood that such excess ="
must be suilicen in quantity for the
purpose stated. The amount of this
necessary excess of sulphur will depend
upon the manner of fusion and the
conditions of hneness and porosity of
the ore. In the teverberatory furnace
the whole charge Should not be mixed,
but the raw, pyritous portion should be
put in stratum near the bottom of the
charge, and, to save the sulphur. should
be in that position where it will De the
last portion to be heated previous to the
beginning of fusion. 1t need not be
finely crushed. while the rest of the
charge should be-ihus just reversing
Mr.. Rartlett's practice for the blast fur
nace-and with proper care, despite the
oxydizing fame, the excess of sulphur
might. believe, be pretty economically
utilized.
This iron matte smelling Is especially
adapted to use at the mines, or near
them. on ores which will not pay for
long distance shipments. In snch locali-
ties, fuel suitable for reverberatory work
IS often cheap, while coke for the water
jacket costs much money. This may
turn the balance, frequently. in favor OF
the reverberatory until some one make
shaft furnace 10 burn cheap fuel
economically. This last matter is not a
hopeless one, as will some time be
shown. or course, radical changes in
construction and operation will be me-
cessary.
In blast furnace smelling, the loss of
sulphur will necessarily be great; be-
cause the ore charge must be in Jumps.
to which the sulphur vapor can have
access to the outside or surface only.
Consequently, since the time for action
is short, a great part of this vapor will
be apt to find its way up the chimney ;
carrying off also. small portion of the
fuel as bi-sulphids. Mr.. Bartlett pro
poses and insists that the pyriies used
for sulphurizatinn should be finely
crushed, and thoroughly mixed with
the ore CHI ,rge Il can see no reason for
insisting on the mixture). When used
in this way, mixed or unmixed, the
small particles will sift down through
the charge before fusion, and the sui.
phur distilled from them must retraverse
the main ore body in order to make it's
escape; thus giving a better chance for
sulphuriZation of the metallic contents.
The use of Zines" in this way is, how
ever, at a disadvantage from the fact
that there are always fines from the
general ore stock in excess of what can
be conveniently carried in the furnace.