El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-08-31
AMERICANS WATCH SCRAP HEAPS; Frank G. Carpenter
MAKE FORTUNES AVOIDING WASTE SE& -#'s %
Big Muion Plants Factories of All Cold Copper
Every Opportunity Save Scraps.
BY
Frank G. Carpenter
Copyright, 1918. By
Frank c. Carpenterl.

I burned and our vast low grade de
posits thus can be brought TO the
use Of the nation.
Saving at OIL Wells.
We are saving tens Of millions Of
dollars year from the scrap heaps
Of the oil wells. The total value of
the oil and gas produced in 1914 was
more than 100000. 900. and the waste
amounted to about one-sixth of that
sum We are doing far better now
We are watching the leaks, plugging
the gas wells with mud so that we
are able to hold back the gas and
still set out the oil; and we are using
the cracking processes by which we
get zoo percent more gasoline out of
crude oil than ever before. The bu-
reau Of mines estimates that Okla
bona has saved more than $4,000. 900
worth Of natural gas in one year
Kerosene was once the chief product.
and immense quantities Of the lighter
and heavier parts Of the oil were
thrown away. Now, with the advent
OF the automobile, the electric light
and the proper understanding Of lu-
brication, almost all Of the crude oil is
used and nothing it wasted.
From the oil we get gas, gasoline.
naphtha, benzine and kerosene. A
large part OF It goes into lubricatinE
products, the wastes go into road ma
terials. roofing and all things need
ing asphalt or pitch. Many thou
sands OF gallons Of gasoline are made
daily from gas wells.
Gold Once Thrown AWAY.
II used 70 be that gold ore had to yield
$40 and upward a ton 10 pay for Mining
transports ton ard spelling. Today a
large part OF the gold OF the world comes
from ore that was once thrown away Dur
Ing NY recent trip TO Alaska I visited
tne 1readWeu mines, where about $780,
100000 w-n~Fh n 10 49,
or rocks that averag ed only SZ42 a ton
Nearby are mines where they were mining
ore that averaged less than $40 a ton
found them working over the gcrap
and picking out Of the boulders gold that
averaged only g cents per ton. BY meana
OF halt million dollar dredges they were
upturning the earth and rock TO a depth
OF 20 or 50 feet and Il was costing less
than 10 cents ton TO get the gold out
At the same tima they ire rcvori-fnr the
creeks which produced the great fortunes
OF Dawson, and are saving as much gold
- Vas mined during the great stampede
OF that country.
Copper and Zinc.
we are now recovering immense values
IN the shape Of copper and zinc. Since
the rise in the price OF these metals the
world has been saving the scraps Conner
wire Is now gathered BY the thousands OF
tons from old electric systems and plants
and the insulation burned off Then the
wire IS remelted and cast again into
wire OF ingots or bars. Brass and bronze.
such as are found in the bases OF electric
lamps. brass and copper Trimmings and
shaTinEs, cartridge shells and old pipes
command a ready sale IN the Junk market
and we get copper also from the holding
SAND OF brass furnaces and from the flue
dust Much Of the copper waste Ia hrf-
quoted and then treated IN the COPPER
blast furnaces. yielding an alloy OF about
50 percent copper This IS refined. but
there are other metals lost IN the fumes
There is single smelter near New York
that RECEIVERS from junk 10000. 900 pounds
OF copper a year.
A vast deal Of copper which formerly
noated away in the waters from the
srnelter and concentrating plants Is now
being saved Now the water Is carried
over troughs half filled with scrap iron.
and the copper goes out OF the water and
sticks to the iron Every two weeks or
so the scrap Is taken out OF the troughs
and the copper brushed or scraped of into
barrels. after which the iron goes back
10 gather copper again Millions OF pounds
o. copper are saved in that way every
year II Is estimated that $50. 900. geo
worth Of copper went out with the tailings
from certain low grade copper mines OF
the Rockies IN 1914 They are now put
ting Up teaching plants to save this. The
Utah Copper company has teaching
grounds covering 5000 acres: and there Is
one copper mine IN Michigan which for
50 years has been pouring its tailings into
Lake Linden during that time Z is cstf- |
mated that more than 10000. 900 tons OF ]
tailings have gone into the lake, and that
these tailings contain something Ike s40.-
600, eco pounds Of copper. which at pres
ent prices would be worth something ike /
$500. 000. 900.
They are trying TO recover these values: Z
teaching plants have been constructed and I
the lake sands are being worked over. I
At the present speed Il VIII take them 1
20 years TO handle the copper sand now /
IN the lake
Mining Low Grade Copper.
Much OF the worlds copper now mined ]
Is OF a very low grade There are five
copper mining companies in Arizona. Ne
vada and Utah which have blocked out ]
almost 6oo. 100000 tons OF ore containing 4
copper which runs only II percent The |
whole Includes more than 10000 900 tons /
OF metallic copper. and three-fourths Of 1
this viii be recovered. The copper from
that source alone IS enough to supply our I
home needs at the normal rate OF con-
sumption for 80 years.
Using ID Zinc Scraps.
Since ths war began. the price OF zinc I
has leaped 20 the skies. Zinc. united 4
with copper. makes brass. and brass is /
used BY the hundreds OF Thousands Of /