The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-06-29

plete chemical analysis made was the
true nature of the ore revealed, result
ing in the discovery of one of the rich
est arsenic deposits known. The ore
body. averages 25 to 80 per cent. pure
EbwIc, and as 1t Is said that II could
Oe profitably worked If il averaged only
per cent. II is evident that there is
for dividends for the stockholders OF
the enterprise.
The ore is found in a assure vein, or
rather in a series of fissure veins, out
cropping at various places on the sur
face and extending into the earth for
an unknown distance At the surface
the principal vein is feet 2 inches In
thickness. At depth of 100 feet it has
widened to fully IA feet. Twenty dis
tinct veins have been discovered and
located, outcropping on the surface for
a distance of seven miles, so that it is
evident that the deposits are extensive
enough to supply the worlds demands
for an indefinite period in the future. A
thousand feet below the level OF the
mine opening is an arsenical spring
whose poisonous properties have been
known for years. This spring was dis
covered by farmer, who noticed that
whenever his cows were turned into "A
certain pasture one was sure to get
sick.
Observation soon convinced him that
the cause of the cows indisposition lay
in the water, and an anlysis of the
water revealed the presence of arsenic
in considerable quantities. However, no
one seems to have thought the discov-
cry of much Importance until Mr.. Brin-
ton arrived on the scene. Learning
of the arsenical spring, he reasoned
that as water seeks n lower level, the
source of the poisoned waters must be
~lnAV.1 atafW
tematic search revealed the arsenical
pyrites, 1000 feet above the level of
the spring. But to the sick COW in
the first instance belongs the honor of
the discovery.
Reducing the Ore.
The arsenic mine is entered by means
of tunnel driven into the mountain
side for a distance of 217 feet, where 1t
crosscuts the vein of arsenopyrite, into
which entries are then driven in both
directions. When the ore is taken from
the mine it is conveyed to a crusher
having a capacity of six tons an hour.
Leaving the crueher. 1t passes by grav-
ity to the rolls, where ii Is finely pull
verified, then going to the furnaces
The metal arsenic volatilzes at a tenn
perature of 100 degrees centigrade, and
is rapidly vaporized at a dull red heat.
Advantage is taken of this fact to man
ufacture the oxide, in which form II is
chiefly used for commercial purposes,
direct from the ores, without first re-
duCing II to its metallic form. In the
furnaces or ovens 1t is volatilized into
gas. and then precipitated as arsenious
oxide. which, however, contains many
impurities and must be further purified
by subima ton.
The first stroke of work at the Brin-
ton mines was performed Friday.
March Is. 1903. In reckless disregard
of the unlucky 10 hoodoo. the plant be-
gan operations on Jan. 13, 1904, precise
ly ten months after the first breaking
of ground. showing that in those ten
months someone had done some hus-
thing. At the present time the output
of the plant is three tons of pure white
arsenic every day, or 80 tons a month.
The machinery installed has just dou-
BILE the capacity at which it now runs.
and on June ! the production will he
doubled, so that 1t will produce three
tons every twelve hours, running night
and day The entire output has been
contracted for five years in advance.
Possibilities of Destruction.
The figures of the production may
not look very imposing, but when one
stops to think of them they contain
some startling possibilities. Only two
grains are required to kill a strong and
vigorous man. The present daily pro-
duction is, therefore, sufficient to sup
ply a death portion to 1s,Sl6.000 per-
sons The output for four days would
furnish fatal dose for every man,
woman and child in the United States.
When the plant is operated to it's full
capacity of six ton per day after June
1 il will turn out enough in three and
one-hslf weeks to wipe out the entire
population of the globe. The product
of the plant Is packed in casks, each
containing 44S pounds. The contents of
one of those Misunderstanding casks is
sufficient to put an eternal quietus on
627, 200 persons.
1t might be supposed that the men
working in the plant that thus turns
out death by wholesale would be ex-
posed to unusual hazards. The aver
age duration of life among the men
who work in the arsenic mines and
manufacturing plants of Europe is said
to be only about 40 years. However,
the precautions and safeguards taken
at the Brinton plant are. so complete
and efficient that 1t is believed that the
workmen will die of old age or almost
anything under the sun rather than ar
senic poisoning. From the time when
the ore enters the crushers until the
finished product reaches the casks Ii is
untouched by human hands. 1t is car
RED along ITOHl point 10 pOllli Dy au-
tomato arrangements through each
process of manufacture. Not only this,
but the impalpable dust and poisonous
gases and vapors generated in the
works are so closely confined that the
atmosphere of the plant is at all times
pure. K1MMkMM
Town of Brfnton.
These gases and exhalations are car
ried off by smokestacks, one t05 and
the other 10 feet high. and thus dis
sipated in the upper air. AS a further
precaution the works are provided with
hot and cold baths, which the men
are required to make use of as soon as
their daily task is finished.
The town Of Brinton. planted on the
mountain top as a result of the OPEN
ing OF the mine, has plenty of room
in which to grow. The company owns
1020 acres of land on which are To-
Gated the mine. works and village,
containing at present a population of
1872 persons. The plant consists of the
mine and reduction works. nine cot
tages, besides that of Mr.. Brinton, who