The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-06-23
Important Branch of Industry
Little Understood in Out
, side Circles Generally.
THEY FIND ACCURATE
-, AVERAGE OF ORES
Process at Pioneer Sampler Is
Described for Benefit
of Laity.


vital bearing upon the successful mar.
keting of ores of all kinds, and an in
iustry very little mentioned, and, as
general rule, little understood, is iho
ore sanpling business. Salt Lake being
one of The first points az Importance IN
the ore handling trade, is amply pro-
vided with ore samplers, there being
two in the valley. one near Murray,
the Tavlor and Brmton company; the
other at Sandy. and known as the Plo-
neer Ore Samplipg company. The pur-
pose of an ore sampllng concern is TO hll
the requirements of an absolute unbiased
and uninterested determination of
the value of all ores semi into the chan
nsls of trade by the mine-ovner The
process leaves nothing to guess work;
favoritsln is foreign TO the industry,
and at the same time both the shipper
and the buyer, through this lntcrmc-
diary means, know exactly that when
they sell or buy q car according 10
sampler results, they get exactly what
is coming to them.
a few days ago the management of
the Pioneer company invited rep
resentative of The Tribune 10 visit its
renovated plant al Sandy, and To see
in what manner the new owners have
made anew the oldest ssmping plant
in the valley. This sampler has been IN
operation for about thirty years. and IFS
life of usefulness has been attended
with frequent disasters. such as fires,
but with several stages of rejuvenation
at stated intervals as we'll. The pres
ent owners have been In charge but a
half n year vet IN that time the plant
has been brought 10 a modern stage Of
efficiency, and better or more work was
never done throughout the history of
The concern than at present. Under
the guidance of Manager G. +, Taylor
and Superintedent l.. 4. Copeland. each
detail of ore sampling was fully cx-
planned to the writer.
The Pioneer plant is located upon
the tracks Of the Oregon Short Line
sud the Rio Grsnde railroad companies.
Much of the orc comes via these two
lines. although from some camps, As Al
Ia. the ore Is brought in by wagon.
That ore coming from camps with rail,
road connection is placed directly over
the chute leading into the first hopper,
the process of unloading taking but a
short time. The orc from Alta in many
instances is loaded aboard cars down
IN the Pionner yards. although some
is placed in the storage bins Of the
plant 10 he conveyed thence b. means
Of carrier belts 10 the hopper above
mentioned. The first hopper has a ca
pacitY Of something like seventy five
tons of ore, and IS located directly be-
meath the railroad tracks.
From this hopper the ore rs conveyed
through gate TO a No ! Gates gyra-
tory crusher, where it is crushed into
sizes not exceeding diameter of two
inches An elevator then takes this
ore to the extreme Top OF the mill,
whence the same is discouraged through
a sampling machine that cuts ont twen-
ty per cent Of the mass. lac rejected
slightly per cent then passes over
carrier belt into the reloadMg hopper,
whose capacity is ;bodt fifty tons.
This rock is then released through a
spout into the reloading car standing
upon the scales. During the following
stages Of procedure, that percentage
Of ore rejected at the various Steps al
so finds its way into the reloading car
above mentioned.
The fifth or twenty per cent cut
OUT as above mentioned. IS passed
through a large crusher which reduces
the particles TO three -fourths of an inch
IN size This is run through another
sampling machine that iii lis turn cuts
out fifth or twenty per cent of the
whole. This fifth is then passed
through set Of Allis rolls which re-
duces the size of the PARTICLES 80 three
eighths of an inch. Jhe ore is then
nassed through another samplp@ ma
chine that extracts a fifth of the whole,
which then passes through SCI Of lyX
% Davis rolls. the process reducing the
particles 10 The size of ordinary build
ing sand. or to the size Of the ordinary
concentrates.
The sample then IL conveyed TO the
cutting room where il is further cut
down in amount By Jones divider to
probably forty TO sixty pounds, the
amount varying according to the quail
itv of ore being handled. The ore is
then placed IN the steam dryer where
every bit of moisture IS driven off, aft
er which il is passed through an Engle-
bach grinder where IL is reduce TO the
size Of iftv-mesh. The mass is then
still further cut down by Jones di
wider to about forty to sixty ounces
and sent through a l00-mesh screen.
The finely ground ore is then thorough
" mixed. and placed into the sample
pouches Of about six or seven ounces
each ready for the assayer. This ore
is then called pulp.
Usually the shipper and the smelters
each select an sssayer, and the result
of the assays upon the pulp are technl-
cally known as controls. If the two as
says are near enough together, set
tlement for the whole lot is made from
average struck from the two. Should
the assayer selected by the shipper.
and that chosen by the emelters. Sc.
cure results from the pulp too far apart
TO suit the interested parties, the as
sayers FIRST repeat the test. and If the
result is not satisfactory. then the ser
vices Of an umpire are called into play.
his results being added to the nearest
control result formerly secured. and
upon the average of the two the set
Element for the lot is made. Usually
the umpire is selected by mutual agree.
ment, but in the majority of cases the
contract between the smelter and the
shipper designstes who the umpire shall
ne, there being several usually mention.
ed, all reputable assayers. the list be.
ing chosen from by rotation
In some instances the samplers at
tend 10 the marketing of the ores for
the shipper where contracts are not in
existence with the smelters. In mapv
instances this is found TO be to the adj
vantage of the shipper, as the sampler
officials are in closer touch with tine
metal markets, with the needs of the
various smelters,- thus knowing which