460 



One very important use to which the phellandrene-piperitone Eucalyptus 

 oils are put is in the separation of metallic sulphides from the gangue, by a 

 flotation process. The use of Eucalyptus oil for this purpose was discovered by 

 Mr. Henry Lavers at Broken Hill, New South Wales, and this is shown in the 

 following claim, made by Mr. J. Ballat, the Chairman of Directors, at a meeting 

 of Minerals Separation Ltd., held in London in December, 1910. 



' In Australia a member of our staff there (Mr. Henry Lavers) 



discovered that certain of the Eucalyptus oils are eminently suitable for the 



purpose. Less than a pound of this reagent is all that is required to recover 



the values from a ton of ore. This reagent and process have been properly 



protected under patents the world over. These processes are ours, and I 



trust they will be profitable to us .... and to Australia in particular, 



by turning part of her vast forests of EucaTyptus to profitable account." 



The oils from specific species for these experiments were supplied by 



this Museum. 



Since that time very large quantities of oil have been distilled from the 



' Peppermint " species, both in New South Wales and Victoria, and used for 



flotation work. E. dives, a " Broad-leaved Peppermint," is generally recognised 



as yielding the best oil for this purpose, and consequently the product of this 



Eucalypt is in much request. 



This species, together with the "Narrow leaf Peppermint" E. phellandra, 

 has an extensive range in the States above mentioned, and is particularly 

 abundant at certain localities in the mountain ranges at an altitude of 

 about 1,500 to 3,000 feet. As this particular oil is such a useful article of 

 commerce, and contains piperitone in quantity, it should be good policy to 

 conserve the species (E. dives} for oil production, in those localities where it grows 

 most luxuriantly, more particularly as the " Peppermint " Eucalypts are generally 

 found on poor soil and in mountainous country, not likely to be in much 

 demand for agricultural purposes. 



Through the kindness of Mi. A. J. Bedwell, we are able to give the 

 following results as to the flotation efficiency of the oils of E. dives and of E. 

 phellandra, the " Narrow leaf Peppermint." Ordinary material of E. dives was 

 distilled by Mr. W. St. Clair, near Colombo, New South W 7 ales, a square tank 

 with direct firing being used, and the oil collected each hour for eight hours. 

 After we had determined the constants, the oils were forwarded to Mr. Henry 

 Lavers, who ascertained their values for flotation work. The results he 

 obtained are given in column five. 



EUCALYPTUS DIVES. 



