CanÌƒon City record. [volume] (CanÌƒon City, Colo.) 1883-192?, 1903-10-01
the EMPIRE ZINC PLANT
Something About One of Canon
City's Important Industrial
Enterprises and the Inter-
esting PROCESS In Vogue
There for the Reduc-
tion of Ores.

IOu OI OIGS-
Although less than two yerrs have
elapsed since the Empire Zinc COM
pany's plant in South Canon was put
into operation, it is now handling one
hundred tons Of ore every twenty-four
hours, an amount double the capacity
Of the original mill. While its growth
has not been as phenomenal as Jonah's
gourd it has nevertheless been a highly
gratifying one to its promoters and is
worthy of comment when in this age
of great achievements along the line Of
commercial expansion.
The plant consists of a wet and dry
mill. the former being designed by W.
G. Wetheri1 consulting engineer for
the company. in 1901; the newer mill
which is equipped with five great cleo
trio separators, having been erected
during the past twelve months. The
plant, which is a model of its kind, is
equipped with the most approved
machinery and is about as complete as
human ingenuity can suggest. Numer-
Gus labor-saving devices have recently
been installed in the old mill by Super
intendent Livingstone and now much
Of the work that was formerly done
there by manual labor is accomplished
by mechanical means
In the old mill the ore is unloaded
direct from the cars into the crusher
and is carried by means of belt con-
veyors and elevators to the first set OF
rolls; after which it is sore. ned and
taken to storage bins having capacity
to last the plant for a week or ten days.
From these receiving hins it is con-
veyed. as required, to revolving
screen. the larger pieces going to the
second set of rolls and the anal er ones
passing through to the shaking screens.
The sizes that pass these scr-ens are
taken to the classifiers and tables.
while those that do not gn through are
conveyed to the jig where the first
concentrates are made. The reflections
from the jig are crushed by third set
of rollers. then screened and then sent
TO the tables. After leaving the CLASSIC
hSts hiSy arc oi~trioutto oNcr tHc
Whitley tables. where the main part OF
the concentrates are made
In the dry mill, the ores, as we have
previously stated, are treated by mag
netic separators for the extraction of
the zinc. 1t is firsi rough crushed and
stored in bins, as in the wet mill 1t
is then carried to "a dryer where it is
thoroughly dried, then crushed and
screened by two sets of rolls and four
screens. From tie storage bins the
material is taken by means of an eleva-
tor to another set of screens and the
different sizes distributed to the mag
netic separators, after which the pro-
ducts are STORED for shipment
All of the machinery At the Empire
plant 10 driven By electric motors, the
energy being furnished by the Colo
rad" Electric Power company 1t has
its own supply of water, which is ob-
tsiued from the gu'ches in the Green
horn mountains and ,mpounded in a
reservoir from which it is conveyed by
gravity through pipe line. mile and
haf long, 10 the mills where il is
used in the operatios of the plant and
maintained as a protection against fire.
The supply is adequate for all pur-
poses at all seasons of the year. and is
in nowise dependent upon the stage of
water IN the Arkansas river.
The company gets the gr-ater part
of its ore from the Leadvilie district,
although some of it comes from the
mines on the Western slope. About
IS 900 tons of ore is now on hand.
enough to keep the plant IN operation
at its present rate of consumption for
fully a year, and a strike among the
miners in that section would have no
immediate effect upon it.
A thing not generally known to the
uninitiated is that different ores re-
quire different methods of treatment
for its extraction. Some Of them yield
readily to the wet process that refuse
to give up its treasure to the magnetic
manner of treatment. and, vice versa,
some of them are easily amenable
to the magnet that are stubborn when
to the water test, hence the
and economy Of employ
ing both methods of extraction.
Mr.. Livingstone regards the outlook
for the Empire plant as a very promis-
ing one, aud he contemplates At no
distance it's enlargement by fifty tons
per diem, bringing its total capacity
up to one hundred and fifty tons every
twenty-four hours, making it one of
the largest Of its kind in the west.
G. L. Strawman, Of O. O. Patton's