Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1916-01-27
BIG SHELTER IN
NORTH IDAHO is
NEARLY FINISHED
Will Be Blown In March l,
According to Report From
Spokane-Product to Be
Sent East.

The Northport smelter, being con-
etructed by the Northport Smelling q
Refining company, financed by the
Hercules and the Tamarack & Custer
Mining companies, will be ready to
blow jim March /, according to II. v.
Croll of Allentown, Pa, sales engineer
for the Traylor Engineering company,
says the Spokane Spokesman Review.
Mr.. Crol has been at Northport the
last four months. experimenting con-
struction of the smelter and installing
the equipment. supplied by his COM
pany.
Cost Has Been $500, 1000.
The Northport smelter, which will
represent an expenditure of approx
mately 100000 when completed, Is of
the most modern type" said Mr. Croll.
TT Is provided with every conceivable
lavor-saving device, and we feel con-
fident 1t will prove highly efficient.
Practically nothing remains Of the old
plant and that part utilized in the
new construction has been entirely re-
built. We regard the system as one
Of the best we have ever installed any
place in the United States and the ut
most care has been exercised In select
ing the material and placing it.
1.-The equipment consists of two
lead furnaces AZ inches wide and 16
feet long, with a smelling column IS
feet high Each has a capacity of
about $50 tons of ore daily, or $4,000
tons a month, and 1t is believed this
will be adequate to handle the ores of
the allied Occur d'Alene properties that
will supply the material. In addition
three Of the six copper furnaces used
by the former smelter have been re-
novated and put in shape to operate at
any time, but l am inclined to believe
they will not be in commission for
several months. have heard rumors
also that installation of zinc furnaces
was being contemplated. but I do not
believe there is any legitimate founda
ton for these reports
Ore Handled Autom atioaIly.
I'VE have installed four Dwight
Lloyd sintering machines; built an en-
tirely new crushing and automatic
sampling plant and have devised new
charging system. including pit cars.
trackage and other accessories. All
the ore is handled by belt conveyors
from the time it leaves the cars that
out in finished form.
"The changes in the system have
necessitated a Encouragement of the
railway tracks serving the plant, and
this has caused delay in beginning OPP
erations, M the furnaces are ready for
their charges as soon as the cars car
rying the concentrates can be trans
ferret TO the unloading bins. The cold
weather has interfered with construct
ing the new spurs and sidings and l do
not think 1t is possible to have the
track connections completed In less
than 80 days
Ore in Concentrates.
The material from the mines will
reach the smelter in the shape of con-
centrates, both coarse and fine, to-
gether with the shines as they come
from the mills. The concentrates are
crushed to particles averaging one
fourth Of an inch in size, and, when
mixed with the shines, are sent to the
sintering machines, which reduces the
mixture to slabs by the application Of
heat These blocks then are broken
into smaller pieces and sent in cars to
the charging pits, where the sintered
product is mixed with coke, drawn
| from adjacent bins in which the mate
rial is stored A locomotive then is