Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1907-11-09
COPPER IN VERMONT
South Stafford Mines Promise to be
Paying Proposition.

Copper mining and smelling,
which was at one time extensively
carried on in certain sections Of
Vermont, has dwindled down to al
most nothing until recently, when a
new company secured the mines and
large tracts of land at and near
South Strafford and the business has
received a new impetus which bids
fair to make copper production
an important industry in this state,
says the Montpelier Daily Argus.
The Ely mines have been aban-
doned as improbable by the West
inghonse people after the expanding
of large sums of money for new ma
chinery and in prospecting, but the
South Strafford mines promise to be
a paying proposition, A large &C.
ment dam is in process of construc-
ton a short distance below the Will
age of Sharon, ard the immense
power developed is to be converted
to the South Stanford mines. At
the mines a modern smelter of 300
tons capacity is being constructed,
A large tract of timberland was
brought near the mines and steam
sawmill erected to manufacture the
half million feet of lumber needed
in constructing the smelter. Three
and one-half miles of new road have
been built at considerable expense,
and an elaborate water system with
one reservoir of three and one-half
million gallons capacity and another
smaller reservoir are to be construct
ed. An electric drive pump will be
placed at the river for an auxiliary
supply and second pumping sta
ton is to be placed at the reservoir
to supply 10000 gallon tank, At
the large reservoir pump for fire
protection will also be placed, con-
nected with pipe line and hydrants
throughout the plant.
The plant will be electrically oper-
ated, consuming 500 to 6oo-horse
power continuously. Eight miles of
transmission wire will be required to
bring the power from Sharon to the
plant and another line to distribute
power about the plant. Some fifty
horse power will be converted into
direct current to operate electric
cars, hoists, etc. A great many i'm
provements are being made at the
mines so as to get out large ton
mage of ore. When the plant is in
operation force of from $50 to 200
men will be employed. Freighting
from Pompanoosuc to the mines will
be done by oxen, eighty large ones
being used.
The ore will be taken from the
mines by an electric tram, then taken
to the mill, where it is crushed and
sampled with mechanical samplers.
From there it is carried to bins close
to the blast furnace by electric cars.
These bins are very large, holding
from two to three thousand tons of
ore and coke. The ore is taken
from these bins by means of electric
weighing cars and fed into the side
of the blast furnace.
Immense Stag pots, each holding
three and one-half tons, will be used
to remove the Stag from the blast
furnace. These Stag pots will be
pulled out by means OF horses.
The mat will be cast into moulds
and crushed, taken to a crushing
plant near the blast furnace build
ing, where it will be crushed fine
and there roasted in mechanical
roasters. This mat will then be
smelted to higher grade of copper
mat, to be shipped to the markets.
The gases from the blast furnace will
be taken away through brick hue,
400 feet in length, and stack 100
feet high and 9 feet in diameter.
The new company operating the
Elizabeth mines is known as the
Vermont Copper Co. August
Heckscher is president; 6. M.
Heckscher, manager; James w. Ty-
son, general superintendent; H. F.
Weirum, smslter superintendent
A. w. Brown, mine superintendent;
c. F. Buck, chief engineer, having
formerly been engineer at the Gar
field smelter at Garfield, Utah, for
the American Smelling and Refining
Co., the second largest in the world
c. M. Hitchcock, cashier; Victor
King, chemist Each department
has an able corps OF assistants.