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By E. P. Mathewson

The early development of the reverberatory furnace for smelting copper-ores was the work of the Welsh smelters, particularly those of Swansea. The first record of a reverberatory furnace is made by Jars, who states that in 1755 copper-smelting was effected .in reverberatory furnaces at Middleton-Tyas, in Yorkshire, England. The first patent, of any importance, for improvements in reverberatory furnaces was granted to Thomas Williams in 1778 for the granulation of the regulus. The next was that of William Evetts, in Sheffield, in 1812, for the cooling of the fire-bridge by the admission of air. Charge-hoppers above the furnaces were in common use in 1848. The size of the hearth of the furnaces about the beginning of the 19th century was commonly 11 by 8 feet. No material development was made until the Welsh process mas brought to Colorado, where Richard Pearce, as manager of the Argo works, near Denver, developed the furnace to meet the requirements of a custom plant, under keen competition with lead-silver smelting-plants, using blast-furnaces. His improvements are outlined in Fig. 1, elaborated by permission from E. D. Peters's excellent work,' to which the reader is referred for further details. This figure shows that the furiiaces were in 1878, 9 ft. 8 in. by 15 ft. in hearth; and in 1894, 16 by 35 ft., while the capacity of the furnace had been increased from 12 tons per 24 hr. to 50 tons in the same period.

Jan 1, 1913

Francis Drake, Bulawayo, Rhodesia, So. Africa (communication to the Secretary *):—I should like to place on record some data in addition to those given by Mr. Canby in his paper. I regret that my notes have been destroyed so that I can give no accurate measurements of the water jacket that I am about to describe. This furnace mas erected in Cerro Gordo, Inyo county, Cal., early in 1875, and I think it quite possible that it was the first applied in lead smelting. It was made of plate iron and elliptic in shape, the inner dimensions being about 54 by 42 in. by 48 in. high. The distance between the inner and outer plates was about 6 in. Tuyere holes, one at the back and two on each side, about 12 in. in diameter, were made in this, and in these were placed cast-iron water tuyeres about 16 in. long, the diameter of the blast orifice at the point being about 3 in. The height from tuyeres to feed door was about 9 ft., but the top of the charge was kept about 5 ft. above the tuyeres. There was a space of about 12 in. between the jacket and the top brick-work. This brick-work was supported by a cast-iron plate resting on four cast-iron columns. At the beginning, the jacket was lined with air-dried radial bricks, made of crushed quartz and fire-clay, as it was thought that the jacket would not stand the heat on its bare plates. After a short time the practice was altered and no lining mas put in. The jacket was closed at the top and had a steam drum connected by two pipes at the back. This steam drum was connected to the boiler in which the steam was made for driving the Baker blower, the rock breaker and the pumps. The bottom of the jacket mas also connected to the boiler. The jacket was run under boiler pressure (80 Ib.) for some time, but eventually cracks developed in the inner plate between the tuyere holes,

Jan 1, 1913

By Utley Wedge

In general, the art of securing copper from sulphide ores or concentrates may be said to consist of: (1) separation, in the molten state, of copper sulphide with some iron sulphide, from the great bulk of gangue-material, followed by (2) elimination of sulphur and iron from the molten matte, by oxidation and fluxing, leaving metallic copper. The definition is made broad enough to cover the general practice, whether or not the ore or concentrate is given a prelimiuary roast for the removal of surplus sulphur. The above process, which I will designate as the smelting process, makes necessary the presence in the ore, or the addition thereto, of such silica, lime, and iron as may be necessary for the formation of a light and fusible slag, together with sufficient sulphur and iron for the formation of copper-matte, and also the addition to the matte of sufficient silica for the oxidation and fluxing-out of the iron. These items, together with the cost of fuel sufficient for melting the mass, constitute important items of cost in the copper-smelting process. Numerous cases where fluxing-materials are scarce or dear, or where fuel is expensive, have caused special attention to be given recently to the wet process of copper-extraction, which may be designated as consisting of forming soluble copper salts which are then washed or leached out of the ore or concentrates by dissolving in water or acid. Metallic copper may then be secured from the solution of copper salts by electrolysis; by cementation; or copper can be brought out of the solution as a hydroxide or other insoluble precipitate and reduced to metallic copper by subsequent melting in a reducing atmosphere.

