The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1891-11-14
THE PROCESS OF SMELLING,
A Visit to the Montana SmelteT
and a Description of Its
Workings.
How the Ore Goes from the Sample
Mill to the Smelter and Be
Ome Bullion.

dlt pltdi III 40 tiC CoilIlS Siil'il'i
metropolis. Ask any citizen of the city
what great manufacturing industries the
city has or will have and instanter comes
the answer: Great plants which shall
smelt and reduce some of the ores of
Butte and all of those of the Belt mount
aims as well as of many other districts"
And so the citizen contents himself by an
swering ''smeltcr." and the eastern
investor looks at the great build
ing the Boston e. Montana is erecting
and is astounded at its vastness
then glances at the distant smoke Of the
Montana silver smelter and in ar awe
struck tone repeats the word ''smelter."
Yet how many, ever of the city's resi-
dents, have even seen the process Or
know what it means? Outside of a few
old timers who have seen everything,
how many have visited this, one of Great
Falls most important institutions! They
number, according to Superintendent
Enrich, very few.
The process of smelling is n of the
most intricate and yet one of the most
interesting of mechanical operations. A
TRIBUNE reporter called yesterday 81 the
smelter and was by its courteous super
intendent. Mr.. G. w. Enrich, shown
through the works.
Let the reader then Imagine the ore
placed on the car and its way to the fu-
ture smelter metropolis. Arriving, a
-. :, ,%t,,hnI 70 fhn ~ and
soon if is bound for the Montana smell
er. First it arrives at the weighing
house where the car is run on to the scales.
These are Fairbanks standard and are
carefully standardized" each morning,
and again after the empty car is weighed.
The gross weight of car and ore is taken.
Then the ore is examined and its charac-
fer determined. If it is an oxide ore,
that is. if it requires no roasting, it is
sent to the lower yards where such ores
are kept. If, on the contrary, it is a sui
pbide and needs to go through a roasting
nroccss it is sent first to the sampllng
mill.
1t is at the ~sampling mill that one first
notices the mathematical exactness which
attends each detail of the process. Dit
ferent ores OF course are differently used,
but take an average car. AS 1t is I'M
loaded every fifth or every tenth shovel
full is thrown to n side to be used as a
| SAMPLE. When the unloading is over
/, the sample, which ultimately must go tc
the assayer, consists of a large amount OF
ore. This is elevated and dropped
I into a receptacle, the entrance
to the big automatic sampling
, mill, From this IN right and
left two spouts extend downward
!. Through one of these passes such small
l portions of the ore as need no crushing.
Through the other passes all the rest. 1t
=, soon reaches a heavy pair of crushers
and is then thrown up again through the
elevator and into the receptacle. Then
il dcscends again. Inside each of these
shouts is a trunncl or revolving screen
which shakes the ore around and sits
if. Finally when sufficiently ground il
strikes another set of crushers and is re
! duced still finer. Then through the ele.
| yator it again ascends and at length
q after repeated c~rushings it is fine enough
to 90 into the other spout, and SO far the
Z work is done. But the sample as 1t now
1 laws contains "A great deal Of ore, far toe
much to send to the assayer. 1t is heapet
q on the floor in a cone. This l.
cut into four quarters, two OF which are
taken. These are then again heaped in
to a cone and the process OF quarterins
| is repeated until the sample attains 1
S proper size, some ten or fifteen pounds
2 The object of all this care is that eacf
part and parcel of the entire sample ano
load may be represented In tire assay
: Next, it is taken to q drying room where
e all moisture is removed. The ore now
thoroughly dried is ready to be finished
- ~ II 10 tnyap r., anntha,
: ,acbjne and ground to an almost in
t Intestinal powder. The sample is now
+ ready for assay. This sampling mill is
e run by an engine of eighty horse power
Z the steam for which is furnished by
| boilers LOGO feet away.
: Meanwhile the body Of the ore must
: 90 to the rooster. This has been run
e out on a track and placed in bins. These
bins number eighteen and have a capac
Nv of 300 tons each. They are now
lout two-thirds filled. One REGULARITY
: ioticed islthe different layers which they
contain, showing several colors. This is
due to the fact that ore of the same class
but of different kinds mot grades, for
grade. according to Mr.. Enrich, refers
- 10 values only are placed in horizontal
layers in the same bin. In the bins the
superintendent pointed out siliceous lead
concentrates from the Couer d'Alenes
and several others.
From these bins the ore is removed
and taken to the roasting department.
: This is entered from two doors each of
which leads to a different set Of furnaces.
Ten furnaces are situated OF each side.
; At the entrance the charge. which is
aiken in on a car, is carefully weighed
as an overchargc for the furnace might
prove disastrous. 1t is then placed in a
compartment in the rear Of the furnace.
Coal is shovelled in a compartment next
the ore and the roasting begins. The
object of the roasting process is to free
the ore from the sulphide. Through a
hole in the side of the furnace oxygen
enters. Sulphurous acid is formed, this
I rises and the purpose of roasting is thus
accomplished. A view through n Of
these holes proved "A very pretty
sight. Millions of little PARTICLES might
be seen arising from the heated ore.
, looking like veritable salaman-
N-A