The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1916-09-28

FOf some time past nave peel
urged by friends to prepare for publ.
cation some notes on the history o.
the flotation process; several reasons
have eonspired causing me to hesitate
First | very much dislike anything
which might look like blowing my
own trumpet" second, | believed thai
the facts were pretty generally known
to that considerable circle of personal
friends | am glad to have among en-
gineers and metallurgists who have
studied this matter and who know to
whom the credit for the first invention
of the flotation process is due.
Notwithstanding the sympathetic
dedication to my brother and myself
OF Mr. T. A, Richards interesting book
THE Flotation Process | feel the me-
cessity of such an authoritative state
ment as | am asked to make, II the
real history of this matter Is not to
become buried under a mass of pre-
iudieed statements and legal subtle
ties advanced by various people whose
only desire is the present support OF
a particular position in an involved
law suit.
Moreover, there appears to be so
much misconception among Others in
connection with few simple matters
that will endeavor as briefly as
possible to set down the actual facts.
II would seem that the varied as
sortment OF travellers which have pass
ed along the highway Of flotation do
not appear to have been animated by
the same intentions and desires, Some
have trodden the road carefully, not
ing and correctly interpreting the in
scrlptions on the sign posts, Others
have read and failed to understand
these inscriptions, while others again
have accepted money payment for at
tempts to obliterate and alter the
original wording in the hope of con-
founding the nontechncal legal gent
lemen who we're expected to traverse
the road after them.
The first sign post on the road was
erected by Herodotus about the year
450 b. G. Although the inscription
Is so old Ii is quite distinct and tells
of band of virgins, who, by daubing
feathers with pitch and subsequently
drawing them through the mud of q
certain lake on an island called Cyr-
aunis where they were in the habit
of bathing, recovered gold dust in
this way.
There liz no record of these chaste
maidens having been greatly enriched
by the working of this simple metal
lurigcal process, but Notwithstanding
this lack of evidence of utility GER
tain learned counsel had the temerity
to suggest that this prior publication
invalidated the Gilmore patents, which
were filed several thousands of years
later.
After tramp of some two thousand
years or more we arrive at the sign
post erected by Haynes in the year
1860. This gentleman wrote a clear
unambiguous inscription telling the
reader to grind dry ore with an
agent" consisting of guttapercha,
resin, India rubber, tar, oleaginous
matter in pug Cor mortar) mill;
the other things he told one to do need
not be quoted because they are not so
clear, and ii is sufficient for the dew
elopment of my argument that the
beginning of the process he suggests
was to grind dry ore with mixture of
guttapercha, etc, etc.
1t would be an insult to the in
telligence of a present day metallur-
gist Of independent Judgment to dis
cuss this sign post as an anticipation
of the flotation process, so we may
ton, dated 1885, which again instructs
the reader to incorporate his dry ore
with mixtures of oils, etc, etc, till
such time as the mass becomes of
putty like consistence.
Not a practical detail of how to
carry out the operation is given; il
Is in substance the same as Haynes,
and they are both of about the same
practical utility as the efforts of the
virgins to obtain the grains of gold
from the mud of the lake---who knows,
this detiled by contact with
pitch was the "hthy lucre" of the
scriptures.
1t Is comparatively short step
from Carrie Everson to Robson 4
Crowder. who put up their sign post
IN 1894 They described a process
for mixing with ground ore contain
Ing from 25 to 80 per cent of moist
IRE certain mixtures of fats, etc, and |
from the mass so formed |
the fine particles of mineral |
oy means of stream of kerosene oil !
forced through ii by pump. Their |
directions for carrying out the pro-
aess include specific instructions to |
avoid the Use of an excess of water,
| have summarized these various
uggestions--they were nothing more
lin few words because the original !,
documents are all available and the
great majority of engineers have =
doubtless read them | have empha
iized what to my mind is the cardinal 4
Doint in connection with them, name
Y, they all were designed to operate
" mixing the oil with dry or praeti-
ally dry ore.