Jan 1, 1913

"Located in Madison River Canyon, about 14 miles by road from Norris, Mont. Built in 1907 by Madison River Power Co.DAM: Rock filled wooden crib structure, 183 ft. long, 34 ft. high or 44 ft. to top of flashboards.SPILLWAY: 140 ft. long, equipped with flashboards 10 ft. high.PIPE: One 10-foot and one 12-foot wood-stave pipe, 7,515 feet long.PRESSURE: One pressure chamber, 32 ft. high, 30 ft. wide and 81 ft.CHAMBER: long, built of concrete.PENSTOCKS: 4 9-foot steel penstocks about 200 ft. long, one for each wheel.WATER WHEELS: 4 double horizontal, center discharge, Sampson special 44-inch turbines, 3,600 h-p., at 100 ft. head. Speed 300 r. p. m„ direct connected to generators.GENERATORS: 4 G. E., W. C., 2,250 k-w., 4,000 volts, 300 r. p. m., 3 phase, 60 cycles, alternators, with exciters mounted on same shaft.TRANSFORMERS: 12 G. E., W. C., 900 k-w., 60 cycles. High tension voltage 23,100, 34,650, 46,200; low tension voltage 4,000, 3,800, 3,600. Now operating at 46,200, delta connected. They can be connected Y for 40,000, 60,000 or 80,000.OPERATION: This is the principal plant of the whole system and carries most of the load."

Jan 1, 1913

By L. W. Bahney

The photograph, Fig. 1, shows the apparatus a little less than half size, consisting of a filtering-flask fitted with rubber stopper through which passes a bent glass tube, and an extraction-thimble fitted with rubber stopper through which passes a glass tube of 0.25-inch bore. Both tubes are connected by a short piece of rubber tubing. A section of a thimble is shown in the photograph ; the tube extends to within & in. of the tapered end. The object of using the thimble is to remove the acid from the beaker after all the copper has been precipitated. Time is saved, the copper is not exposed to the acid alone, and there are none of the losses attending ordinary filtration. I have accomplished these results by means of a piece of perforated platinum fastened in the end of a (0.25-in. bore glass tube and a filter-mat of asbestos, but after my supply of proper length fiber became exhausted I could not replenish it even after purchasing 14 lots from four different dealers. The above apparatus may be used to remove at least seven-eighths of a supernatant liquid from a settled precipitate without disturbing the latter. The application of the thimble is best shown by partly outlining the assay for copper, as follows: Dilute the acid solution of copper and other sulphates to 150 cc. in a 200-cc. Jena beaker, place on a hot plate, add 2 drops of concentrated HCl, then place a strip of aluminum in the beaker (this may be bent or straight, as desired). Connect the apparatus, as shown in Pig. 1, with a filter-pump having a strong suction. When the copper is precipitated, remove the beaker from the hot plate and insert the extraction-thimble alongside the strip of aluminum. The acid solution will be drawn through the porous tube. Wash the upper end of the aluminum strip with a jet of hot water, wash down the sides of

Jan 1, 1913

By Frederick Laist

The ores received at the Washoe Smelter come almost entirely from the mines in Butte and contain the following minerals : Chalcocite, Cu2S; covellite, CuS; chalcopyrite, CuFeS2, (trace); bornite, Cu3FeS3; enargite, Cu3AsS4; malachite, Cu2CO4 + H2O (trace); pyrite, FeS2; sphalerite, ZnS; rhodo-chrosite, MnCO3, (less than 1 per cent.); rhodonite, MnSiO3, (less than I per cent.). The country-rock of Butte is of the granite family and is a quartz-monzonite containing a little less silica than typical granite. It is made up of the following rock-minerals in approximately the proportions indicated: Minerals. Composition. Per Cent. Quartz SiO2 20 Andesine 1/2 NaAlSi3O8; 4 CaAI2Si2O8 42 Orthoclase KA1Si308 23 Hornblende 1/2 Ca(MgFe)3Si4O12; & (MgFe)2(AlFe)4Si2O12 6 Biotite (HK)2(MgFe)2A12Si3O12 9 Titanite CaTiSiO5 0.1 Apatite (CaF)Ca4(PO4)3 0.05 Magnetite (FeO)(Fe2O3 0.15 Pyrite FeS2 0.02 99.32 The main country-rock (quartz-monzonite) is cut by dikes of aplite, a granite having the following composition: Quartz, 30; andesine, 20; orthoclase, 45; ferro-rnagnesian minerals, 3; pyrite, 0.1; total, 98.1 per cent. Closely associated with the copper-deposits are dikes and bodies of " Modoe" porphyry, technically known as quartz-

