The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1916-09-21
New Electrolytic Zinc Refinery of
Anaconda Company Begins Opera
tions--Facts Regarding Great Plant


conda company at Great Falls. TIL
event is a matter of much local inter
est on account of the possibilities
opens in the matter of treating loy
grade zinc ores of this district, an
on account of the further fact that tn
Anaconda company will soon be ship
ping the ores of the Douglas mnle I,
the new plant. The Standard saws:
Few improvements in the minln,
line have attracted as much attention
throughout the world as the new zint
refinery of the Anaconda Copper Min.
ing company at Great Falls. Within
few months there has been con.
structed plant that promises to rev.
olutionize the zinc industry of the
world. The building and development
of the plant have been watched for
months by hundreds of mining men In
all parts of the world. They have
been waiting to see how successful the
company would be in producing the
highest grade of zinc made anywhere
than that Of the lower grades.
On Monday morning, September II,
at precisely $3.50 o'clock, the electric
current from the Rainbow plant was
turned through the big revolving
transformer in the sub station. The
indicator showed 1900 ampheres at 10
o'clock. At the same hour the work
of filling the 144 tanks in the first
section of the zinc refinery, with the
solution containing the zinc, was be-
gun. By 1880 o'clock that afternoon
most of the tanks were filled In that
section and the work of making the
zinc was well begun. At o'clock the
first of the catholics with their alum
mum plates was raised and stripped
There was a very thin coating of zinc
1t was so thin it was almost like
brown paper, but it was quickly torn
into souvenirs.
This marked the opening of the big
plant On Wednesday the first INSTALL
ment of zinc for commercial purposes
was stripped from the plates.
The two new 50-ton furnaces in
which the zinc is to go through the
final process and be converted into |
plates for shipment were not ready, |
and SO this shipment of rs tons was
sent to Anaconda for handling.
The work on the two furnaces at
Great Falls is proceeding rapidly, and
it is expected to have them operating
by October 1. An additional section
will be in operation by that date, and
by November 1 the entire plant, it is
expected. will be in operation.
Great Capacity.
The capacity is 100000 pounds of
refined zinc per month This zinc,
which will be 1919 per cent pure, is ex-
pected to command a higher price even
than the famous Horseshoe" brand of
New Jersey.
The site on which the zinc refinery
buildings stand was plain bleak prairie
on January l of this year. A photo
graph taken on that date shows the
corps of engineers of the Anaconda
Copper Mining company marking out I
the sites and levels for the new build
ings
The decision to construct the ref
merry was not reached until less than {
80 days before that. The experimental {
plant at Anaconda, which furnished the
data on which it was decided to erect {
the new plant, was begun I'm July L
previous, and was not finished until
October &
Frederick Laist, the head of the t
department Of the COM
pany, had spent several months work. t
ing out the plan and when he ex- c
Of the plan. the company constructed f
the experimental plant. This proved s
and it was then that Presi- c
dent Ryan and the other officers of the 7
company decided to put millions into i
the new plant.
The requirements of the new cleo.
trolytic refinery in electric energy are
heavy. To meet them 1t t
was necessary to construct a special t
sub station, which is located at the t
upper end of the refinery buildings r
and adjoining the tank room. Il
The sub station is of concrete, brick s
and steel and is equipped in the most
modern way. 1t is ~ feet wide and a
203 feet In length. A Acton crane t
was installed for the handling of the I
and this crane will be kept a
as a part of the permanent equipment 3
If the sub station. 4
Five rotary converters are being in
stalled to change the current from the o
to the direct current. Two {
Of these converters are already in OPP IL
Grafton and the third is nearly finish
I'd. The two others will probably be f
IN place by the LIST Of November. Each a
one handles 10000 amperes. The sub c
station equipment is arranged for dis C
about $500 horse power
This comes from the Big Falls and II
plants of the Montana Pow s
sr company, both located short dis a
ance down the Missouri river from e
Great Falls. c
There are about 1876 motors distrib- d
,taa about Nba pIonf A total nf about a