The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1914-11-12
STATE MINE INSPECTOR BELL
PREDICTS NEW INDUSTRY HERE
TAYs EXPERIMENTS BUNKER HILL MAY REvoL.
uTloNlzE MINING lNDusTRY-PAINT PIGMENTS ONE OF
PRODUCTS OF PROCESS.


made at the Bunker Hill a Sullivan
mill under the direction of Stanly a.
Easton, manager of the company.
which promise to result in the sue
cessful extraction of all metallic val
ues in the ores. and the production Of
refined lead, zinc. silver and possibly
other metals right here In the district.
are being watch with more interest
than any process that has ever been
tried In the Coeur d'Alenes, When
one considers the vast sums that arc
now paid for freight and treatment OF
the ores of the district and that this
process means the retention of that
amount In the district, It's investment
In plants at home and the creation OF
new and ever growing Industry,
one is able to grasp some idea Of the
importance of these experiments.
While the management of the COM
pany Is not inclined to give out de-
tailed information at this time on the
progress made In the experimental
work, II can be definitely stated that
the process has been demonstrated
to be successful, that pure lead, zinc
and silver have been extracted and
that the experimental work now is be-
ing directed toward adapting II to
! handling ore on commercial basis.
Great progress Is being made In that
direction, and 1t IS believed that the
next few months will see the process
In practical operation. The process is
not limited to the ores that are now
being treated by concentration and
smelling. It will recover the values
also in complex ores In which lead
and zinc are so combined that present
methods have failed to separate them,
and In this respect 1t will give com
mercial value to vast ore deposits In
this district and other parts OF the
west which are now worthless
What Inspector Bell Says.
, State Mine Inspector Robert n. Bell
recently visited Wallace and the Occur
d'Alene district in general, and on his
return to Boise gave out this state
ment for publication
: Several of the big mines In Sho-
= shone county are closed down ana
t others are running at materially re-
duced capacity. An effort is being
. made by the operators to keep their
crews employed as fully as possible,
and a good deal Of development work
h Is in progress and has been during the
= past year with favorable results In the
development Of new ore resources ana
improved milling processes looking to
a closer recovery of the mineral VAL
ues in the ore, and of the utilization Of
low grade and refractory ore mixtures,
which the deeper levels Of the mines
l have disclosed in several instances.
"Flotation is becoming important
! there In the recovery Of slimod ore
values, and the method invented and
perfected by George Wyman, Jr, for
= merly Of Boise, is still popular In the
Occur d'Alenes, and Is cutting big
figure in the milling processes Of thai
district
New Method Of Mineral Extraction.
'One OF IHG HlOSl Pap'
O cesses In the line Of ore treatment Il
8 now being worked out on practica
g scale after most encouraging labora.
r tory tests at the north mill Of the Bun
% ker Hill and Sullivan company at Kel'
n logg, where the manager. Stanly a
Is Easton, is fathering a process tina
II PROMISES to eliminate the present cost
% ly necessity Of water concentration
|. and smelling. It Is an electro chemi
,e cal method that gives definite promis
Is Of delivering refined metals, inclndin
lead zinc and silver, and by-produc
10 Of pure iron oxide pigment at loE
If cost of treatment direct from the orr
,e The successful outcome OF this effor
N can hardly be ovcrestimated In busi
,e ness way for the Occur d'Alene distric
lie as 1t means that in view OF the rae
II that Idaho mines at the present tim
produce fully one-third Of the tots
Is lead production Of the United States
,e and a good proportion of its zinc tha
4. the finished products Of these metal
* in the form Of lead and zinc oxide
al soft lead bullion, pure zinc and refine
V silver will be produced in this distric
IN and should transfer at least one-thir
it of the present American paint pigmer
of business to the Occur dAlenes an
he Idaho and establish new and In
portant enterprise at home.
ed "The new process is based on SIN
s. ple chemical reaction, discovered py
id chemist in the employ of the BunK'
rk Hill and Sullivan company Who'
in manager has put other specialists
'o1 work in the practical working out
the method, and the results they nay
obtained so far give the most encoul
aging prospects of the early birth of
at most important industry Of far-reaci
rl-.I ing effect to the mining worio
m large. and to the Coeur dAlene MIN
m IN particular, which arc such lari
,ct nroducers Of these useful industr1
u