The diamond drill., 1919-03-22
Mr.. BEN C. kEELY VISITED A MUM.
Der OF PLANTS IN THE EAST
COSTS ARE REMARKABLY LOW
Ore is Reduced by Electrical Pro-
cess, Some 28 per cent Ores
Being Now Used

There has been great advancement
made during the last five years in
the enriching or iron stone by the
electrical concentrating process. Most
OF the experimenting has been done
In the east where there are large
bodies OF low grade magnetic ores ly-
ing close to the market, but whose
use was impaired by the fact of their
low iron contents compared with the
ores of the Lake Superior district
and Cuba which were displacing them
to a large extent
The nearness to market was Offset
by the extra coke and flux needed to
melt them. To put those ores upon
par with their competitors 1t was
found necessary to eliminate the dross
and 1t has been to that task that
scientific minds have been turned dur
ing the past.
Magnetic Ores Work Easily.
The first ores to be attacked were
the magnetic ores as their sensitive
ness to the magnet made the task OF
attracting the iron particles away
from the foreign substance compara-
lively easy.
Mr.. b. G. Neely OF this city, has been
interested in learning at first hand
what developments have been made
In this line OF work and TO that end
he visited the mines and mills in New
Jersey and New York where the work
is now being carried on with signal
success.
Mr.. Neely says that, so far as he
was able to learn, the ores being
treated are all OF the magnetic kind.
There are great stretches OF ore areas
but not such as will make any in
roads upon the lake ores for In com
parison with the immense ore areas
In this section the ore bearing sec
tions of the east are insignificant.
Another fact that tends to give the
edge TO the lake ore Is underground
mining costs which in places Mr..
Neely visited were found TO be consid-
erably more than are the costs In the
lake country.
Mil Costs Very Low. |
The ores are mined and hoisted
much in the same manner as a are the |
ores of this section One difference
noticed was the greater use of electri- !
cal current for power purposes than |
In the lake country The new ven
lures are all electrically equipped.
The ore Is comparatively dry as II
comes from the ground II is dumped /
upon grizzlies, the coarse stuff going
TO the crushers and the fine directly
70 the separating tables.
The coarse material Is run through
several crushers so that when II Is
ready for the tables II varies from
he size of beach sand up to that OF
pea. the great bulk being Of the fine
sand texture.
The product Is handled entirely b,
,elt conyeyers, no manual labor be.
ng necessary after the ore Il place !
n the skip.
Separating Tables Simple.
The belt conyeyers carry the pul
'erized products 10 what are know,
IS separating tables. These table.
IRE comparatively small stand-like ar
angements where the ore is taken b,
mall belts and carried between IN
nagnetized surfaces. which In mos
ases are located at one end OF the
'elt. where II passes down over the
'ulley The iron PARTICLES are direct 1
d by the magnet into one chute while 1
he Unaffected portions OF the material
all by gravity TO another in direct I
Inc and is carried away 10 the dump.
The concentrated particles are cars 7
led TO the bins and are afterwards Q
oaded into cars and shipped I'm the Ia
ulverized state 10 the furnaces. Iu
Mr.. Neely says that he saw no | a
riquetting done at any OF the plants
iat he visited. lie also says that