The Ely miner., 1930-01-03
LOW GRADE ORES
WILL Be STUDIED.

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and Engineering Societies met at Min
neapolis and made arrangements fol-
the annual meeting in February and
also outlined activities for the coming
year.
The work of the federation will CEN
ter largely around the matter of con-
servation as that appears to be the
live issue in the state at this time
Reforestation, the protection of wild
life, preservation of lakes, the COM
pletion of soil, geological and topo-
graphic survey, the development of
the building stone and clay deposits,
the completion of the water ways to
the east and south, the study of the
problem of peat utilization and a
number of other topics that should
engage the attention of technically
trained men, constitutes the field In
which the federation may find an op-
portunity to labor.
No definite program was laid down
by the board of directors for the en-
suing year that the matter of iron
ore beneflcation in particular should
receive careful consideration as to the
best methods to adopt in bringing to
the people of the state the enormous
possibilities to every person in the
commonwealth, likely to result from
an early move to assist and encourage
research along this line. The idea
that all possible artificial obstacles
likely to retard or delay this program,
should be reduced to the lowest reas-
enable height.
Low Grade Ores.
Perhaps the most important feature
OF this conservation program is the
matter of benefication of low grade
iron ores. 1t was pointed out in the
meeting that the present tonnage of
merchantable iron ore in Minnesota
would be depleted within thirty years.
The iron mining industry of the state
before that time would enter into a
serious decline provided there were no
new fields discovered, or new means
for benefication of the SubStandard
ores developed in the meantime. 1t
appeared to be the consensus Of op-
inion of that meeting that an effort
should be made to encourage the re-
search in the field of utilizing the vasu
tonnages of low grade ores already
known so far as tonnages, locations
and grades are concerned. If these
deposits can be utilized and gradually
worked into the shipments, the iron
mining industry in Minnesota will be
prolonged indefinitely. These great
masses of Substandard ores have in
their immediate vicinity all the mining
equipment needed, transportation fac
ilitieS ordinary roads, buildings, homes
for the miners, etc. If new ore fields
are discovered even in the state of
Minnesota, it will be necessary to re-
produce all of these utilities in the
new field. The utilization of the low
grade ores in Minnesota can be ac-
compliShed without interfering with
economic conditions in any way, while
the dismantling of the equipment in
the present known ore fields might
lead to serious conditions to the in
habitants of those districts.
Research In Benefication.
Research in the line OF benencating
low grade ores heretofore has resulted
in-great benefits. Some twenty years
ago the tonnage of ore mixed with fine
sand in Western MeSabi range were
not deemed to be of commercial value,
and hence for the larger part did not
appear upon the tax rolls Engineers
for private enterprises, assisted by the
school of mines of the Minnesota I'm
iverSity, devised washing plants for the
removal of the sand from these ores.
Other improvements in benefication,
gradually combined with the washing
processes. To date more than $50
million tons of these creS have found
a place on the tax rolls of the state
The number of plants that are en-
gagged today in making low Grade ores
into good furnace products, has III
creased to Al, without injury to the
iron ore industry in any particular,
but has prolonged the life of mining
in Minnesota many years. If there
had been no effort made to improve
these low grade ores, it is quite likely
that the peak of iron ore production
in the state would be almost upon us
today.
Some years ago company under
took the work of making merchantable
iron ore out of lean iron bearing rock
on the Eastern Mesabi range. A
large sum of money was expended in
this work. Assistance from Mines Ex-
pertinent station at the University
produced the magnetic log washer by
which untold millions of tons of this
iron bearing rock may be forced to
yield its iron when economic con-
ditions warrant. The state owns one
tract of land adjoining this plant, that
contains several millions of tons OF
the grade of ore.
! The world war brought into bold
relief the dependence of this nation
upon foreign sources for its supply of
manganese, an element indispensable
in the production of high grade steel.
Capital coming to the rescue opened
the deposits of manganiferous ores of
Minnesota, but the coming of peace
let in manganese from abroad and the
mines closed. The tariff of 1922 made
it again possible for high grade do
mestic manganiferous deposits to op-
crate. Research began in earnest as
sisted by small appropriation by the
state. The net result appears to be
a process awaiting development on
commercial scale and somewhat de-
pendent upon the retention of the
duty.
z During 1929 experiments have been
carried on on the Mesabi range, with
a view to concentrating ores not at
present capable of being washed or
sintered. The process has some very
promising features that need further
attention. Another process, proven to
be scientifically correct but awaiting
the ingenuity of the mechanical en-
gineer, is that of magnetizing low
grade ores in order to concentrate
them by means of the magnetic log
washer.
AS the state is one of the very
largest fee owners of mineral lands,
every citizen will share largely in any
process that will make available the
enormous tonnages of lean ores known
to exist in the state Beneficial dir
ectly to owners of school anc
other lands and indirectly by bringins