Document OEz3mX61JbGmjO0yLN1RYBoq1
N 3152
Zinc and Lead
E. T. Lednum and R. H. Summer
HE story of the development in the zinc and lead
T industry' during the past few years reads almost like fiction. Under normal conditions the great est demand for zinc products has been in the peaceful pursuits of industry, in the making of preserve jartops, waste pipes and chemical apparatus. After the outbreak of hostilities the demand for these metals changed from domestic uses to the more serious busi ness of war, and the present demand for these products is largely for military purposes.
Both of these metals are found in enormous quantities buried in the ground in the form of ores, with no indication on the surface to show their loca tion. The ore bodies of the Mississippi Valley, where most of these minerals are mined, are generally located by drilling from the surface by means of well drills. The powdered rock and ore brought up by these outfits are carefully tested, and when there is enough of the de sired minerals to pay for mining,
shafts are sunk to the levels of the ore bodies. Tunnels called "drifts" are driven from these shafts to permit of the mining of the ores, which are the minerals to gether with the rock in the natural bed. Zinc and lead ores generally occur together combined with sulphur as sulphides. As these ores of zinc and lead are so similar, many complex and difficult problems are often encountered by the mill operators in separating them, and by the smelters in finally reducing them to pure metal.
In addition to these simple zinc-lead ores, called sulphides, of the Mississippi Valley, other sources of zinc are from franklinite, a very complex ore contain ing iron and manganese; smithsonite, a carbonate of zinc; willemite, a silicate of zinc; zincite, an oxide of zinc; and calamine, another carbonate of zinc. Lead
also occurs associ ated with silver, gold, copper and sulphur; likewise as an oxide, sulphate, chromate, phos phate and carbon ate. In all of these
Down in Zinc and Land Mina, and tb Mill Wher*
Or* m Tmntnd
DUP 000263
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Du Pont Magazine
June, 1918
ure> tin1 minerals desired are a-sociated with malty other substances from which they must In* separated.
In tlit* Missouri district the drifts ordinarily strike the deposits of "pay ore" at the top. After a considerable amount of the worthless rock is removed by blasting, the ore itself is drilled by means of power drills and the hole loaded with dynamite. The blasts break the ore loose and shatter it into fragments that are loaded into buckets or small mine cars and hoisted to the surface.
The ore is then crushed to the fineness of sand and sent to the jigs, where it is mixed with water and sub jected to a pulsating or jigging motion. The desired ore is separated by gravity from the lighter and worth less rock called "gangue " This also separates the zinc and lead ores, which are now called "concen trates," and each is collected in troughs or chutes and carried to bins until needed. The refuse or gangue is passed out as waste to the spoil pile or dump.
Some of the very fine material cannot be separated by the jigs, and passes to concentrating tables, where, carried in partial suspension in water, it is passed over tables that shake the material in such a way as to separate not only the valuable ore from the gangue, but the zinc from the lead ore as well. These concen-. trates are then placed in the bins with those from the
jigs-' In smelting, the zinc ore is placed in sealed clay
retorts or furnaces and heated. This drives the metal
lic zinc off in the form of a vapor, which is condensed and is then known as "spelter," of which there arc several grades, based on the purity or the amount of zinc contained.
Different smelting equipment is needed for the lead, which is melted out of the ore in large furnaces. The heavy molten lead sinks to the bottom and is drawn off there, while the lighter "slag" or waste, which is much lighter, rises to the top of the mass and is drawn off through a higher set of openings and is sent to the slag dump.
The uses of spelter, both in times of peace and of war, are many. Sometimes it is used alone; sometimes it is associated with copper, lead and various other substances.
It is not necessary to go out of the home to find these uses, for when the visitor pushes the button at the door the bell rings--the battery which supplies the power to ring the bell contains zinc. The ringing of the bell may result in one or all of the following events in the household; The washboard of zinc may be abandoned temporarily; baby may splash water out of his little tub of zinc; young son may find an opportunity to investigate the contents of the zinclined refrigerator, and old dog Faithful may crawl out from under the stove and leave his resting place on the sheet of zinc to join young son on his foraging expedition.
