The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1915-10-07
~4sMELTlNe" DEFINED
Loese Zee Of the Word Leads to Mis-
understanding and Confusion.
Engineering and Mining Journal)

Engineering n Mining Journal)
Careless use Of words sometimes
breeds trouble, an interesting example
of which recently happened. In the
vernacular almost every kind of an
ore reduction works is either a "lnill''
or a "smelter." The idea of the mill
Is a plant wherein the ore is crusac1
for the mechanical separation OF It's
mineral constituents, or a stamp anial :
gmation mill, or a plant for the ex-
traction of the precious metals by
chlorination or cyanide lixiviation. AL
most everything else Is a 'smelter,"
and especially is the Idea of a smelter
associated with the buying of ores in
lots on samples. Thus We read of ore
going to smelters who in reality are
merely magnetic separators, etc.
Recently an item was published in
the news pages of the Journal, as well
as in several daily papers, to the eff
feet that the Weldon Mining Com
pany, Limited, of Quebec, was going
to build a zinc smelter" at Welland,
Ont. The company has written to us
that 1t has suffered much annoyance
owing to this item. Among other
things the farmers Of the vicinity Of
Welland rose in protest against the
project. In fact the company was 60
ing to erect a plant for the hydro
metallurgical- Acknowledgment ex-
traction of zinc. In the eyes of the
news reporters this was a smelter, and
hence the trouble.
Just what Is a definition of smelt-
ing? On this subject photographers
are vague The process of reducing
lead. copper and iron pres in the blast
furnace is unquestionably smelling.
Here are conveyed two ideas-namely.
Cd the reduction and fusion Of a
metal and (2) the specification and flu
sion of the gangue of the impurities.
The production and discarding of a
Stag seems to be an essential part Of
the conception. In the treatmen. of
metallic products the proportion of Stag
may w N0Ag SitdAi III AAC pAOCtSS rs
commonly described as refining" A
man who treats the black p~recipitate
from the cyanide process Is never CA
led a gold smelter.' He Is gold re-
finer. In the reduction of zinc ore in
the ordinary way there is necessarily
only one of the two main ideas of
smelling. The metal is reduced and
drawn in molten state, but the gangue
OF the ore is not scorifed and fused
II the metallurgist can help it, and in
many cases he can. The British call
the zinc smelter a zinc distiller, which
is precise.
In the reduction of zinc ore for the
of zinc oxide by the
Wetherill process, and similarly in the
reduction of antimony ore by the Her.
renschmidt process. there is neither
fusion Of the metal nor of the gangue.
However, the processes are commonly
called smelling and the operators
shelters, although the only
connection with the main idea Is that
they treat the ore In furnaces. If zinc
$ to be extracted hydrometallurgically
prcipltated by ~electrolysis. there is
not wen that connection; for although
he ore may have to pass through a
furnace that would not be ne
If 1t were an oxidized ore. The
,nly furnace in the plant might be |,
hat for melting catholics, which par
ocular part Of the process would be
not smelling, as everybody
would agree.