The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-06-22
Water No Longer a Disturbing Ele-
ment In the Mine.
MILL RUNNING SMOOTHLY
CONCENTRATION PLANT HAS
BEEN ADDED TO IT.
In Connection With the Cyanide Pro-
cess-Plant Has Been Changed
and Patterned After South Afri-
can Mills-Silver Values Will Be
Saved-Expenses Lessened.

After an absence of about two weeks
Il. E. Booth returned yesterday from
the Dexter mine, at Tuscarora, New
where he has been assisting Colonel
Miner in guiding the destinies of that
great property. The water problem,
Mir. Booth says, has been solved. The
great flow in the mine has subsidized.
The big pumps put in some time ago
are working nicely, and with them the
mana cement is able to rid the under
ground workings of this disturbing ele-
ment.
The mill is running along smoothly,
and with the improvements now being
added to it, il will soon become typi-
cal South African plant. Heretofore 1t
has been operated under the cyanide
process. BY this method the company
was unable to save all the silver values
in the ore. 1t was finally decided that
the losses were entirely too great to
proceed along those lines, so to remedy
the fault a very good concentrating
plant was put in. which is TO be oper-
ated in connection with the cyanide
process, patterned after those used in
The Randsberg district in Africa.
In the future it is the intention Of
the Dexter folks to first concentrate the
ores The silver can be saved in this
way DCSllCS d ielk HoA NiOAA VI t'At
other values. The tailings Will then
be run into large tanks. eight in num-
Der, each having capacity of $50 tons.
These tanks are supplied with large ag-
itating arms. which reVolve, and keeps
the tailings constantly agitated.
The mechanism of the part of
the plant is so arranged that
10 the bottom of the tanks. and from
there run off into teaching tanks with
out going through. the process of dry
ing.
The new process of treating the ores
at the Dexter viii not only save prac-
ticalIy all the values. but there Will be
d big saving made in the amount of
chemicals for teaching. This item alone
Will cut down a large part of the cost
of extraction, TO say nothing of the
values that could not be saved in the
past.
Fight concentrating tables have been
put in, and Mr.. Booth spent much of
his time in seeing them started off sat
isfactoriiy. He as well as Colonel Mil
ner became satisfied that with an even
water pressure, which has been pro-
vided for from a supply stored in a
huge tank, the tables viii do good
work The values of the concentrates
are determined by the classes of ores
run over the tables. but while he was
tIlCit SO4.lt VI int Otl ldlllIlSS we're put
through the machines and the cOncen-
trates showed values all the way from
$50 TO 800 to the ton.
The large air compressors ordered
some time ago are on the ground and
viii be put in at once. a serious acct
dent happened TO one of them while in
transit but the break has been repaired
and the compressor made as good as it
was the DAY it left the factory. 1t is
now only a question of short time
until the mine will be operating the
pumps and running all machinery by
compressed air. with power furnished
from the electrical plant owned by the
company. Everything about the mine
and mill viii be worked automatically.
The Dexter mill viii be one of the most
interesting plants in this western coun-
try.
Mr.. Booth says Colonel Milner-under
whose management these improvements
have been made-has spared no expense
IN making the changes. But the colo
mel has made no mistakes in the I'M
dertaking, and every part of his work
has been performed well and in a man
ner that certainly'wil bring the great |
est possible results. Colonel Miner viii
not return until the new machinery is
all put in running order.