White Pine news weekly mining review. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1910-1920, 1914-04-26
A MOUNTAIN OF COPPER.

iaAh ? ~ I'll otVV
feet. This is not a remarkable height
for a country that lies under the
shadow of the Andes and yet the
mountain Is a CONSPICUOUS landmark
for miles around because IL its copper
green color; for here is the great
copper deposit OF Chuquicamata. one
of the largest copper deposits in the
world. It covers an area 5000 feet
long by 500 to 1900 feet In width,
and the borings so for made indicate
that 1t must contain at least two
hundred million cubic yards of cop
per ore. What such a quantity
means W. can gather by comparing
1t with the excavation for the Pana-
ma canal which will total 100000
900 cubic yards. Most of the deposit
consists of two per ZEN ore, but the
value of the ore increases with the
depth. Borings which in place have
been carried down from 1000 feet to
1885 feet show that the underlying
ore contains 3.17 per cent of copper.
Up TO 1911 the deposit was owned
by individuals and separate owners.
says Scientific American. Because &
large part of 1t is exposed. and there
Is no surface soil to be stripped off,
hundred of open cuts have been made
by miners seeking only h~igh-grade
ore. In fact, the whole surface of
the mountain is h~oneycombed with
such burrows. Some of them are
300 feet dep. but the total amount of
copper excavated is comparatively
insignificant, and nothing was done
with the low grade ore. Now the
whole mountain has been taken In
hand by an American company,
which is prepared to excayate the
entire deposit and recover the copper
it contains by means of the electricity
tic method. Work is well under way
on a plant which will handle ten
thousand tons or more per day.
Electricity will be furnished from
a 40. 000-kilowatt steam power house
at Toeopilla tthe man who Is not
familiar with South American geo.
graphy will find this port OF the map
about twenty-five degrees south OF
the Equator). The power plant will
have four turbo- generators of 10 ,0Oe
kilowatts each. The fuel used in the
plant may be either coal orfoii, but
IT is planned 10 use oil. shipped from
the California oil fields. The trans
mission line running from the power
eighty-six miles in length and will be
of sufficient capacity to deliver H.
5000 kilowatts at the mine. This
will provide for treating ten thou
sand tons per day. The current will
be transmitted at a voltage of no.
coo, and tine line will be strung on
steel towers. spaced eight to the mile.
When the capacity of the treatment
plant has been increased to double
that amount a second transmission
line will be erected. Although there
il some water power available in
the vicinity of the mine, it was de-
cided to build the steam power plant
on the coast in order to save time.
Later on hydro-electric power will
also be used.
I'll 80 ..siI ho mtna1 with Sfn9C n.
shovels from the Panama canal. The
method of extracting the copper will
be to crush the ore and place II in
large concentrate tanks. Here 1t will
be treated with a copper sulphate
solution. constiing of eight per cent
sulphuric acid and one and one-half
per EN- copper. After soaking here
for ~fourty-eight hours the solution
will be passed trough the electrolytic
tank where the copper will be deposit
cd. The sulphuric acid left in the
tank after the copper has been ex-
tracted will be used for the treatment
of the crushed ore. After first treat
ment with sulphuric acid, no more
acid will have to be introduced into
the operation as enough will be OBJ
tanned from the electrolytic tanks,
which will extract the sulphate in the
ore. Experiments with this method
Of recovery show that ninety per cent
of the copper in the ore can be ex-
tracted. Hence. 1t is expected that
the ten thousand ton plant now be-
ing built will produce 10000. 900
pounds of copper per year. The mill
is about three miles from the mine;
and a plant railroad is being built
which will be about twelve miles
long. The Chuquicamata mine is
reached by a branch line from the
Antofagasta and Bolivia railroad and
g. 49, -.