Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-09-11
fFrom Wall Street Digcef. 3,

tFrCm Wall Street Dlgcsf.t
The assumption OF a financial writ
er is that his readers are more or less
we'll DOstcd on the partic4!"r subjects
which engage their scrutiny. As
matter OF fact few have more than =
superficial knowledge OF what Is back
OF the securities that they own. !
great many investors Put their u0nt!
into securities without even knowing
what the companies are engaged in
manufacturing Or supplying. This IS
particularly true OF mining securities.
Few indeed are the stockholders who
could give details as TO the general
character OF the ores and in many
Instances they do not know whether
the mines produce gold. silver, lead,
zinc or copper, unless the name OF
the company suggests it, and this can
not always be relied upon as accu'
rate
For example: Butte & Superior
Copper is also a silver producing
mine, as are Anaconda, Calumet d
Arizona, GTeene-Canapea and North
Butte, each having silver production
OF no mean proportions. the aggregate
amounting TO 10000. 900 ounces. Most
OF the zinc and lead mines carry silver
values TO some extent and gold is not
entirely absent.
There has recently been a good
deal written about the wonderful re-
suits attained by the. introduction Of
the new ."flotation system" in the
treatment Of ore, but writer's on the
subject have appeared 10 ignore the
fact that the invention is pure Greek"
to most readers.
In approaching a discussion OF the
subject we do so fully aware that a
technical description would be beyond
our own comprehension as wall as the
comprehension Of the majority OF our
readers.
The newly discovered phenomenon
which appears to be unexplainable is
based upon metal as contained in
ore being separated by means Of oil
in agitation, the latter having nat
ural affinity for metal.
The affinity is said to be greatest
and metal recovery highest when the
proportion of oil to ore II relatively
least. There are several processes Of
such similarity that litigation is in
progress as to their respective rights.
The process in embryo is as cid as the
hills, but as perfected to meet COM
mercial condition IL comparatively
modern and resulted from experiment
tations with a mechanical device in
one instance and by simplifying the
earlier processes In the others.
The claims OF the discogerer OF one
of the processes serves to disclose
the process itself. which is as follows:
The process of concentrating ores.
in question, consists of mixing pow.
dered ore with water, adding small
proportion OF oily liquid having a
preferential sffinity4for. metal.Iferous
matter (amounting to a fraction of
per cent on the oreb then agitating
the mixture until TIE oil-coated min.
eraI matter forms froth which goes
TO the surface (called flotatiCn.)
This froth or foam. which is the re-
suit of from two and one-half to 10
minutes effort, produces oil-coated
air bubbles carrying oil-coated par.
ticles to the extent of about 30 per
cent of the metal content, the foam
being sufficiently stable to permit re-
coveries Of practically all the metal
value. ii. -
Another process has the object of
accomplishing similar results by gray.
ity. This ID called the Notwithstanding