The linoleum covering on the floor of the automo-
Concentration Table* Where the Valuable Minerals are Separated from the Worthies# Rock
DUP 000264
bile and kitchen contains an appreciable quantity ni
zinc. In this use it is combined with barium sulphate
to form a very complex pigment.
The trains are operated and guided by zinc and
lead, as the telephone, telegraph and signal towers are
made possible and practical by the use of zinc and lead
substances in the batteries to develop the necessary
current for the transmission
of messages and signals.
The operation of the sub
marine is made possible by
the lead storage batteries, as
without batteries of this
type the operation of the
submarine submerged would
not be possible, and of course
it would not be a submarine
if it could not submerge, and
would consequently lose its
value as a fighting craft.
Similar use of storage bat
teries is essential to the suc
cess of the starter of the
modern automobile.
Lead is a source of sup
ply for lead azide. This
material is used in the
manufacture of detonators.
A common use of lead has
been as a core in the bul lets in the rifle ammunition.
Well Drill Um4 for
The lead gives weight to the bullet, and permits accurate
marksmanship. Lead bullets are also used in the shrap
nel shells. The brass shrapnel shell is made of zinc
and copper.
For buildings the architects design the structure,
and the zinc and lead producer fills a large share of the
requirements--the galvanized sheeting for the roof,
galvanized cornice and other exterior and interior dec
orations, and lead for plumbing.
In the operating room in the hospitals, as well as
throughout the institution, large quantities of zinc in
various forms are consumed for disinfecting and de
odorizing and as a caustic. The soldier in the trenches
is gassed and wounded by zinc and lead products, and
is treated in the hospital with zinc in other forms.
The farmer uses the galvanized iron wire to inclose
his land to prevent loss by straying of hogs and other
live stock. Galvanized barbed wire is also used exten
sively by troops of the Allied Nations, as entanglements
between the trenches in "No Man's Land" as an ob
struction to prevent active operations and raids by
enemy troops. Galvanized wire will withstand ef
fectively the action of the weather and will not rust
or corrode for a long period.
Zinc is used extensively by manufacturers of print
ing type for newspapers and other publications.
The oxide of zinc, which is a material used in the
rubber industry, is the result of roasting and other
treatment of the crude ore. It is also used extensively
in the manufacture "i paints and forms one
the essential materials for the manufacture of ins; le
paints.
Lead also plays an important part in the paint
industry, and is the basis for the manufacture of several
important paint materials and for other important
pigments.
Zinc is perhaps one of
the most important and
versatile ores produced. It
plays its part in the treat
ment of gold, and its prod
ucts also find their way in
large quantities into the tex
tile and many other in
dustries.
A cycle in this industry
exists which embodies the
fact that explosives are
necessary to produce zinc
and lead products, and these
elements in turn in various
forms are necessary and es
sential in the production of
high explosives.
Taken all in all, the life
history of lead and zinc in
their course from the mine
to the final uses is quite an
Valuable DepoaiU of Ora
interesting story', and the part they play in the activi
ties of the world is equally interesting and important.
*****
In course of time, under the tutelage of their pro tector, the Federal agent, the Indians learned how to take advantage of the opportunity given to them by a bountiful Providence, assisted by the U. S. Govern ment and the intelligent energy' of the white miner. Benjamin Quapaw is receiving 820,000 per month as royalty from ore mined under his allotment of 200 acres. Emma Gordon, who owned a similar allot ment, married a " mucker," Hiram McBee, a Scot, who had been " fired " from a rqine wmrking on that particular allotment. When he married the bronze landlady he did not revenge himself on the mining company; on the contrary, he conceded a full exten sion of the lease. He is dubbed " a real gent from Oklahoma." His income is 825,000 per month, the tribute on a 20% royalty. The half-breed to whom Mr. Moore paid $6000 royalty pier month bought farm mortgages in Kansas and two automobiles. These Indians are great motorists, in the sense of owning cars. The story is told that Jim Good Eagle bought a six-cylinder car at Joplin. A few days later another Indian went to the same agent and asked: "Jim Good Eagle, he buy car how many cylinders?" The agent said, "Six." To which the Indian replied, "Jim Good Eagle him no good; got no money; I buy nine-cylinder car." During the meeting of the
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