The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1911-07-29
Experts New Process

NeAt 10 cripple Nreek, no camp IN
the state equals Idaho Springs in me-
tai activity. If experiment along
different lines will turn the trick the
title of mill City" will b retained
drawn from far and near TO see how
they do it. Ore of the better grade,
above SIS to the ton in gold-copper or
gold-lead values Is marketed at fair
profit and in numerous small lots as
tn. re are no large producers in the dis
trict but rather hundreds of small ones,
manly worked by leasers The sam
pling plant of the Chamber lain Dill
hngham company which handles so per
cent of the ore shipments has some
1000 customers on its books. During
the month of June it shipped fifty
eight car loads of ore to the valley
smelters, exclusive of Golden, conf
pared with forty-one cars in June,
1910. AT twenty tons to the car this
means I,I60 tons compared with $50, a
gain of 3 10 tons or il excess of Al per
cent. So much fer the camp in general.
1t is doing much better than it did last
year. The leading hotels are crowd
ed with guests calling for the frequent
use of their annex apartments, while
there are no idle men to be seen on the
well kept streets.
To the person interested in the mill
ing Of low and medium grade ores the
Hudson mill, owned by New York
capitalists and managed by Arthur H.
Roller, a School of Mines graduate, is
an item of prime Importance, because
the method followed is new depar-
ture in milling and one that gives the
small miner no cause for suspicion or
complaint. The ores are purchased
outright on the fire assay basis going
as low in value as $2.75 to the ton.
Last week the mill was c.osed for the
purpose of installing cyanide fixtures,
it being the purpose OF the manage
ment to use cyanide in all the depart
ments, from the stamps for crushing
the ores to the final treatment Of the
tailings in the secondary section.
The item of energizing the plates and
amalgamation tanks with electricity
peculiar to this plant is retained
The electricity is generared at the
mill and costs about cents to the ton
of ore, the capacity of the plant
ranging from Is to 100 tons each day,
or twice what it was when the mill
the new arrangement the plant will
resume August l, and expects to save
SO per cent of the assay values. In
the item of preparation the ore is
crushed to twenty four mesh which is
not fine grinding, while the average of
the material handled runs So to the
ton. AS the milling company owns
the material paying the miner upon de-
livery and test, it is free to make its
own mixtures and to handle those mix
lures to the best advantage mat
ter out Of the reach of the average
custom mill, which must handle the
ores as they are offered. Under the
old practice saving of so per cent of
the values was considered satisfactory.
AS the cyanide solution is pumped
back and used over the cost of this fea-
ture is small.
At cost of sI2, 900 to SIS, 900 the
new plant for the David McKelvey
process backed by Chic 4go capitalists,
is about completed and within the next
thirty days some valuable lessons will
be given in forced amalgamation,
which il popular title tor this method
in which heated ore, mercury steam
and hot water play important roles.
To each ton of ore ground to 100
mesh fine grinding] two pounds of
chemical compound is added, the
makeup of this compound constituting
the secret of the process. The cost of
the chemicals is about five cents per
pound. This, with forced ,contract
with the mercury make ap the
features of this fifty tonexpsri-
ment which is almost ready to
emerge and add its title to the list of
successes, failures, or partial successes
in the metallurgical line. As the mer-
eury is recovered and cured by heat
the cost of the process is presumably
low SO that ores of small value may be
handled profit
At the old Boneita mill the Combina-
tion Leasing and Milling company made
up of New York actors and actresses 10
trying is hand at up-to- date
milling. The capacity of the over
hauled plant will be IS tons each day.
1t will include concentration and ANAL
gamation, while cyanide for the tall
ings will be added later on as the