44 Wisco7isin and Missouri Lead Region. 



Estimate of Expenses of Reverheratory Furnace. 



Wages per month, as above, $150. Board four hands 



four weeks, |48, $198 00 



Ore 10,500 lbs. daily for 26 days, at |15 per 1000 lbs., 4095 00 



Wood, 52 cords, at say $2, 104 00 



Hauling ore to furnace, 273,000 lbs. at say 75 cts. per 1000, 204 75 

 Hauling lead to Galena, 79 pigs daily, at 20 cts. per 100, 287 56 



4889 31 

 Worth of 2054 pigs of lead at Galena, .. . . 4313 40 

 Besides this produce is the amount of slag made, of the value 

 of which it is impossible to make a correct estimate. The only 

 way perhaps by which we may approximate it, is as follows : — 

 Supposing the ore originally to be worth 75 per cent, of lead, the 

 273,000 pounds then contain 204,750 of metal, of which 60,970 

 are missing ; allow ten per cent, for loss in the furnace, (escaping 

 in fumes of the oxide and sulphate of lead,) and there remain 

 54,873 pounds of lead, which must be in the slag. Taking 

 average pieces of this slag, which consists of a mixture of pure 

 lead, unaltered galena, sulphate of lead, and earthy matters, 

 grinding them thoroughly, and submitting portions of the powder 

 to analysis, fusing one portion with carbonate of soda, and digest- 

 ing another many days in dilute nitric acid, and then fusing the 

 insoluble remainder with dry carbonate of soda, I obtained the 

 following result, neglecting the sulphur and sulphuric acid : 



Silica, 15 per cent. 



Sulphate of lead obtained by the action of fum- 

 ing nitric acid on the sulphuret, precipitated 

 by hydrosulphuric acid, gave lead, . 34.30 " 



Peroxide of iron, 24.53 " 



The 54,873 pounds of lead require therefore 160,000 pounds of 

 slag, when this contains 34.30 per cent, of lead. It seems a fair 

 allowance that this should be worth one third as much as the 

 original ore, or |5 per 1000 lbs.=|820. Adding this sum to the 

 value of the lead made, we have |4313 40-M820= |5133 40 

 From which deducting the expenses, . . 4889 31 



Leaves as the profit per month, .... $24409 



This estimate gives a small return for the amount of capital 



employed, but it must be observed that it is made out under the 



