The Florence daily tribune., 1901-02-04

One of the most important industries
in the state-the finest, most modern and
most complete matte smelter in the
country-is the new plant of the Rocky
Mountain Smelling Company, which
blew in some five weeks ago and is
now operating full handed, with endless
lines of ore-laden cars upon its tracks.
Its opening was matter of vast inn
portance not only to Florence and Ere
mont county, but to the state of Colo
rado. The Rocky Mountain smelter
with its improved process involving the
reduction of minerals to a copper or iron
matte-new and unique in the mining
history-is designed to be a governing
factor in the mining economy of the
West, and the firing of the first charges
at the opening of the new century marks
an important epoch-a mile post as it
were, in the progress of the science of
mining.
The enterprise was conceived and de
veloped by Messrs, w. E. Johnson and
w. K. Johnson of Denver, those well
known industrial promoters who have
done SO much for their state-who
planned and built the Florence &
Cripple Creek Railway. The company
was organized in 1897 and was incor-
porated about two years ago A year
ago DR.. Franklin r. Carpenter was en-
gagged as consulting metallurgist, and it
Ia ,,,l,r, q,
stands to-day. That an expert better
qualified for the undertaking could not
have been secured, is manifest from the
results of his efforts. The furnaces, inn
portant factor upon the perfect working
of which the success of such plant
hinges, were constructed under DR.
Carpenters supervision by the Colorado
Iron Works of Denver. Last spring the
town of Florence donated to the smelter
company 100 acres of land. and in
August ground was broken for the new
plant. The great I7s-foot steel stack
soon lowered above the ground, the fire
proof steel buildings and the long brick
dust fuc were completed, and the fur
naces and machinery were set in place,
All was ready then for the blowing in, s.
which was conducted so successfully
under the direction of Dr. Carpenter,
No small measure of the success at
tending the completion and operation
of the plant is due to A. IL. Danforth,
second vice president of the company,
who attended to the local management
Mr., Danforth is one of the best known
and best qualified men for such an under
taking to be found in the Western coun-
try. He came to Colorado more than
twenty years ago, and was for ten years
general manager OF the Colorado Coal
built the great steel works at Pueblo
and successfully operated it. Since then
he has built and operated no less than
four smelling plants in various parts OF
the United States and Mexico.
There has been invested in the plant
and connections, including the first ore
purchases, about S75o,ooo, The capital
was provided by Denver and Eastern
men
The plant is model one in every re-
spect There is no question but that ii
is the most complete and modern matte
plant in existence to-day. The machinery
embodies every Improvement The Mes
mith patent vaporizers, for instance,
with which the furnaces are provided
permit of the use of only one-tenth OF
the water ordinarily required in the
water jackets And there are endless
other improvements that might be men
toned,
The capacity OF the plant with the