1874.] lUi [Lesley. 



Mr. Harden advises that the stripping of wash-ore be not carried on 

 far in advance of the lifting of the rock and pipe-ore at the bottom ; be- 

 cause, even where tlie farming interest does not interfere, such a plan 

 "disturbs the equal distribution of dead work" and prevents the re- 

 jection of those parts of the stripping which do not pay well for washing. 

 Ample room ought to be got early for lifting the entire mass of rich 

 bottom ores. 



"With a good roomy open cutting the mass of wash ore should cost no 

 more to move than so much ordinary excavation." "The ore-earth is 

 loaded into cars carrying 29^ cubic feet, led by horses to the foot of the 

 incline, 300 to 500 feet, whence it is lifted 37 feet on a grade of 14°, to a 

 level with the washers, by a 13 inch cylinder steam engine, 2 foot stroke, 

 a^d pair of 8 foot drums. The car load is again dragged 150 feet and 

 dumped into the washing troughs, in which revolve three Archimedian 

 screw-propeller shafts 20, 26, and 26 feet long respectively. The shafts 

 are of decagonial timber, 15 inches in diameter on the facets of which 

 are screwed cast iron blades. The ore travels 72 feet, and is dropped into 

 two classifying screens, the sand and mud being floated off to the settling 

 dam. The screens have j inch and ^V inch meshes. The ore falls on sheet 

 iron trays where the quartz is picked out. The washers are driven by a 

 16 inch cylinder engine, 54 inch stroke ; the steam being generated in 

 two double flue boilers 30 feet long and 40 inches in diameter. The water 

 arrives by an aqueduct 2000 feet long mounted on tressels arranged along 

 the top of the hill. It is fed by a pipe of 12 inch diameter laid up the 

 hill side to a vertical height of 110 feet above a double Worthington 

 pump with 20 inch steam and 15 inch water cylenders ; the fall of reser- 

 voir is 1 foot in 250. The steam boilers for the pump are also 30 feet long 

 by 40 inches diameter, driving also a Blake stone-crusher, used for the 

 flux. 



The digging of the ore is said to be done by contract at half the price 

 of ordinary earth. 



Six cubic yards of earth has been found to produce an average of one 

 ton of washed ore, the diggers being paid 16 cents per car-load of 29.58 

 cubic feet — 23.67 of solid earth. A cubic yard will therefore cost 18 i 

 cents and a ton of ore $1.09. The ore delivered at the furnace costing 

 $2, there remains 91 cents for leading, raising, washing, picking and 

 delivery. 



But the great economy of this operation can be duly realized only by 

 remembering that the earth washed and ore utilized is that which under 

 any other circumstances would be dumped on one side as "spoil," and as 

 such chai-geable against the lower and better ore. " Seeing also that in so 

 utilizing this (otherwise) refuse just so much dead charge is removed, we 

 are led to anticipate a less costly production of the ore which follows it ; 

 a'ld we have ground for contemplating equally favorable results at other 

 banks, the same course being pursued." 



The Furnace stands under the high bank of Spnice Creek, with its 



