Bisbee daily review., 1905-11-12

advantage. The Bessemerlzing of copper was first of all applied at the Copper Queen, then adopted by the Clifton and Jerome companies. and converters are now being erected in Globe, where the adoption of the method unquestionably will lead. as it has done elsewhere, to a rapid de velopment of the mines in depth, with a corresponding increase of produc- ton.
 "were it not for the application of better machinery above and below ground and the adoption of these i'm proved methods, the mining of copper would long ago have been abandoned For though in the Bisbee and Jerome districts, by dint of rough sorting underground, a smelting mixture of 2 or per cent can be secured. the ores of the Clifton district as extract ed, are so lean that the net yield of the concentrating ore which consti tues three-fourths of the total ore ex tracted. does not yield, after deducting loss in concentration and smelting over 2 1-2 per cent of copper.
 "The average steady decline of cop per in depth is an incident which all careful mines recognize as inevitable The outcrop of the Copper Queen ore body yielded for months 23 per cent of copper. For years an average of 12 per cent was maintained; now, of course. a much lower standard of yield is accepted as inevitable, and there is no reason to suppose that even this standard can be maintained Still. while the grade may fall human ingenuity will continue to be at work devising fresh economies, wherewitt to meet fresh exigicencies, and there fore there is no reason to suppose that copper mining and copper smelu ing will decline or cease to be the most important industry of the terri tory"
 The reduction works for the Copper Queen company and the Bonanza Cir Gle companies. are located at Dougla. distance of twenty-eight miles iron the mines. The ores are handled over the tracks of the Fl Paso & Southwestern and the ore trains iron Bisbee to Douglas are the heavies trains handled over any railroad 1T the United States. There is an ever grade from Bisbee 10 Douglas and the equipment for handling the ores O. the district is excellent.
 The Copper Queen plant at Dougla: was designed as the central smeltel for the mines of Phelps Dodge Co.,. ir Arizona and Mexico. these including the Copper Queen at Bisbee. the De troit at Morenci, the United Globe an( Old Dominion at Globe, the Moctezu ma at Nacozari. Sonora and the Stir "a de Cobre at La Cananea. Sonora Mexico. As these six properties pro duce a great diversity of copper ore. including those of practically every grade and character found in the southwest and in northern Mexico. i will be possible by means of this cen tral reduction plant to take the full est advantage of the varied nature O the ores to mix the furnace charges This plant also treats custom ores O copper, gold, and silver, mainly iron Mexican ores, but does not intend to invade the lead market
 Tn new smelling plant at Dougla. is entirely of steel, the principal build ings having the following dimensions, furnace building, 150x396 ft.; powe, house. 110x250 1t; machine shop SOx 204 ft.; boiler house, 45x20S 1t. boiler shop, SOx120 it.. and foundry 6OxS0 it. The smelter has furnaces each 42x204 inches with capacity O. about 400 tons daily. giving the plan a nominal daily capacity of 2,O0C tons. in addition to which three 42x120 inches furnaces from the olC smelter at Bisbee are installed il the western end of the new plant Each furnace has a separate settle1 and separate Connersville blower fol blast. A standard guage railroad with dump-cars cares for the slag The dust-chamber is of brick. MolteI matte is taken from furnaces to con verters by two 60-ton electric travel ing cranes, each having two 15-toI auxiliary hoists. There are four standi Of cQnverters, with monstrous shell! of the Copper Queen horizontal barre type, each Sx11 1t. inches. Blast fol the conyerters is furnished by 1 ali compressors, one for each stand, thest being cross-compound, duplex con densing Nordberg compressors witt 30 inch cylinders and 12 inch stroke The converter department is supplied with silica mill and briquettine plant, and at the close of 1904 a z. steel addition was being built. anC present equipment and capacity vii be doubled.