Jan 1, 1913

By N. V. Hansell

The preparation of low-grade iron-ores by concentration, whether or not followed by an agglomeration of the concentrate, has in the United States only recently been recognized as a metallurgical process of vast economical importance for its iron indust.ry. This importance of the process lies not only in the fact that it makes possible the use of ores heretofore discarded on account of their low iron-content or their too high percentage of elements deleterious in the iron industry, but also in its produetion of a raw material for the blast-furnace that is more uniform in its physical character and chemically purer, with a higher iron-content, than the general run of natural ores. When mixed in the burden of the furnace, it lowers the amount of coke and fluxing-stone required per ton of pig-iron produced. The furnace-operations become more regular and more easily controlled. The pig-iron is of higher quality and more uniform in character. In brief, it is becoming recognized that the beneficiating of the natural iron-ore, even if it makes the furnace-ore higher in cost per unit of iron entering into the burden, may mean a lowering of the production-cost of the pig-iron and an improved product. At the present time, the Lake Superior district furnishes about 80 per cent. of all the iron-ore yearly produced in the United States. If the Southern States arc exempted the percentage runs as high as 93 per cent. These ores are showing a steady decrease in grade from year to year. For the past 10 or 15 years this falling off in the average grade has been about 0.5 per cent. a year. The lowered grade of ore means an in-

Jan 1, 1913

By R. Moldenke

Unlike the furnaces employed in the reduction of ores to mattes and metals, the foundry-cupola has only melting to do. This looks simple enough; and its development has progressed through centuries by cut-and-try methods; but there is still much to be learned concerning the causes which underlie the production of defective castings, even from first-rate materials. There are other differences between the smelter and the cupola. The former is usually, the latter rarely, run continuously. In the smelter there is some chance for experiment, since rich slags can be treated again; while in the cupola the metal must be good for casting from the first tap to the drop of the bottom ; otherwise, heavy damage will result. In the smelter, the object sought is the production of metal or matte with a minimum loss in the slag; whereas, in the foundry, a variety of castings of different compositions must often be run from the same heat, one after the other. Experience with the cupola has shown that the melting should take place, throughout the heat, in one zone, the zone of maximum temperature, which is clearly marked on the cupola-lining by the severe cutting action of the slag and iron oxide. The design and operation of the cupola must conform to this condition. This conformity having been secured, other considerations resolve themselves into those details of construction which will involve least trouble and cost of repairs. The very high temperatures required to melt iron and steel in the cupola, leaving the metal sufficiently superheated for casting, render the use of water-jackets inadvisable. It is always possible to patch up the lining at the melting-zone between daily heats; and the rest of the lining is seldom affected enough by abrasion and chemical action to require replacement oftener than once in nine months. The cupola is practically a shell of steel, lined with the proper refractory material, and provided with a sct of tuyeres for the admission of air to burn the fuel and melt the metallic

Jan 1, 1913

By Carleton Ellis

The problem of the influence of hot surfaces upon gaseous combustion is one which, from a purely scientific standpoint, has engaged, for many years past, the attention of Prof. William A. Bone, of Leeds University and the Imperial College, London ; and as his recent work has been the direct outcome of earlier scientific investigation, it will be appropriate, by may of introduction, to review briefly the present position of science with respect to this important subject, as stated by Professor Bone. One may perhaps best arrive at an understanding of the term " flameless " or " surface " combustion by considering certain facts which differentiate it from the more familiar processes of

