Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1898-07-17
CHINESE TIN SMELLING.
Primitive Mctn"t,a -Shs.S -l-o I-o;icwe.! by
the SLOW Gs,;n-. O.i:..s.ls M

4 NACCiNNE1 -AcO wed by
the sio" Goin- o.i:.:s.ls.
AT TAPPING tho tin mines cover an area
OF several square mics and are worked al.
most entirely by Cantonese They rcsem.
Bile nothing so 1u,lch as the gold washings
OF California and New Zraland-that is,
tin washing is series of dclphs or hol-
lows, like an ordinary English quarry,
except that there is no stone
The sand or hubble is excavated and
conveyed to the troughs. which arc placed
al sufficient height to allow of the water
running freely down an incline One man
rakes up to the tnpnlost end the flakes of
tin, which resemble bits OF black pencil
lc;td, and which, when dscngagcd from,
all mud or other light clngins matter.
sink at once to the bottom of the inclined
trough.
Other labcrcrs pick out tho larger stones
from the ruhhlr, while y man stationed
mt tho bottom of the trough pushes up the
accumulated mud from which tho lead is
not yet quito separated, so that it may
pass through second or third course of
washing. Tho lralcn orc is then carried il,
buckets to special cleansing houses and
there thoroughly washed once more.
The furnace looks like Il good sized wine
cnSk SGT on end, but ut II slight angle, and
each one is provided with an iron pan for
u base.
This iron pan, together with a number
OF coopcr's hoops twincd round the baked
mud. serves rs u stitfcnnS and helps to
Keep tho furnace from coliapSing. The
Lead ore is thrown, together with tho char
coal which mclts it, in ono mass into this
hlrrcliikc furnace when the molten metal
soon passes through tho charcoal anu
es,npcs Through Vent III the side of the
lower portion of the bnrrcl furnace) into II
small pit dug into the ground below
The fire is kept active by !; primitive,
but very effective bellows, consisting of !,
followed tree fitted with u wooden piston,
and connected with the furnace by u short
bamboo tuho inserted into its side The
whole apparatus costs only tat present
rates of cxchange) about Sl2. 80.
a workman rakes tho Stag out of the
pit, and if the market price of tin is suit.
clcntly high to make it pay to do so this
Stag is passed u second time through tho
/, furnace. The pure molten tin, freed from
!, tho Stag Us it sinmcrS in the pit looks
| like So much quicksilver. Tho pigs ar,
like SO many large bricks With one side
rounded and the other flat, the Hat side
having broad rim nr border. ..".
| The explanation Of this is that blocks, of
wood of PRECISELY this shape are prrssc,
into the sand or mud which forms Tho
natural floor If the smelling houses When
these wooden moltls are removed Of cours,
| corresponding holes remain, and intu
| these holes the molten load is lutllcd from
the pit 1t takes Il whole day to cool SUI
| tlcicntly to get firm When it has we'll
| set, 1t Is lifted or dragged out Of the holes
| with long ra>cs and dashed with water.
After littlu more cooling it is ready for
Shipment >
At pcrak in 1883 and ut Muliwun in
1S!'3 found that four or five Ch!nnmcl,
could turn out seven hundrcdwiEht Of tin,
pigs u day, worth in 1898 about Sl4o in
ALL II. Parker in Chambers Journal.