The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-01-25
WORK REFRACTORY ORES
Invention Of 4. B. Mofltt That Is
Attracting Great Attention
in California.
Work OF Retimbering the Ana
conda to Be Completed in
a Month.
Some Fine Specimens Taken From ihs
p0nlIn-A favorable Lensc Made
On The Brittanin.

" ~ &iOAlbvS "a sC0s S0sD Ae~
vented a machine to ttaat refractory ore
that IL attracting = groat deal OF attention
Ia California. Ihe San Francisco Chroni-
Gle says that since he made known his So
crst mining mon have been going every day
to inspect the machine. The discovery
hns already created quite a furry in ada
cent mining counties, and in fact. wherever
the particulars are known. The old man
declares that he Ia not selling rights or ter
ritory. or any part OF his patent. Those
who Know him we'll believe that he will go
of on another tangent before any OF the
machines are ready for the market. When
Moffitt was asked where he got his idea he
referred to the story of the gold that disap-
peared from the mint. He said that ga
600 in gold was once missed from the San
francisco mint. No one knew whore il
had gone. but finally somebody thought OF
gathering up the SCOT on the buildings
around, The SCOT was treated, and $16,-
OOO of the gold was recovered. Mof1tt
says he thought that would be q good way
to smslt ore, 80 he tried it in his machine.
The following description IL given Of the
machine: The stamp mill is done away
with altogether. The ore. broken into
pieces as large as walnuts, runs into a
crushing machine in which rough steel
plates rub against one another. The ore
comes ont in particles like river sand.
Miners understand that these rebellious
ores contain ordinarily no free gold what
ever. One can look at this sand IS il comes
out of Motifs crushsr without seeing the
glittering of gold or anything to indicate
that there il d bit of the yellow metal in 1t.
The gold 10 held in combinations that only
chemical process have heretofore been able
to separate. This and-llke ore ia fed into
the ''oxidizing'' machine, the most import
ant part of Motifs invention.
Externally this "o1idizina" machine
looks not unlike a boiler with some cog.
wheels at one end. q pipe at the other and
a fire hole beneath. A pressure blower il
connected with it. Internally the machine
is quite complicated. Within the outer
ing within the other. They revolve in the
J same direction, but the inner one much
faster than the other. Wood is fed into tbs
fire hole and burns in such q name undo,
pressure that it becomes charcoal before
being finally consumed, and 10 gives out an
intense heat. This fise brings the outel
cylinder to q white heat. The crushed ore
is fed INTO this cylinder. and is, of course,
heated with it.
Here the inner cylinder gets in its work,
1t has scores and scores Of h%low-pipcs upon
its surface. and air Is forced through them
at q tremendous rate by the pressure blower
which connects with the interior of the oyl-
Under. As the outer heated cylinder slowly
r~evolves the ore drops on the blow. pi, OF
and thus gets the full benefit of the blast
So much oxygen is furnished that every
thing in the ore but the precious metals anG
a soft. powdery ash is burned in this oy-
clone motion.
The force OF the blast ia such that thu
lighter particles of metal and ash are forced
upward n precipitated in q tank of watel
above the revolving cylinders. The heavier
PARTICLES are blown downward and forced
into another tank Of water. Nothing il lost
If what is left of the ore at this time is ex-
amined the ash is found to be glitterine
with bits OF gold. the metal having been re-
leased from the rebellious combinations
which held it.
The process does not stop here. A spiraI
keeps gathering up the sediment In the
tanks and mixing it with quick silver into
an amalgam ready for the retort. Thus the
ore is put into tho machine in chunks and
m out amalgamated.
Tests have shown that one Of these ma.
chimes will treat a ton and q half of refrno-
tory ore an hour, while larger machines o1
the same pattern will have q correspond
angiy greater capacity. A plant of then
could be run for comparatively little money
as one good engine would furnish power
Tor a number of the machines and pressure
blowers, the only other expense being at.
tendance and the wood or coal-wood pre-.
ferred-used in the oxidizing furnace. An
other advantage is that the machines weigh
less than q ton and can be taken apart, NJ
part weighing over 300 pounds. Therefore
they can be easily transported over any
mountain trail that a mule can traverse.
III ore at the Reeve mine. at West
Paint, Calaveras county. is said to be the
most refractory known in the stato. A ten
stamp mill with a ehlorination plant was
tried at the mine, but il could not earn e1-
penses. Experts who have seen Mofit'e
machine work say il cnews up ore at the
rate of q ton and a half an hour and turns
out $25 in gold for every ton.