78 president's address — section b. 



lislied but a few years ago. It is, however, the direct elementary 

 outcome of the thermo-chemical relationships of the molten solids and 

 the gases implicated, and the Russian investigators no doubt valued 

 it as the A B C of the chemical phenomena taking place. As producers 

 of steel out of cast iron, the undesirable facility with which iron is 

 oxidised, and the difficulty with which sulphur is eliminated, doubtless 

 spared them any effort in the transference of this knowledge to copper 

 mattes. At all events, speaking hghtlj, it is very much to the credit 

 of these Columbuses of matte-conversion, if one may so call them, that 

 they did not follow a popular modern error, and ascribe the whole 

 generation of heat to the sulphur alone. The more notable combustion 

 of this element, on the contrary, they quite correctly attributed to the 

 after-blow, or the copper-forming period. 



With these Russian experiments it may be said the pneumatic 

 process, as applied to copper mattes, now was fairly launched on the 

 sea of possibilities, though, for a protracted period yet, there were but 

 few metallurgical mariners who possessed sufficient valor to take the 

 ship by the helm and further test its sailing capacity. Theoretically 

 no further refinement was necessary for practical success, and even 

 in point of apparatus and manipulation (though this side formed the 

 chief stumbling block to more rapid advancement), there was really 

 but little left to add, and particularly nothing radically novel which 

 had not been done before in the Bessemerising of iron, and might not, 

 -as usual, have been duplicated. At all events the suitability of sulphide 

 substances as sources of great heat, under conditions which accelerate 

 the chemical phenomena of the ordinary copper-smelting processes, 

 WHS completely established, and sufficiently understood to afford hopes 

 of the early and extensive introduction of the general idea for the 

 improvement of those processes. 



Interlude of Steam-refi.ning of Black Copver, &c. — Unfortunately, 

 liowever, interest in the pneumatic treatment of mattes (or ores), as 

 far, at least, as it is distinguishable in contemporary literature, remained 

 of a passive sort for a considerable time to come — probably in con- 

 sequence of the very judgment passed by the pioneers themselves. 

 But transiently another project, which may be conveniently dealt 

 with at this place, engaged the attention of copper men, viz., the steam- 

 lefining of the metal. This old idea revived, while the other youthful 

 one grew moribund. On the face of the proposition it would seem to have 

 been obvious that the dissociation of steam, as a chemical combination, 

 would demand heat for the liberation of oxygen. But, as against this, 

 compensating advantages continued to be hoped for from the removal 

 of sulphur and arsenic, &c., by means of the hydrogen. Air being 

 merely a mechanical mixture, is ready to hand for refining purposes 

 without a previous sundering of its constituents, but its oxygen con- 

 tent is low compared with that of steam, and it held out no prospects 

 of the formation of convenient, highly volatile compounds, such as 

 hydrogen sulphide, and phosphide, &c. Hence steam remained in 

 greater favor. One curious proposal falling into this category was 

 that of LeClerc, in the later sixties. Impure black copper was to be 



