The Owyhee nugget. ([Silver City], Idaho) 1905-1984, 1908-07-03
THE BANNER MILL.
A Description of the Plant.

may be had by following the ore from
where it comes out of the mine from g
crosscut tunnel, near the head of Coffee
gulch, on the east side Of Florida Noun.
tain, and following it until it has gone
through the mill, on Long gulch, about
one half mile above the Blaine mill of the
Trade Dollar company, on the same gulch,
and about one and quarter miles south
west of Silver City:
The ore coming from the mine in tram
cars, drawn by tractable and handsome
little Missouri mule, and taken 100 feet
along level track skirting the eastern
side OF the mountain, where the ore is
dumped in a bin, whence it is loaded into
the cars on gravity track III feet long
and descends the mountain to an ore bin
at the top Of the mill, 800 feet lower down
than the top of the gravity tram. The
cars are dumped automatically, over a
grizzly, which lets the finer portion drop
into the bin, while the coarser rock is
passed through the 9x15 inch jaws Of a
Blake crusher and falls into the same
bin, whence it goes through auto
matte feeders to the four 300 pound
Nissen stamps ON the floor below. This
battery of stamps is set upon reinforced
concrete foundation, 20 feet long and 8
feet wide on the bottom, sixteen feet in
depth, with six feet in the ground, and
top surface of 6xlS feet. The drop of the
stamps in the batteries can be regulated
as desired between one and 6 inches
Each stamp is guaranteed to crush and
deliver through 80 mesh screen, 71S
tons Of ore in "A hours, giving the battery
a capacity of producing 80 tons per day,
which with average rock, it will consider
ably exceed.
From the battery, the pulp is run over
a Callow classifer, the coarser portions
being delivered on a Whitley concentrating
table and the finer turned into three Cal
low tanks, where the surplus water is
drawn off, and the pulp delivered through
goose neck pipes connected with the bot
toms of these coneshaped tanks with
three. johnson concentrators, over which
all the finer pulp is run.
From all the concentrators, the pulp is
then run into six other Callow tanks,
located on the next lower floor, whence it
it is fed in the same manner, into six 5
foot Davis amalgamating pans, treated
with quicksilver, bluestone, salt ETC., and
further ground, whence it runs into three
foot settlers, where the quicksilver in
tended to have taken up the remaining
values, in the form of amalgam, and
drawn into cone shaped canvass bags,
locked in receptacles, and the residue of
the pulp is run over Pierce rifles, beneath
the settlers, intended to catch any stray
values which might escape, and is allowed
to run into the creek.
Having thus described the course
which the ore takes, from the time it
leaves the mine until it passes through
treatment in the mill, we will now give a
brief description of the mill as it stands;
The building is go feet wide on its south
or lower side, and from the lower floor to
the top of the ore bin on the north side,
rises to a height Of 80 feet The south
side foundation is rock wall s feet deep.
Between the amalgamating floor and the
floor behind it, is a ma
sonry wall 16 feet high; between the floor
where the concentrators are set and the
battey floor, there is another substantial
wall OF 20 feet, and behind the
battery floor and under the north side of
the ore bin is another 10 foot retaining
wall. The ore bin above the battery
feeders is set upon heavy sawed timbers,
very substantially built, to support the
1000 pound Blake crusher on its top.