Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-07-01
MACHINES
NEEDED TO PRODUCE
GOLD IN MONTANA
Butte Expert Comments on
Accomplishments in
Ontario.
Special to The Tribune.

Special to The Tribune.
Butte. June 3O.-"If We in Montana
ever wake up to the realization that we
have gold mines worthy Of develop
ment, we must recognize the modern
methods of handling ore. such as now
are being used in the new projects IN
Ontario. and which have rerolutionized
the gold producing industry SAID MAUI
W. Anderson. manager OF the Butte
branch of the Crystal Copper company,
who returned Tuesday from Boston
where he conferred with eastern stock-
holders of the company on he advlsa-
bilitv of sinking a shaft in their mine
from the 6OO-foot level to the 1000
foot level.
While it is not certain that this ac-
ton will be taken, everything Is being
made ready in case the company decides
to. act.
During his time away from Butte,
Mr.. Anderson visited the Porcuplne dis.
trict in Ontario. the operations OF
which are interesting gold producers all
over the world. For many years ne
operated gold mines in the Helena and
Marysvil!e districts and is an expert IN
he matter of treatment of gold ore.
Mr. Anderson was intensely interested
in the Porcupine district and the de-
velopment process used there. In
speaking of the milling there and the
treatment of ores, he said:
Sees Mines In Operation
Zone needs to get out into the world
a bit once in a while to have q real
izing sense of just what is gong on.
81 heard wonderful stories of the
Porcupine mining district in Ontario
and of the remarkable work done theer
BIZ the mills. but | was never able to
get from those I questioned the def
mite information l wished as to how
certain work was done.
ut was my good fortune this month
to have a chance to visit the camp
and through the kindness OF friends to
have an opportunity to go through all
three of the big mills and one Of the
big mines, so l know from personal
observation just what is being lone.
Old Method Slow
II have run quartz mills where we
could get a very fair extraction OF the
values by crushing the ore to 3O-mesh,
and other mills where it was neces-
sary to crush the ore as fine as pos
sible. That. in those days, was
through a 45-mesh screen. The man
who could get four tons q day to the
stamp. crushing to 30-mesh was doing
good work. He did we'll to get IA
to 2 tons a day to the stamp. crushing
to 45-mesh. The Hollinger mill has
200 stamps and one day last month 1t
nut through 1900 tons. Have We any
Idea what that means? Our largest
cyanide mill brushes 100 tons a day
som etimes. Here was a mill that
crushed in one day nearly twice as
many tons as our largest mill brushes
in n year. How does II do it!
"The screens on the Hollinger mill
have openings half an inch by five
eishths. On the Dome mill. they are
three-eighths by half inch. The dies
are set ~ inches below the discharge:
The product at the Hollinger mill
passes from the STAINS 10 ball mills
where it is crushed TO 200-mesh.
May Abolish Stamps
when ball mills were first used, II
was for fine grinding. only-such as
the grinding Of a 30 or 30-mesh prod
net of q stamp mill to 2oO-mesh. At
Porcupine | saw ore going direct from
a gyratory crusher, where it had been
crushed so the largest particles were
mills. where it is crushed to about 10
mesh. then passed to ball mills. whore
ii is slimed. This practice is so salts
factory that those using it will soon
discard the stamps. 49,.
For over so years stamps have held
their own as the most economical
method of crushing ore. Their day is
past. The hardest kind of ores are
crushed now with lower cost for power
and less wearing down of metal. They
are crushed today or the Porcupine
with less than one pound OF steel TO
the ton Of ore.