The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1896-06-08
AN IMMENSE PLANT.
The Continental Asphalt compaay's
Works In West Ardmore a Complete
Description vi ths Plant.

A representative of the ARDMORE-
TIE was the guest of Col. W. w.
Trask, vice president and general
manager of the Continental Asphalt
Company, yesterday at the COM
rany's plant in West Ardmore and
from that gentleman and n close
inspection of the, property leasred
the following facts in regard to that
| institutions:
The property of the Continental
Asphalt Company at this particular
point consists of 3OO-acre tract Of
land on which the deposit is located
and 523 acres of timber in close prox-
nifty. The plant or reduction and
refining works are situated three
and one-half miles due west Of Ard
more and Main street of the parent
city continued IN direct line will
run between the mill house and
superintendent Office. The deposit,
which is 50 feet in width and - easily
traceable for n distance OF several
m es, has a well defined hanging
wall of sand stone or silica while
the foot wall is compact serpentine
rendering the ledge easy and clean
to work. An opening some 80 feet
in diameter and probable So feet in
depth has been made in the vein and
several hundred tons of ore have
been taken out and thoroughly
tested. The experiments with this
ou put have been highly sat sfactory
to the company, the results showing
this to be the largest deposit of
silica carrying bitumen in the world.
The method of reducing the ore and
refining the bitumen is the invention
of Col. Trask, and consists OF what
is known as the Trask Heize Aqua
process. Water entering very largely
into the process of refining, a reser-
voir or lake has been excavated and
made secure, which at present has
5000, 900 gallons OF water stored FOR
immediate use and has capacity Tor
u 200, 900 when full This supply is
reinforced by two accessory lakes OF
about one-lalf the above storage
capacity, making the supply fuuy
ample to meet the demands. The
machinery plant in detail, which
IS practically ready for operation,
consists of the following desc-ibed
machine, all perated by two one
iundred horse power boilers, one
twenty-five horse power engine ard
several steam pumps. Two hot
water receiving tanks of 10000 gallons
capacity each on elevated towers,
one endless chain conVeyor fron
sIaft to receiving vat, one cold water
storage tank on tower capacity
10000 gallons, one dove tail ore crush
e., one "a foot elevator, one disinte-
crater. main separation tank pro-
vided with agitators and conveyos,
one purifying tank annd two refined
receiving tanks.
This plant will work 24O tons of
the mine run or output every twenty
four hours, no ore being handled
by hand after being put on the first
cOnVeyor at the mine.
The ore after being mined is placed
on the endless chain conveyor and
by this conveyed to the ore crusher
or grinder where it IS pulverized and
| discharged on to an elevator which
carries it up thirty-four feet to a
| disentigrator, from here it goes into
the main receiving vat partially I'LL
cd with hot water in which an end
less screw agitatOr and conveyor
is in operation and in this vat the
/ silica is separated from the bitumen
and discharged by waste pipe on the
dump. The residue collected in this
vat is conveyed into the purifying
tank where it is again treated with
hot water and all particles of foreign
matter removed, after which it goes
into two large refining tanks which
are also kept heated and here all
moisture is eliminated from it, and
this the refined asphalt is drawn of
in ilon bcuud barrels for shipment.
In addition to the above described
machinery now in place, the man
ager expects to put in an electric
light plant and local system of water
wo. ks to supply the various tenne-
ment houses erected and to be
erected by the company.
Col. Trask has built four very con-
venient three room box houses one
OF which he uses as his office also "a
large roomy barn 36x5O containing
stalls, granary, wagon sheds and
storage rooms and these with n neat
commodius church and school house
erected under his supervision give