Show DOINGS OF THE E COMPANY AND OTHERS IN NORTHWEST MONTANA while making a pilgrimage through the mining sections of the northwest gathering information for mining milling truth leon stormont of that publication had the following to offer concerning the operations of the Zon olite company and others who have tackled the deposits of northwestern montana mr stormont says A visit was made to the Zon olite companas Comp anys or vermiculite mine min some esome six miles north of libby on rainy creek this operation has attracted a great deal of interest the noted geologist J T pardee arrived in libby while the reporter was at the property and made his second visit to the mine the following day he has spent the entire summer in montana on work for the united states geological survey dr pardee described his first visit to the j eff deposit some thirty years ago when he took samples of the substance which was designated lin in washington as rotten mica of no value the quality which the mineral has of swelling ito fourteen times its size when roasted was not then discovered E N alley president of the Zon olite company during 6 the world war started to explore the rainy creek region an in search of vanadium and molybdenum which had a high value then some of the mineral was dropped by accident on a hot stove and immediately started to change color and swell from this little incident the business that is now the Z onnolite Zon olite company started I 1 automatic Zon olite is mined by tunnel and automatic as the stuff is continually slipping and sliding and the main mining problem is to keep the from caving in mr alley hit on the theory of running the tunnel in the and offsetting into the deposit whenever a is to be started underground the zon olite looks more like anthracite than any other mineral that can be described it reflects the lamps beams from millions of facets and underfoot while perfectly dry it feels like mud scores of shallow pits have demonstrated that the entire hilltop is covered with of varying grades eventually the tunnel method of mining will be abandoned and the deposit willbe will be attacked with and scraper an aerial tram will be run about feet down rainy creek and across kootenai river to a loading platform on the great northern railroad from which the material will be transported to the Zon olite Comp company anys s treating plant in the western outskirts of libby pioneering with plant this plant is now operating about one day a month that being sufficient to meet the market which mr alleys organization has built up installation was costly owing to the lack of precedents for treating the stuff it is now roasted in a revolving tube fifty feet long the lower jower end some eight feet lower than the feed end an oil flame under high pressure heats the inside of the kiln to a white heat the material is then handled entirely by air airi blast the impurities puri ties being heavier are taken out iby by gravity and shredding reduces the stuff to nine different sizes from coarse flakes to a powder finer than mesh ordinary concentrating machinery would not work on the treated zon olite and the shredder finally introduced was designed by a concern specializing in cereal plants from six to ten men are kept busy in the Zon olite development at the time of the reporters visit mineral surveyors were running i the claim lines pending application for patent adjacent properties on the opposite side of the same mountain the vermica lite asbestos company has started to develop an extension of the deposit in this section there appears to be more of the amphibole asbestos to which the Zon olite people pay no attention but which the other company hopes to market W A hillis is superintendent of this operation and frank pival oneff one of the directors has the contract lor for build in inga three rail tram 2600 feet the portal is feet above the ore bin which is seven miles from libby the lower tunnel is reported to be in over feet and an upper tunnel about seventy feet from seven to nine men are employed at present two other concerns the Mi company and the feri site company have been formed to explore outlying sections of the deposit but they are inactive the Mi company is a reorganization of the kootenai valley products company the company is reported to be investigating possible markets |