The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-12-15
United States Company Will
Handle Complex Zinc Ore
at MidvaIe.
HUFF PLANT OPEN
FOR CUSTOM WORK
Makes Available Heretofore
Useless Tonnage In Several
Camps of State.

Having perfected the Huff clectrostatic
process in its Midvale works to the eX
tent that the capacity OF the plant Is
beyond Its own requirements, the United
States Smelling, Refining and Mining
company Will place this portion of Its
works at the disposal OF its customers
who have complex lead -zinc-ircn tom
mage developed. but no means OF bringing
II within commercial shape, This step
will afford an immediate market for the
stubborn tonnages OF Bingham. Park
City and Stockton camps, which have
heretofore, outside OF individual opera
tions been unable to procure a market
for ore that is extremely attractive these
days OF high zinc prices.
The United States company. therefore,
enters the custom market for milling ores
as we'll as ores for its smclter at Md
vale. In q recent article in tho Mining
World. this Hum plant OF the United
states company was described in detail.
and the following excerpt will be of IN
tercst In this connection:
AS q result OF the excellent showing
OF this elcctrostatic plant, the United
States Smelling, Mining and Refining
works at Midvale. Utah. The function OF
an electrostatic plant there is different
from that In Platteville. for the ore from
the mine OF the United States company
at Bingham contains about per cent
zinc In addition TO the gold. silver and
lead values
This ore is shipped to tho concentrator
at Midvalc, where it Is crushed and milled
by the usual methods OF iigs and tables.
In this concentration there were formerly
TWO products, one a lead pyrite carrying
the iron and considerable zinc, and a tall
inGs carrying zinc and some gold and
silver values. the object being TO keep
the zinc as low as possible in the lead
concentrate. and yet at The same time
silver, lead and copper values. The zinc
added materially TO the difficulty and
cost of smelling the lead concentrates,
and, Al the same time, was total loss.
In order to recover this zinc. three pro-
ducts were made In the concentrator
lead -pyrite carrying practically no zinc.
tallines free from zinc. and middlinES
containing about 22 per cent zinc. the
balance pyrite and some copper, lead,
gold and silver.
ITO treat these rniddings. an electro
static plant was built near the concentra-
tor. II is frame building, 4oxi0 feet.
and covered with corrugated sheet-iron,
Plattevllle plant--fnishcd orc bins on the
ground floors, and two floors of scpara-
tors. The method of handling the ore is
somewhat different The mlddlings are are
wet concentrator into tram cars, which
are pushed to the platform elevator at
the electrostattc plant, The cars are
raised 10 the third floor level, and, after
Weighing, arc dumped into rty-ton
hopper. This is built over the dryer, and
feeds automatically. After drying, the
ore is screened as follows: Making a size
l9 on -, B size "a on So size through
30 mesh. .....-
"The oversize is small in amount and
very low in zinc. so instead OF recrushinG
st. Il is put directly into the finished
pyrite. The three sizes. A. q and g., arc
separated. and the products drawn from
the bins on the first floor into tram cars.
These are run out OF the mill 10 the
loading trcStlc and dumped Into freight
cars. The pyrite product Is smelted IN
the United States smclter near by. and
the zinc product is shipped 10 the Kan
sas zinc smeiters.
The plant Ia electric driven by 20
horsepower motor. the fifteen Hun sepa-
rators requiring about one -thlro morse
for the electrostatic field Is located In
small room on the finishing floor. A 3.
horsepower motor is directly, coupled
10 a generator. and the strength OF hcld
The plant is operated in conjunction with
the concentrator, and the supcrintend-
ence, assaying and bookkeeping is taken
care OF by the smelter stan
."rhis elcctrostatc plant not only re-
moves the Objectionable zinc from the
lead -pyrite concentrate. but makes ol IT
a marketable product. and, instead OF
a profit, The electrostatic process III
these two plants demonstrates Two aPph-
| cations in GRE dressing, one the custom
and the other as an adjunct 10 wet
concentra,or for the recovery OF zinc.
Besides these plants, there is being
| installed In Nevada a plant working on
through no concentrating machinery prior
| 10 its elcctrostatic treatment. The process
has been proved applicable 10 many spe-
| clal problems. such as the concentration
| of copper and lead silver ores In heavy
gangues such as garnet. baritc, cpidote,
ctc.'