The Theory and Practice of Ore Dressing

Excerpt from The Theory and Practice of Ore Dressing

In this work an attempt has been made to cover in a single volume the whole subject of ore dressing as applied at metalliferous mines in western America. The subject is treated in a manner designed to be of value and assistance to several classes of men engaged or interested in the treatment of ore by concentration processes. While the book is written largely as an aid to the mine manager or engineer in charge of mining enterprises, it is believed that the millman also will find in it much of value relating to the care of machines intrusted to his charge. It is not expected that the work will displace the hard-earned experience of the metallurgical engineer, but a man of that class will find in the book many useful and practical data. The needs of the student have not been forgotten, and a sufficient amount of theory has been introduced to give him a comprehension of some of the underlying principles of the art.

There is very little working theory in ore dressing, and what theory may be deduced is mostly explanatory of the main tendencies to which particles of ore are subjected in the different treatment processes. Unfortunately, as the art stands today, ore particles are subject to other tendencies of which no satisfactory measure can be made. There is, at present, no positive separation machine among ore-dressing devices. All the means employed to effect separation merely tend to this end. It seems possible that certain positive mechanical principles will be discovered by which each and every grain will be forced to pursue a path depending on its specific gravity although gravity may not be the guiding force. The direct application, of these forces by machinery, owing to the simplicity and cheapness of this mode of effecting concentration, would seem to be the goal toward which inventors should work.

In preparing a single-volume work on ore dressing much must be omitted, due to the wealth of material from which to choose and the necessity of treating standard practice in so small a compass. Hence in the present volume stamps have received scant consideration, being machines which find little or no application in the ordinary concentrating mill. Amalgamation is not mentioned; this process being deemed outside the scope of a work on concentration which is essentially the art of enriching ores by mechanical means. The student will miss any reference to centrifugal machines or concentration by centrifugal force.

Screen ratios also receive no mention, since the proper succession of screen sizes should be determined by experimentation.

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