Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-01-11
MAMMOTH PLANT
IN CALIFORNIA
-----------------------------
Something About Smelter Where
Centennial Eureka Ores
May Be Treated.
MINE BIG COPPER PRODUCER.
Matte Product Has Been Brought to
Utah Heretofore--Bate
improvements.

The mammoth Snelter OF the Uniteu
States Smelling. Refining & Mining
company in Shasta county. California.
Is the subject OF an interesting arti-
Gle in the current number OF the Min
ing and Scientific Press.
The development OF this smelter.
says the writer. is characteristic of
the rapid growth of the copper mining
industry In Shasta county. This enter
prise was started about three years
ago by the development of the mine,
which is situated at distance of 49,
600 feet from the smelter and at an
elevation of $500 feet above II. The
ore is carried over an aerial tramway,
which tramway discharges into bins
from which the ore is loaded into the
chargecars. Limestone is hauled to the
smelter from the quarry, an electric
road connecting this quarry with the
smeIter Silcious ore and coke are
brought from the outside, the railroad
cars running over the top Of the re-
ceiving bins and discharging into them
The profile between the mine and the
smelter is difficult and the sticky char
acter OF the ore also renders the ex-
listing method of transport unreliable
and insufficient to meet the demands Of
the enlarged smelling works now being
constructed In consequence. the aerial
system will soon be abandoned and
a gravity incline used In conjunction
with electricity and steam railroads.
The terminal machinery for the former
will necessarily he massive, for the In
cline is 1000 feet long with n vertical
drop of 1.700 feet. On this slope,
which has varying grade, two stand
ard gage cars of nearly 20 tons capa-
city will be operated. the brake energy
being partly absorbed by driving q
compressor
The Mammoth mine, which supplies
the sulphide ores. is one of series of
masses irrepularly distributed In a sue
ian age along the west side of the Sac
ramento river No proof is established
that these ore bodies are confined to
any distinct lava and the various flows
have not been clearly differentiated. Ore
deposition has occurred by the total
replacement Of blocks Of rhyollte
bounded by assures and shear-zones.
Within these blocks the ore bodiese fire.
quently show but little trace OF the
original rock although in some cases
the quartz phenocrysts can be distin-
guished.
At the Mammoth mine the orc is q
massive pyrite containing from TO IL
per cent of copper and carrying a uni
form quantity of precious metals to the
which materially adds to the prosperity
OF this enterprise during the vagHries
of the copper market.
Many OF the ore bodies OF Shasta
county assume enormous proportions
and are remarkable for their uniformi-
ty of character and comparatively shall
low depth. The Mammoth ranks among
the large copper mines that have been
developed In the United States during
the last decade. and the ore bodies OF
the district have added notably to the
known copper resources of the world
being surpassed only by the enormous
low grade deposits of Bingham and Ely
and. possibly. the rich lodes in course
Of development In the Katanga district
of the Tanganyka Concessions In CEN
trail Africa. The value of the ore block
ed out at the Mammoth was recentely
reported to exceed Sl5.000,o00, but this
must now be modified In view of the
lower prices for the metal.
AT the Mammoth smelter. from 900
TO $50 tons Of quartz Ia required per
day: the company. finding the local
supply of custom silicious ore altogeth-
er insufficient to meet this demand, has
recently built u narrow gage road to
the Quartz Hill mine. which has been
leased for long period. This deposit
consists OF a series of lowgrade lenses
OF quartz carrying from 81 to SO in
gold. and about SO n.er cent silica, the
latter being purer than the majority of
local ores.
Hitherto 20 to 80 per cent matte
has been the product of the smelter
at Kennett, this being shipped to Utah
TO supply the demand for the iron
that Is mixed with the sllloious ores
OF Bingham. or the three blast-furn-
aces at present in service. one has a
steel water Jacket top which Is Civ.
ing excellent results. so satisfactory
has this Improvement been, in pre-
venting heavy incrustation and con-
sequent freezing. that II will soon be
adopted on all the furnaces. A light
crust Is constantly forming on the up-
per part of the furnace. but this soon
falls or in scales; not only does II pre-
vent the thick incrustatlon and subse
quent freezing or low capacity that ia
usual with the brick tons but this
water Jacketed top also forms n scale
OF sufficient thickness to cause II 10
fall back into the furnace Instead cf
being carried upward as nue-dust.
This Is an important development In
blast-furnace construction,
The smelter plant Is being much en-
larBed and It Is expected that all the
additions Will be completed in Jan
uary, 1908. Two blast-furnaces ara
being added; these are so by $50 inch-
81. with water-Jacketed tops and set.
tiers OF 16 feet diameter, and an in.
termittent tap. Tho brick tops OF tho
old furnaces win also be replaced with