The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1915-01-21


Golconda, New, by the Adelaide Star
Mines, Limited, to treat about 100 tons
per day.
The process and machinery, as in
vented by A. p Macquisten, consists
of a tube so designed as to bring the
suiphide particles in the ore to the top
of the water in such manner that
their flotation through the force OF
surface tension and the inherent quail
ity of the sulphides TO resist wettingl
il assured. At Golconda the plant con-
sists of 100 tubes, each is inches in
diameter and 6 feet long. arranged
side by side in four tiers. More than
ne-half of the tubes are immersed In
water, and ore is carried through by
endless screws, passing out OF tubes
at surface, into settling tanks below.
Concentrates not caught in the ilfsi
tier of tubes pass into the next set,
and so on the process being complet-
ed In the third set. 1t Is stated the
process gave good satisfaction in ex-
traction from all sulphide ores, and
was especially applicable to sulphides
where the gangue is of nearly the
same specific gravity as the mineral.
Adelaide mine ores assay from 81
per cent to 3.2 per cent copper. The
ore runs about $40 per ton in value.
The veins carry some native silver and
are of medium grade auriferous and
argentiferous copper, carrying chalco-
pyrite with gangue of garnetiferous
limestone. The plant was closed down
in December, 1910.
Practice at Mul.an.
The latest successful addition to the
oil flotation process is that Installed
early in 1914 at Mullan, Idaho, for the
National Copper company being the
invention of j.. M. CalloW of Salt Lake
City. The plant has the necessary
crushing and grinding machinery and
delivers all materials from 60-mesh, in
two equal streams, to two Dorr thick
eners The pulp is thickened to ap
proximately " to |, diluted with flo
tation circuit water to " to |, each
Dorr tank making feed for one unit Of
the Callow pneumatic flotatiol pro-
cess. Each flotation unit consists OF
, one mixing tank, four roughing and
. one cleaning cell and has a capacity
of ESQ tons every "a hours. The mix
, ing tanks are of the Pachuca type
mixing being accomplished by air n
, 20 pounds pressure; the function OF
these tanks being to thoroughly miA
the oil and pulp previous to sending
!, the pulp to the separating cell. Each
mixing tank is equipped with an ad-
Z Unstable splitter cutting out the pro-
i, portion Of the agitated pulp as desir.
ed; the oiled pulp flowing to a revoly.
, Ing distributor feeding four flotatior
roughng cells.
Each cell is divided into air com.
partments; the bottom of the cell.
!; have a slope of inches to foot. The
: mineral bearing froth is formed by
J. admitting air at pounds pressure In
a to the air compartments, from whicl
s 1t Is atomized by passing through
/ four thicknesses of heavy twilled can
vas. The air required for roughin!
and cleaning cells is furnished by
blower running at 200 r. p. m. TIL
froth from the roughing cells over
flows into catch launder on bot
sides the entire length of the cell; al
air lift elevates the rough concen
trates to the two cleaning cells on tn
same floor. These are the same typ
as the roughing cells, and make clea
concentrates and middlings which ar
pumped by centrifugal pump to til
original mixing tanks. The correc
amount of oil for the entire flotatio
process is fed into these middlings b
IS feed pump as the stream is split in
a to each of the mixing tanks. The flo
tation tailngs from the roughing cell
: flow to two Dorr thckeners, the over
= flow from which is returned to h
flotation circuit, the underflow goin
to waste.
Il ne consumption "a pll 10 lIOIl Va l
y O.S pounds per ton of ore The flota
ton feed averages 0,S per cent Gu, flo
tation concentrates 16 per cent CT
flotation tailings OH per cent CT
The flotation concentrates togethe
= with the concentrates from the tables
flow to an S-foot Callow tank, the
to / spigot product of which flows t
tank fitted with an Az agitator. Th
10 concentrates are collected in this tank
Is on one shift the agitator is run to kee
the material of even consistency, whet
the concentrates are dewatered In
a Kelly press. in which the moisture /
: reduced to IL per cent; the moistur
." in the press cakes is further reduce,
r. per cent by steam drying From
o the dryer floor the concentrates go di
% rect to railroad cars.
N The ratio of concentration is ap
proximately 16 to /, the screen analy
sis of the concentrates being as fol
lows: passing 35 mesh, but retained OF
o 4S-mesh. per cent: retained on 65
mesh, AS per cent; retained on 1000
mesh, SS per cent; retained on $50
mesh, "a per cent; retained on 200
mash az 4 par cent The tntaI eytro n