The weekly Alaska citizen., 1917-11-19

tation were capable of but indiftcr ent treatment on such machines as Vanners, canvas tables and various other patent appliances which ar, TOW relegatcd jo the background l The Station has number Of sci
 ting tanks arranged at convenient places to receive water. concentrates or tailings from the various ma. chimes. They are connected with the
 2-inch centrifugal pump which will
 handle all of the ore in the mill after 1t has been ground to 2o-mesh or
 finer Four of these tanks are of
 special design. cone-shaped, with the
 base uppermost, and are intended to
 permit the settling of the sand into
 the apex, where it is withdrawn while
 the water oyerflows at the top The
 Dorr Thickencr also acts d. set
 ting tank
 The equipment includes also a pow erful electrO-magnet for the study of concentrate sands produced in placer
 work, By varying the strength of
 the current in the magnet and the distance of the poles from the sand particles, different constituents of tn
 ka ,,a 4sAi Fn,. # lI- either chemically or with the micro scope which, with all necessary ap- pliances, Is provided for the study and determination of minerals and
 products made in the milling tests.
 The entire metallurgical equipment is motor-driven, there being eleven motors varying in size from 20 h. p. to one-half horse power. There is
 also a complete set of blacksmith
 tools, including a forge, anvil and i drillpress for use in making such
 repairs as may be needed,
 The chemical laboratory Is well
 supplied with the usual glassware and porcelain apparatus required for chemical work such as the determi- nation of minerals and metals pres ent in rock specimens and has an
 adequate supply of chemicals and acids One of the rooms of the station has been fitted for this pur-
 pose with hood to remove noXious 1 fumes, a sink, bench. shelves, etc. l For pulverizing the samples small crusher and a grinder are provided; and for making such assays as the l Station will require for its own in i formation in connection with the milling tests there is an oil-fired muffle furnace with the tools, cruel | bles and chemical supplies neces- 1 sary. There arc two very delicate i balances with weights, one set of which has been tested and certified | by the L. S. Bureau of Standards 1 as having no error greater than 1900 of milligram or 1-500 of an ounce.
 The following are few brief notes concerning the personnel of the Fairbanks Station;
 John A. Davis, the Superintend- ent. was born at Sioux City, Iowa. After preparatory work at the ROX bury Latin School, Boston, he at tended and graduated from the Mas sachusetts Institute of Technology, spending the next four years as a member of the U. s. Geological Sur vey and securing extensive expert ence in practical field work in Colo rado, Wyoming and Montana. After l this he became member of the U. S. Bureau of Mines, and conduct ed an intensive investigation into the methods of driving mine tun- nels, with a view to increasing safe ty and efficiency and preventing waste in this important branch of mining work. MT. Davis has written two works on tunnel driving, one of which has been printed several times as authorities on this subject, and is the author, with D. w. Brun- ton, the well-known Denver mining engineer, of the Tunnel Section of the new standard Mining Engineers Handbook MT. Davis visited and examined all of the important min ing tunnels in the United States, as well as the Los Angeles and New York aqueducts, which were at that time under construction and where some of the best methods of tunnel driving were being developed. The next years were spent as special in vestigator for the Bureau of Mines of the methods of concentra ting low grade ores. During the course of this work Mir Davis visited and stu died the methods employed at prac- tically all of the important concen-