Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1916-04-06
FLoTATIoN METHOD.
Increasing Interest in Method of Elk
tracing Values of Metallic Values.

wallace Press Times.
No subject at the present time is of
greater interest to the mining and
metallurgical industry OF the country
than the flotation process for increas-
| ing the extraction of metallic values
| from ores and for the recovery of those
values which have formerly been lost
when ordinary gravity methods of con-
centration of ores have been used, says
the Salt Lake Tribune. For this reason
the department of metallurgical re-
search of the University of Utah, in CO.
operation with the u. s. bureau of
mines, is paying particular attention to
this subject. d. A. Lyon, metallurgist
for the U. S. bureau of mines and
metallurgist in charge of the depart
ment of metallurgical reseach of the
University of Utah, and o. c. Ralston
have recently returned from quite an
extended trip, which was taken in the
interests of the flotation work which
is being conducted by the department
and the bureau of mines. On this trip
they attended the first gathering, at
Lawrence, Kansas, of metallurgists and
mining men to consider exclusively the
rapidly growing subject of flotation.
The University of Kansas, at Law
renee, was selected as the meeting place
at the conference because of it's central
location and because of the pioneer
work of its division of state chemical
research in investigating the applica-
ton of flotation to zinc recovery in the
state of Kansas. The undertaking OBJ
iective of the conference was to discuss
the problems which are yet to be solved
in the process of flotation and, more
4 ,larl 10 "a roh
work now being conducted in various
universities and mining schools with
the object of encouraging further re-
search and preventing useless duplica
ton among the various investigators
concerned.
The conference was brought about at
the suggestion of d. A. Lyon, and two
days during which it was in session
many interesting papers and discussions
were heard. In addition to attending
this conference, Mr.. Lyon and Mr.. Rails
ton visited flotation plants and held
conference with mining and metallurgi-
cal men of Missouri, Kansas, Colorado,
New Mexico, Texas, Arizona and Cali
fornia. They state that on this trip
they found that there are between $50
and 200 plants west of the Mississippi
that have already installed the flota-
tion process, or else have experimental
work under way. In the Joplin district
where about 200 lead-zinc mills are
in operation, it is probable that flota
tion will ultimately succeed in saving
the values contained in the shines
which result in treating the ores as they
| are. now milled.
| In Arizona it was found that the
Inspiration plant was just putting into
operation their last section of flota-
tion machines, so that by now they are
probably milling $4,000 tons of ore a
day, all of which is treated by flota-
ton. One OF the problems which has
been given especial attention in the de-
partment of metallurgical research at
the University of Utah during the past
year has been that of floating the
values contained in carbonate ores.
AS the Inspiration plant, as well as in
other plants, the flotation of oxidized
forms of copper, for use of soluble sui
phides in water seems to be successful
on everything except silicate of cop
per. On account of this fact many of
the companies are now teaching all the
oxides of copper rather than attempt
to float them along with the sulphides
The flotation plant at Magma is said
to have also had considerable success
in the flotation of oxide forms of cop
per.
At Bisbee a surprising amount of
Carbonates of lead have been develop
ed during the mining of the copper ore
bodies in that district. The milling of
these carbonates of lead presents a
problem, and, as the department of
metallurgical research of the University
of Utah has had very good success in
the flotation of lead carbonates, sam
pies of this material were obtained for
further experimental work.
In view of the reseach work in flo+
tation that is being carried on, this
trip has proven unusually helpful in
carrying forward the work in hand.
The work of the department on this
problem it attracting wide attention
and is receiving the commentator of
all investigators and mining and
metallurgical men interested in the re-
suits that can be obtained by flotation,
which, as before stated, is becoming
one the the vital factors in the econo-
mical operation of the mining and
m pt 1lurpipal industries