Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1897-07-08
The Manufacture of Zine Oxide.

seen now our ufyDOne looks Wnen
ready for the consumer. Very few
have seen the rough, dirty chunks of
our dry bone SHAKEN into barrels as
white as the driven snow, and as fine
AS -four, and yet that is precisely what
does become of 1t and almost under
their very eyes.
Every man engaged in mining dry
bone should make it his duty to go to
Mineral Point and be shown through
the Zinc and oxide company's plant
when it is in operation. No more in
teresting visit could be made to al
manufacturing plant in the United
States, regardless Of the article manu-
featured. There are, perhaps, one or
though we cannot positively assert this
Ms IL true fact, and the Mineral Point
plant, in its method of operation, is
the only one in the United States.
The factory was built at an enor-
nous outlay of money, in building and
equipment with the most approved
machinery; is adVantageOusly located
on the Chicago, Milwaukee q st. Paul
tracks, in the river valley at the east
crn extremity Of the city. There are
distinct departments commencing with
the furnaces or smclter proper, con
sisting of two long double rows of
furnaces, two large bag rooms eX-
planned further on the cooperage
department, and the large storage
rooms capable of holding 10000 two
hundred ten " barrels Of manufactured
oxide.
We will take mp the process Of manu-
featuring from the moment II car con
tanning our dry bone is railroadcd into
the yards. Dump carts carry the ore
to the crushcrs where it is ground up
fine. 1t is deposited in small heaps
containing ~ few hundred pounds in
each in front of each furnace lift door
and thoroughly mixed with coal crush
ed fine also. Alongside of each of
these heaps is II small heap of coal
exclusively called the charge. The
furnaces are all force blasts, and the
charge is thrown in and evenly dis
tributcd over the crater until it be-
comes one mass Of live, burning Goals,
when the mixed heap is thrown in,
raltcd until it becomes II smooth bed,
and the first step in the manufacture of
zinc oxide takes place.
The oxide contained in our zinc as
ccnds in the shape of grecnish smoke,
and one Is impressed at first sight ON
II visit to this plant that with the
double rows of white heated furnaces
going full blast not II sign of smoke is
seen escaping anywhere. The grccnish
smoke escapes in the large pipes and
receives terrific momentum from the
tanning mills with bag suction and
force drafts until the main bag room
supply pipe which branches off to right
and left supply the two bag rooms
where ii travels with terrific speed and
mt extremely high temperature, The
bag rooms are filled with large pipes
In long rows from the ceiling down,
and attached to them is our ordinary
domestic sewed up into
large bags. This smoke, in other
words oxide, clings to these bags which
are shook by the bag room attendants,
and the deposits drop down into an
other set of bags and carried to the
packing room. The bag room is an
hot place 10 work and this
fine powdered sediment ILLS the air.
Three shifts of cigh hours each keep
the furnaces going night and day, |
included, and during the hot
spell which prevailed some time ago
the men kept up splendidly. Every
thing is weighed in and weighed out
and the brawny fellows who wheeled
by loads of red hot cinders though |
they blanchcd our checks in passing |
made no ado about their seemingly |
warm positions.
In the Cooperagc department thous- !
ands of barrels are manufactured an |
nually of good material and splendid
workmanship. From two to three
hundred barrels are filled with oxide
each day the plant is in operation aud
piled five high IN the capacious storage
rooms.
The plant is IL voracious ore eater
and consumes easily from sevcnty-tivc
to Il hundred tons of ore n day. \ |
large force of men are ut work about
the place IN various other capacities !
and an enormous sum of money is |
paid for labor. The large engines !
that crush the ore and operate the
tanning mills are fed 10y crude
oil and the entire plant is lighted 10y
In fact these same engines