Mohave County miner., 1914-06-13
Anaconda Copper.

processes which have been perfected by the Anaconda Copper Mining con- pany to care for the shines and the tailings of that company's enormous mine output will have tremendous bearing upon the future of the copper industry and the Butte district.
 Had anyone suddenly run across a great new mine in or around Butte, a mine that had an inexhauslible sup ply of s per cent ore which could be mined at the rate of 300 tons per day and at one-half the cost to mine ore at the Leonard, the High Ore or the An aconda, the excitement over the find would have stirred the entire mining world.
 And yet the equivalent of that has been done in the round table process in successful operation for over a month in the company's new plant at the Washoe smelter.
 Definite results have been secured as the plant has now been in operation long enough to determine accurately the costs of operation and the profits accruing.
 For many years the shines. looking like muddy water of clay like color, have Just been running off carrying them the great values in copper ore ha, ft ko
 Samples of the water containing the shines disclosed long ago what was being lost. The great problem was how to save it and to find process that would not be so costly that it would not pay.
 The same proposition existed in re- gard to the tailngs. After long and careful experimenting, the construc- tion of the round table plant was de- cided upon. Now ss the shines come away. instead of being sent in the fumes to the pond across the track to run off with their valuable contents, the 22OO tons each day is taken to the dewatering plant located next to the old tank house. There, in long building, are l60 thickeners as tho tanks are called.
 The shines. coming in a great duct into this building, are distributed in- to the l60 tanks. These are each three feet deep and 2S feet in diam eter. Four tanks are placed one above the other and two rows of 20 sets each are at either end of the building.
 In these tanks the solids are settling constantly and it is estimated that about 9S per cent sinks to the bottom. This is taken off in solution that is estimated to contain about l5 per cent of solids.
 This solution is sent to the round tables and here a very interesting pro- cess is witnessed. The round tables are of cement with d rough surface. As the slime comes upon the table, the latter revolves constantly. The heaviest part of the solids in solution settle while the lighter parts run off at the edge.
 When the table gets to certain point, swift stream of water washes the heavy settings off. It is this which contains the larger part of the copper. The mddlings as they are called, including some of the lighter solids are sent back 10 come through the process again while the water and some very light material is taken away.
 The solution containing the heavy solids is sent to another series of five tanks where a similar process to the first is gone through. These tanks are 50 feet in diameter and l2 feet deep and the weight at the bottom is so great and the pressure so strong that huge steel rods few inches apart have to be used to hold tho wooden tanks and keep them from bursting.
 The pulp from here is taken to the filters where through process of suction, the solid matter is drawn from the pull D which is about 50 per cent solids. This looks like clay and comes out on the outside of the big revolving cylinders and Is scraped off automat,- cally upon an endless belt which car riss it to the cars.
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