Jan 1, 1913

W. L. Saunders, New York, N. Y. (communication to the Secretary*):—The Laramie tunnel, though a small one, compares very favorably in the speed of driving with the great Alpine tunnels which have the record so far. I think it safe to say that, taking all things into consideration, the record made at Laramie is the best American record, though it still falls short of the long-tunnel records abroad. In discussing tunnel-records it must always be borne in mind that there are conditions peculiar to each individual tunnel job, so that no comparisons are complete, fair and conclusive. At Laramie there is one point which stands out prominently, and which distinguishes this from any of the recently-built Alpine tunnels, and that is that here we have great progress in an American driven tunnel without the use of a carriage for mounting the drills. At the Arlberg and Loetschberg tunnels, the carriage was an essential condition for progress. All the heading-drills were mounted upon a bar which rested upon a small carriage. This carriage was withdrawn after the drilling and run into the heading after the blast without much disturbance of the drills, and with very little adjustment except that required in jacking the horizontal bar across the tunnel. The carriage was so small in its track-area that it required little mucking to run it in to the face; and as the rock-drills used were heavy machines 38 in. in diameter, progress in setting up and drilling was very much accelerated by the use of the carriage. At the Laramie tunnel hammer-drills were used instead of piston-drills, and here we have an important distinction which

Jan 1, 1913

By H. E. Kramm

During the summer of 1910, I had the opportunity to study in detail the geological conditions of what is known in northern California as " Harrison gulch," in Shasta county. Though the district, as a whole, that is, the western part of Shasta and the eastern part of Trinity county, has contributed during the last 15 years a considerable share of the gold-production credited to Shasta county, very little is known of its geology, perhaps because the country is covered with a dense growth of brush which makes exploration and prospecting extremely difficult. Topographically the district presents a succession of ridges trending approximately N-S., and alternating with deep, narrow canyons. The drainage is partly into the Sacramento, partly into the Trinity river. Climatic conditions in summer time are almost ideal. It is true, the thermometer may climb to 115°, but the air is dry

Jan 1, 1913

By Frederic P. Dewey

By the old method of determining platinum in ores and bullion, the silver-alloy first obtained in the regular course of assay is parted in strong sulphuric acid and the residual metal weighed. This is re-alloyed with silver by a second cupellation and parted in nitric acid, the residual metal being again weighed. Any difference shown between the two weighings is assumed to be, and is called, platinum. Sometimes it is SO, and if any considerable amount of platinum be present, there will be a decided difference between the two weighings; but a slight difference is no real evidence whatever of the presence of platinum. On the other hand, the second weight may equal or possibly exceed the first, even when traces of platinum are present. Again, other members of the platinum group may go into solution in nitric acid more or less. If present, these would be called platinum and escape detection. The method does not provide any direct tests whatever as to the presence or absence of platinum. It is often indecisive, and sometimes gives erroneous results. It is, therefore, quite unsatisfactory. Being called upon many times to determine platinum in a wide variety of materials, particularly when present in very small amounts, I have realized the disadvantages and defects of this old method. In an article on the solubility of gold in nitric acid,' I have briefly outlined a method of gathering a little gold out of a solution containing much silver, which furnishes the basis of

Jan 1, 1913

Jan 1, 1913

Joseph E. Thropp, Jr., Indiana Harbor, Ind.:—To what do you attribute the fact that in some localities the by-product coke sells at a premium over the ordinary bee-hive coke for foundry use ? If the cell-structure is preferably soft and rather thick in coke for foundry use, as I understand it, do you mean that by-product coke has soft and thick cell-walls ? William H. Blauvelt, Syracuse, N. Y.:—As I say in one of the paragraphs of my paper, the tendency seems to be towards the manufacture of foundry- and furnace-coke under somewhat different conditions. The development of the best cell-structure in coke, of course, has not reached perfection, but we are making progress, and we are inclined to believe that under ordinary conditions the best furnace-coke, that is, coke with the hard cell-wall and the well-developed cell, is produced at fast coking-time and high heats, whereas the best foundry-coke seems to be produced at somewhat lower heats. In one of our plants we are making furnace-coke in 16-hr. coking-time, and foundry-coke in 20-hr. time. Foundry-men want the strong, tough coke. I think the furnace-men present will agree that the best furnace-practice requires a hard coke, with a well-developed cell-structure. Replying to the question as to the reason for higher prices being realized for by-product foundry-coke than for bee-hive coke, of course, the immediate reason is that it suits the foundry-men better. Perhaps one cause may be that we are able, by the selection of coals, which is not usually practicable at bee-hive plants, to get a quality and analysis best suited to foundry-work, with high carbon-content, and with cell-structure and physical strength especially suited to the foundry-men's ideas.

