El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-07-12
MAY PRESAGE
WEALTH To
FL PASO
English Metallurgical En-
gineer Discusses the DaW-
son Smelling Process.
CAN BE OPERATED
AT MOUTH OF MINE
Expected to Mean to Copper
What Cyaniding Has
Meant to Gold Industry.
By THOMAS E. MACKENZIE.

By THOMAS E. MACKENZIE.
Fellow Of the Chemical Society OF Lon
don. Member of the Institution Of
Mining and MetalIurgy, London
TT Is my decided opinion that in the
near future the Dawson process Of
= smelling viii put the spark Of life
into copper metallurgy. just as Bes-
semer and Macarthur put the spark Of
life into that Of steel and gold
FL Paso has cause for cOngratulatiOn
that the process was perfected and first
brought to light IN this city.
believe IL win result in valuable
increases 70 FL PaSJ's wealth from the
I have been some time in Ell Paso
waiting until conditions in Mexico
should permit OF mining operations be-
ing resumed in that country, and have
met Dr. Oliver B. Dawson, Lne91nYentOr
Of the process to which refer with
the great problems OF ore treatment
present In my mind, was greatly in
terested in what ne had TO show me Of
his work In making the recovery of
copper in its ores easy and profitable
How Inventions Come.
Improvements in metalIurgical meth
DDS have always been made by men
outside Of that particular industry.
Thus il came about that WatChmaher
named Henry Bessemer invented t.e
now famous Besemer converter which
reasonable price. 1t is difficult TO cali
Culate the benefit the world has de-
rived from Bessemers invention Ills
success depended On the tacr that he
did not attempt to follow resL---l
along conventional lines
In the metaIurgy Of gold and silver,
the cyanide process mas reFoluuonlzed
that industry This was invented by
John 5. Macarthur, q metallurglsL en-
gagged at the time IN an entirety differ
ent branch OF industry When the
ru~r az
only one mine in South Africa able 70
pay. its way; now, with this process, it
is the greatest gold producer OF the
I an sure that the Dawson process OF
smelling is as much OF a revolution as
either Of these inventions
The Dawson Method
In ordinary smelling the man in
charge does not concern himself 50
much about the copper IN the ore His
business is 10 make thin Stag with
the gangue- In his second operation
converting" he gets a blister, or black
copper. which IS precisely the same as
that produced by the Dawson process In
enc operation This is done by going
direct for the copper mineral and leaY-
ing the barren gangue alone
Take the case Of a 10 percent copper
smelt out the small quantity OF copper
than to 90 to the trouble and expense
Of melting the other 30 percent as We'll
The process is conducted in a revolving
by the flame from a crude oil burner
Reducing the ore.
The ore is first heated, with free ad-
mission Of air, sufficiently to open up
mineral for the next stage, reduction
Reduction means bringing some sub
stance in contact with the highly
heated mineral lOX1de OF copper Wnlcn
viii rob the oxygen from it. and leave
it in the form Of metal
This is done BY throwing into the
allure Of 1900 degrees F., quantity OF
charcoal equal to 20 pounds TO the ton
Quick Reduction Accomplished.
The required pressure. which is such
an important aid to chemical action. Is
obtained by the rapid evolution OF car
bOniC oxide gas As all outlets are
closed 1mme dlately after the charcoal IS
put in. a considerable pressure result IS
The excess OF pressure IS relieved BY
suitable valves
In les than five minutes after the
charcoal enters the furnace, reduction
OF the mineral TO metal is complete
and the contents are discharged.
As presently arranged, the Furnaces
takes a five ton charge every hour
Special precautions are taken TO pre-
vent reOLidatiOn OF the hot metal
The only thing melted is the metaIs
the ganSue IS not aItecred beyond be-
ing made more friable by the heating
and therefore more easily crushed.
The Concentration
cry respect TO the material which the
Calumet and Hecla and other comoa-
MES In the same nelghbOclOOd are
treating with so much success 1t only
requires to be finely ground and passed
over the ordinary concentrating tables
in the usual way. with the certainty Of
equally good recOFeries being made as
those vel known companies are max
ing.
The costs Of the first coarse crush
Ing and reduction process do not eN-
coed 81 per ton The subsequent fine
grinding and concentration are Just the
same as in the other processes One
great advantage of this plant is that
II is intended for erection at the mine
mouth. The only supplies required are
10 gallons OF crude oil and 20 pounds
OF charcoal per ton or ore treated.
some Ancient Mining History
Among Industrial arts. working In
copper and iron is the Oldest
We find IL recorded in the first
pages of sacred history that Tabal Cain
was the instructor Of every artificer
IN brass and IRON There is no record
or the method employed i'm obtaining
these metals iron. their ores. at that
early stage in the worlds history but
we nave ample evidence Of the nature
or the work done by the Romans during
their occupancy of southern spain ana
PORTUGAL The Romans were driven OUT
or these countries before the Christian
era, and left behind them millions OF
tons of Stag from the copper ores
smelted by them
Their skill as proSpectors IS pfottu
cy the fact that no profitable mine las
been discovered i'm these countries Ll-L
had not first been worked by Ine 80
mans They mined the richer Or
only, leaving the lower Erade ores LoE
Continued on page 8. this secdOn)