| Show the coolbaugh zinc smelting smelling Sm elting process Is explained Explain edBy by A S R engineer the following 6 are interesting in extracts from a paper read by howard H fields field manager of the american smelting smelling Sm elting and refining 6 company before a recent meeting 6 of the metal mining association in denver I 1 mr fields b gives ives a clear understanding der standing of the proposed operation of the coolbaugh system teni tem i at the durango Z smelter which ch will be of real value to all who are interested in the rapid development of the mining industry in the western lead zinc ore producing regions we quote from mr fields paper as follows we feel the most interesting event odthe year has been the bu idding of the sup hating plant probably better known as the coolbaugh 6 at durango 1 1 the process promises so much for the mining of complex ores that a short history to date may be interesting coolbaugh read and fisher developed the sul al idea to a point where they interested gen beekley wells and associates who carried it to a semi commercial sage s age at this point the american smelting smelling Sm elting and refining company compan was asked to investigate it and did so thoroughly our en engineers inders and metallurgists were convinced of the value of the process and today the complex ores recovery company composed of the investors general wells and associates socia tes and the smelting smelling sm elting company is building the first unit of the flie plant at a cost of more than to try the process on a commercial scale process explained the process itself is simple the finely crushed ore or concentrate is roasted in a skinner mul multiple tip leh le h hearth earth with the roast so controlled that the metals are converted to sulphates the hot calcine from the furnace is then leached beached with water and agitated zinc and copper sulphate are soluble in water while the balance of the sulphates hates and other elements in the ore are not lime or zinc oxide is added to the agitated solution and the solvable able copper precipitated as copper oxide with the balance of the residue the zinc sulphate which is the only soluble compound left is filtered off and the residue containing all the gold silver lead and copper with avith a little zinc is ready to be ag gloma rated on oil the dwight lloyd sintering wintering sint ering machines the resulting t product is then smelted smelter in the re regulation ula tion lead blast furnace A the solution containing the zinc sulp sulphate bate is treated in a spray drier where the zinc sulphate crystallizes crysta lizes this method of crystallizing zinc sulphate produces a sulphate containing only two molecules of water avater of crystallization in place of the normal seven which is a saving of 10 to 20 per cent when the shipment of zinc sulphate is considered present plans assume that this zinc sulphate will be marketed a as such but of course tests now being carried carrie d on may determine other forms of zinc which can be produced and sold first unit forty tons the first unit has a capacity of forty tons of concentrate I 1 which will come from the black bear mine at telluride but subsequent tests 1 give 1 hope that the actual tonnage may be 50 per cent greater wrinkles in the process which at this time seem very improbable will be ironed out and recoveries and costs will be determined the new plant will be in operation in may next naturally the miner will want to know how this will affect his own individual ore we are not able to make any any blanket statements on its universal application but about the middle of the year we ave will ivill be ready to look into its applicability to other ores and concentrates the probable procedure will be for the interested miner to send a small sample to the testing laboratories where preliminary tests on his ore will be made if these are successful a trial shipment of fifty or several hundred tons will be arranged the quality not yet actually determined ter mined but enough for a real run will be sent to duran durango 0 to be purchased on oil a basis to be determined later and the use of the black bear ores will be dist discontinued continued until a trial run is made this will actually determine the recoveries and costs on oil each individual ore and willbe will be the basis for future purchase if successful eventually of co as enough ores are found the plant will be enlarged to accommodate them will put zinc in profit class it is impossible to predict the financial basis on which ores will be purchased for treatment under tinder this sulphating sulp hating process until cost figures from actual operations are available however PIo wever we hope to be able to place zinc in the credit class whenever the ore is adaptable for treatment by the sul process this is a step in the ri right direction and should make available many complex ores which now cannot be mined and smelted smelter smelt ed in the metallurgical end we ave are int interested in developing new processes and perfecting our present operations and personally our inte interest yest in your individual problems is known to all of you who have come in to confer with us its and those whose mines we have visited I 1 it is this personal contact which we hope to develop much further during the coming year it lias has been my pleasure to have been assigned 6 to this particular work so J I 1 am particularly interested in convincing you that we can mutually help each other at times it is tin unfortunately fortunately true we cannot helps help everyone as much as they would like for there is a limit beyond which we cannot go and continue to operate if any miner however has an ore he cannot ship at present we hope that he will present his si situation to use and I 1 assure you we will go as far as we can to enable him to ship it |