Jan 1, 1913

By Halbert Powers Gillette

FROM the known laws of physical chemistry I believe it can be shown that progressive mass movement of water solutions in channels has seldom been the means of ore-concentration in veins. It is my purpose in this paper to show that the force known as “osmosis” has been the principal factor in ore-formation. Convection-currents have doubtless supplemented osmosis, and the two working together have been the agencies that have gathered the scattered particles of rare minerals into the larger masses which are called ore. Osmosis is commonly thought of as a vague, feeble force that causes slow diffusion of dissolving matter through the solvent. That it is a measurable force, often of great intensity, few know, except those who are familiar with the laws of modern physical chemistry. Therefore, I may be pardoned for going briefly into the elementary mathematics of osmotic pressure and of convection-currents. The velocity of water moving through any channel is given by the Chézy formula: (1) v = c [/rs], in which r is the hydraulic mean radius; s, the slope of the channel in which gravity is the sole propulsive force; and c, the coefficient of roughness of the sides of the channel. From this formula it is evident that the smaller the channel, the smaller the velocity of water under a constant head. In rock-crevices, therefore, where the head is constant, water moves much more slowly than in large fissures, and in moving through sand or porous rock it is to an even greater degree retarded. Hence, if a mass of water-saturated sand be heated, the finer the sand-grains, the more slowly will the temperature rise at parts remote from the source of heat. Conversely, cooling is retarded the smaller the interstices or channels through which the convection-currents move. The importance of this

Jan 1, 1913

Jan 1, 1913

By D. C. Livingston

The Pilares de Nacozari mine is located ill Sonora, 75 miles south of Douglas, Ariz. The town of Douglas is on the International Boundary and is the place at which the ores from the Bisbee mines are smelted. The Moctezuma Copper Co. owns the mines at Nacozari, and the copper-concentrates shipped to the Copper Queen smelter, at Douglas, make a good smelting-mixture with the Bisbee ores. The Moctezuma Copper Co. and the Copper Queen smelter at Douglas, as well as the railroad from Douglas to Nacozari, are owned by the Phelps, Dodge & Co. The ore-deposit occurs in the form of a large ellipse with a major axis of approximately 2,000 ft. and a minor axis of about 600 ft., the major axis bearing about 9" W. of N. The

Jan 1, 1913

Jan 1, 1913

Dr. F. W. C. Schniewind, New York, N. Y.:—Mr. Vogel speaks of briquetting the flue-dust by means of lime. I learned recently in Europe of a process employed with considerable success at one of the blast-furnaces, where blast-furnace cinder is used with lime. The lime and cinder are mixed with the flue-dust, and exposed to superheated steam, which converts the blast-furnace cinder into cement. Briquettes are then formed in the usual way. Mr. Vogel :—The process referred to is the " Scoria process," which has not been in use for some time past. For that reason, I did not mention it. Prof. Arthur L. Walker, New York, N. Y.:—I would ask the commercial name for magnesium chloride, and where it can be obtained ? Mr. VoGel :—I mentioned magnesium chloride, because it has been used abroad to a large extent. In Germany it is obtained as a by-product in the manufacture of potash-salts; in the United States we have been using chloride of lime, which is cheaper. Otto Sussman, New York, N. Y.:—What is the cost of this process ? Mr. Vogel :—The cost is exceedingly low. I can give you the figures from abroad, but not for the United States, because the system has not -yet been used here commercially to

Jan 1, 1913

By Carl F. Dietz, Dyke V. Keedy

The problem of drying ores is one that most mill-engvineers are sooner or later called upon to meet, and it may be timely to point out some of the difficulties resulting from such operations from purely a metallurgical and economic standpoint. We mean, in the following pages, to discuss primarily the effect of such operations on the ore. itself, without particular reference to the mechanical or cost features of the subject. That an appreciable tonnage of the ore fed to the usual form of drier, either rotary or stack, is lost, is fairly well appreciated, but we believe that only a few mill-managers know just what their drier-losses amouilt to, and we have found that in most cases they console themselves with the fact that the drier-smoke is not very much discolored, and it is generally believed that the draft is not sufficient to carry away more than a negligible percentage of the values.

Jan 1, 1913