El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-08-29

would scarcely equal that OF one OF
the present furnaces. Almost from the
start the enterprise was successful
After while it was consolidated with
interests dominated by August X
Meyer. Of Kansas City, and was known
as the FL Paso Smelling works, branch
OF the Consolidated kansas CITY
smelling & Refining company unoer
which corporate name it still exists
The plant has always been Gus
toms smelter. never depending for us
raw material upon the product OF
mines owned by the smelling company.
Even when ores have been treated
by companies very closely allied to the
smelling company, the handling OF
such ores has been done in exactly the
same manner as If they were bought
from outsiders
Started on Lead Ores Only.
In the beginning all the ore treated
was lead bearing and the only pfoolct
Of the plant was lead bullion As the
southwestern section developed It's
mines, copper ores began TO seek
market, and finally one small copper
blast furnace was added In l5Ou the
smelling plant comprised eight olast
furnaces, one Of which was working
on copper ores. In 1901 after very
disastrous fire, the blast furnace build
ing and the power house were reoulll-
Six large lead blast furnaces and one
copper furnace were constructed Win
IN two years the amount OF business
had so increased that two lead rur-
naces and one copper furnace were
added. Just prior to the disastrous
panic Of 1907, nine blast furnaces were
running regUlarly-seven lead fur
naces and two copper furnaces-smelt-
ing about $4,000 tons OF material per
month.
The Big Growth Recently.
Beginning with 1903 the business OF
the plant dWindled considerably and
for a couple Of years It ran only at
YelOpment OF the southern New Mexico
porphyritic copper ores began, ande a
contract was made diverting to FL
Paso all the concentrates from the
great mill at Hurley, New Mexico, OF
the Chino Copper company. These con-
centrates required q different treat
ment from the ores hitherto handled
in the blast furnaces, and an equip
ment costing about 100000 was put
in TO handle this product In Septem-
Der. 1911, the first blister copper ever
produced in Texas was made at the FL
PasO smelling works With the in
creasing price Of copper, more ores OF
this metal we're brought to the plant,
ana IN 1917 IuELueE dQ4ALAOl5 WEI .
necessary, and now IN 1914 operations
are being rushed on the construction
OF Improvements TO handle still larger
quantities Of concentrates and other
fine copper ores
The converter plant includes two
large converters 10 feet in diameter
and about IS feet long, and one smaller
converter about Il feet IN diameter
and 16 feet high
Blast Furnace Building.
The blast furnace building is OF steel
construction Is by $50 feet and con-
tains six lead furnaces and three cop
per furnaces. the lead furnaces having
a capacity OF 200 tons each OF charge
in "A hours. The copper furnaces have
a capacity of over 500 tons each Of
charge in q hours The Stag from
the copper furnaces flows into Il foot
settlers which are circular and made
OF one-half inch steel plates lined with
fire brick The Stag overflows and is
transported by the hand pots TO the
Stag cars in the train which carries
all the Stag TO the dump. Improve
ments are now being made TO arrange
for the tapping Of all this Stag direct
" into the pots Of the train without
any hand labor
Roasting Plant.
The rooster plant for the copper de-