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GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. 



field smelter, which was put in operation in 1906. The smelter is 

 not visible from the train, but the hi<j^h stack rises from behind the 

 sharp point of rocks on the right as the train makes the curve into 

 Garfield. As few travelers are familiar with the smeltin*,' of ores, 

 a brief description of the work carried on in the Garfield smelter, as 

 well as in those seen at other places alongr the railroad, is given by 

 C. N. Gerry in the footnote.^® 



"'A smelter is an establishment 

 where ores are reduced to the metallic 

 state or to matte (pronounced mat; 

 crude metal containing sulphur, which 

 needs further purification) by melt- 

 ing in a furnace. This statement is 

 simple, but the actual working out of 

 the process is often lengthy and com- 

 plex. There are many kinds of smelt- 

 ers — iron, zinc, copper, and lead smelt- 

 ers in the East and principally copper 

 and lead smelters in the West. Some 

 plants are equipped for smelting both 

 lead and copper and for producing at 

 the same time gold and silver and per- 

 haps the rarer metals in the base bul- 

 lion. The smelter at Garfield, Utah, 

 produces blister copper (crude pig cop- 

 per, so called from gas blisters that 

 form on the surface while cooling), 

 from which gold, silver, and copi>er are 

 afterward refined. The dust from the 

 furnaces is also saved, and from it are 

 obtained gold, silver, and lead. The 

 smelter at Murray produces principally 

 lead bullion containing a small per- 

 centage of silver and gold, a matte 

 containing copper as well as the pre- 

 cious metals, and arsenic from the flue 

 dust. At the Midvale smelter the prod- 

 ucts are much the same as those of the 

 Mun-ay smelter, but in addition the 

 metal cadmium is obtained. Some 

 smelters operate concentration mills 

 in conjunction with the furnaces, in 

 order to make a higher grade of ore 

 by rejecting a part that is worthless 

 or to separate one kind of ore from 

 another. 



In the early days some of the mines 

 were equipped with small furnaces, 

 but as these were generally crude the 

 losses in slag and fumes were great. 

 Mine smelters have been generally 



abandoned, and now it is more eco- 

 nomical and convenient to ship the 

 ore to a centrally located custom plant, 

 where it is smelted with ores from 

 other mines or even other districts. 

 The ore when received is usually 

 crushed and carefully mixed, and a 

 small sample is taken that will repre- 

 sent the entire lot. This sample is 

 " assayed " both by the mining com- 

 pany and the smelting company. That 

 is, it is tested to ascertain how much 

 of each of the metals it contains. The 

 assay at the smelter is often watched 

 by representatives of the mining com- 

 panies called " moochers." If the as- 

 says of the owner and of the smelter 

 do not agree closely an umpire as- 

 sayer is called upon to analyze a third 

 sample, and the differences are ad- 

 justed by arbitration. The ore is then 

 paid for according to current metal 

 prices less fixed deductions for losses 

 in the process, penalties for objection- 

 able ingredients, and a definite charge 

 for smelting— all these items being 

 frequently covered by contract. The 

 ores that reach a custom smelter differ 

 greatly in their composition ; some con- 

 tain lead or copper as sulphides \\'ith 

 gold and silver ; others are oxides or 

 carbonates that have lost the sulphur. 

 Pyritic or iron sulphide ores often con- 

 tain gold and silver, and a familiar 

 ore is one that contains much silica 

 or quartz with gold and silver. The 

 western sulphide ores frequently con- 

 tain much zinc, which is objectionable 

 in lead smelting and is ordinarily pe- 

 nalized by the smelters when above a 

 certain percentage. If the ore con- 

 tains much sulphur, as it commonly 

 does, it receives a preliminary treat- 

 ment in roasters. Some of these roast- 



