THE VULCAN QUARTZ SMELTER.

Inangahua Times, Volume XI, Issue 1687, 5 April 1886, Page 2

THE VULCAN QUARTZ SMELTER.

♦ [AUCKLAND HiJUAID.] On Wednesday afternoon a trial was made of the " Vulcan Quartz Smelter," patented by Messrs Johnston and Fellows, of Onehunga. The plant is at present hardly complete, the building aud some few of the appliances being only so far finished as to allow of a trial being made. The furnace is 17 feet in length, 6 feet high, and 6 feet wide, and is built of the best descrip of fire-bricks. It is divided into four compartments, the first, or end one, of which is for tiring ; the second is a receiver for tbe quartz to be smelted ; the third for receiving tbe slag, and tbe fourth is also a quartz receiver. At the other end is the chimney stack, which is 40 feet in height, with 2 feet clear inside. Tbe material to be operated upon is thrown into the receivers from the top, and when sufficiently heated slides down an incline plane into tbe adjoining compartment, which contains ironsand flux. At the bottom of this compartment is a lead bath, iuto which the precious metal falls, leaving the slag on the top. This is ran off at a higher level, and tbe bath containing the bullion at one some* what lower. The two quartz receivers are to enable two separate samples of material to be operated upon at the same time, the bullion hath being capable of division so as to keep toem entirely distinct The present capacity of tbis furnace is 12cwt, that amount being what was operated upon on Wednesday, and about fifteen tons can be put throngh in the twenty -four hours, bnt it is so constructed that it may be enlarged to an unlimited extent, and rendered capable of smelting 1000 tons per diem. An advantage claimed by the inventors of this furnace is that the smelting operation may be stopped at auy moment, and continued at a few minutes' notice, without prejudice to the result There is a total absence of machinery connected with the furnaces, their peculiar form doing away with the necessity for a blast oven, and the labor of four men in snfficient to work the whole concern, as it is at present, during the whole twenty-four hours, two men being sufficient to attend to tbe operation at one time. The slag runs freely out of the fnrnices, and is of about the apparent consistency of treacle. It is intended to have moulds of different descriptions made to run into, after which it will lie subjected to the process of annealing, when, it is claimed, it will be of a strength and durability equal for snob purposes as kerbing stones, and some descriptions of building blocks to scoria. Should this expectation be realised, this branch of the industry should prove remunerative in itself. The final result of Wednesday's trial has np to the present not yet been ascertained— that is. so far as the amount of precious metal extracted from the stone is concerned. This will be ascertained at an early date. The cost of treating quartz by this method is stated by the proprietors to be considerably less than the other systems at present in vogue, and they are prepared to undertake ordere at the rate of 30s per ton. The stone operated upon on Wednesday was of the very hardest description from Coromandel, and a sample much more difficult to smelt tban theordiuary run of Thame-; quartz.