The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1893-09-08
More COnverters and Additional Water
Wheels Being Put In At
the Il. d VI. Works
To Treat Butte 4 EO,tm Matte Here
More Men Employed-lm-
mense Daily Output

before tne llTFl OF next year lne matte
from the Butte ~ Boston smelter at
| Butte viii be treated at the Boston IL
Montana works in this city. The prob
ability Of such thing being done has
been mentioned by the press Of TINS city
and Butte for several mouths There
can be no doubt OF it now as any visitor
to the great plant will see at glance
| Five immense cOnN erters similar to those
already in use are beil g put in place and
a large shect-iron pipe TO connect the
same with the blast engine in the
| power house ie nearly completed.
Furthermore the present power will be-.
almost doubled by the addition Cf more
water. wheels. George Clark, who rep
resents the Sillwcll Bierce & Smith
| Vail company Dayton, O., nanufact-
urcrs Of terbIae wheels and mill ma
chinery, is already on the ground and
will today put gang Of men to work
constructing a penstock preparatory sto
| setting four more wheels. The material
| for the former is already here, having
| arrived Saturday from Dayton. The
| wheels will be here soon, There are to
be two Of IJO-horsc power and two Of
GGJ-hOrse power. This vii. increase the
horse power in the B. IL NJ. power house
to about l,JO0. The present blast engine
of 800 horsepower will be supplemented
by a much larger one more fitted to
furnish the required amount of air for
the old and new converters. 1t will be
800 horse power and when in operation
will be one Of the largest III the west.
The foundations FOR the new engine are
already completed in the power house
and it is the intention Of the company
to have the mammoth piece Of machin-
cry set up and ready for use by the
time the new water wheels are in place
ana the cOnvertcrs ready to be used
which wall be about November J. Then
the matte will begin to arrive from
Butte for treatment.
SO far AS can be learned the Butte 4
| Boston copper will not be refined here
| into what IS known as elcctroiytic cop
| per as the present refinery is said to be
| inadequate to meet the demands Of the
| Boston ~ Montana output and will prob.
| ably be enlarged another year SO until
| the capacity of the refinery is increased
| the Butte y Boston matte will only be
converted into pig copper at this point.
The term converting as used in this con
ncctiun Is III many respects similar to
the process Of making BeFsemer steel
and any one who has visited steel
plant will recognize the similarity. !
converter is a huge bottle shaped con
trivance made of boiler iron and lined
with quartz. 1t rests on arms or axes.
one on each side, and can be turned
completely over like a school globe if
necessary. When the molten matte has
been poured into the converter the ori-
| flee is turned toward an opening leading
into draught pipe which connects with
the big i'ue running to the smoke stack
on the hill.
Then powerful current of air supplied
by the blast engine in the power house
and taken to the smelter through a
large pipe is forced into the bottom of
the converter up through the molten
mass. The oxygen of the AIR unites
with certain baser elements in the matte
consuming the same and leaving behind
large percentage Of copper. some silver
and whatever gold the original ore con
tanned After the air has been forced
through the converter the required
length of time the concern is turned |
down SO the llass can run into the |
moulds. When cooled it is pig copper
which must be refined to separate the |
copper FROM the gold and silver.
The method Of transferring the mOul- |
ten matte from matte furnace TO Il |
converter is unique i'll many respects |
aud shows how electricity can be made |
to perform tasks with almost human |
adroitness. Running from one side Of |
the smelter to the other between the |
matte furnaces and converters |
is what is called an electric |
crane. 1t resembles ear in |
that both ends rest on wheels which run |
on regulation track. 1t is about forty
feet in length ami constructed entirely |
Of steel. In the middle is a sort of cab |
for the protection Of the Wan operating !
the crane. On the top is u set Of wheels !
and cables which are used TO raise. lower !
and tip the biz ladl" which the crane .
picks up and carries from any one of the |
matte furnaces to the convortrrs. The /
man in the cab operates the thing 10y /
lovers which connect or discunucGt the |
electric current at his will. Il is great |
sight especially at night to see this c.cc.
trc crano IN operation when a charge is
being drawn from furnace, With per
feet case IT picks up = great laulh or
bucket full of moultcn matte and, carry
ing the same to certain converter. pOurs
1t in almost as gracefully Hs one
pours water from pail into Il
Jug. 1t is understood that another and .
larger crane will he put in as soon as the
Il. ~ NJ. company commence treating the
llnttn 4 It,ct,p