The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1922-02-16
ELECTROLYTIC ZINC
PLANT At KELLOGG
WORK SOON TO BEGIN
Completed by Time Star Ore
is Acknowledgement Tells
About Process

TIME DECISION of the court con
firming the legality of the agree
ment between the Hecla and Bun
ker Hill & Sullivan Mining com
panies for the purchase and operation
OF the Star mine. and the abandonment
and striking from the record all Othel
allegations set up by Mrs. Sarah f
Smith and +. r.. Day and evidence
submitted in support OF them, removes
all uncertainty regarding the estab-
lishment of an electrolytic zinc plant
by the Bunker Hill & Sullivan COM
pany at Kellogg. This was definitely
stated by President Bradley immedi
ately following the termination of the
case. He said that the plant would
be completed by the time the Star ores
are made available through the COM
pletion of the star crosscut from the
2000 level of the Hecla mine. 1t is esti-
mated that this work will be COM
pleted within two years, a very con-
servative estimate if the record made
last month may be accepted as repre-
sentative of the progress being made.
In January a distance of 34S feet was
made in 26 working days, there being
no Sunday work at the Hecla
Value of Zinc Plant.
The importance of the construction
of an electrolytic zinc plant at Kellogg
can hardly be over estimated, and it
is believed that it will ultimately prove
10 NJ In b,.
ever been carried out in this district
Great as was the value of the Bunker
Hill lead smelter, it is easily conceiva-
bic that the electrolytic zinc plant may
mean much more. for while the pri-
mary purpose of the Bunker Hill is to
provide for the treatment of the Star
zinc-lead ores, the plans of the com
pany contemplate a plant that will
eventually provide local market for
the zinc product of the district. To
fully grasp the value of this great
enterprise, it is only necessary to con-
slider the vast known zinc deposits of
the Occur dAlene district to say nothing
of the possibility of further discoveries
in this extensive field. If it be argued
ton of zinc and that many zinc mines
are now idle, the answer is that the
Bunker Hill company is looking to the
future rather than to the present con-
dition of the zinc industry. It may be
safely assumed that the company has
made the most careful investigation
regarding the future demand for zinc
fD, h..
metal is adapted, and that before COM
hitting itself to carrying out an en-
terprise that will involve an initial ex-
penditure of approximately a million
dollars, the management was fully
convinced that the outlook for the
metal fully justified the large outlay.
But according to w. C. Woolf, metal
lurgical engineer in charge of expert
mental work for the Bunker Hill, the
process to be installed at Kellogg will /
make possible operation of low grade /
zinc mines even at the present low
prices of zinc
High Recovery.
Discussing the results of his expert |
mental work, Mr. Woolf said that the /
process developed shows recoveries of /
92 per cent of the zinc, 95 per cent of /
the lead and 80 per cent of the silver
contained in ores from the Star mine,
with the ore reduced to 60 mesh.
I'm our experimental plant" said /
Mr.. Woolf, I'VE have handled concen-
trates ranging from rs per cent zinc
and 30 per cent lead to 50 per cent
zinc and per cent lead with uniform
ly good results. Only the concentrates
of the last values would be handled
by retort plant. Our zinc product
has been grade A, which carries a pre-
MUM on the market.
1.-THE process used consists of sort
ing of the ores followed by concen-
trating by both gravity and selective
methods. Our selective process is an
improvement on the method in prac-
tice at Great Falls. BY using combin-
atoms of oils and chemicals in what is
known as the Taunton process, putting
the zinc to sleep. and concentrating /
the lead. then concentrating the zinc
we obtain a 60 per cent lead concen-
trate and a As per cent zinc concen-
trate. We used a half pound of sui
phuric acid to the ton for the purpose
of agitating the reagents
Detail of Process.
1.-THE zinc concentrate is next roast ]
ed to render the zinc soluble in the
acid solvent used in the electrolytic K
zinc plant. The roasted ore is chem {
icaHy treated with sulphuric acid, II
which takes into solution the zinc and r
under the proper conditions of leach !
ing leaves as a residue the lead and +;
silver as well as the iron and other !
minerals contained as impurities in I