Butte & Superior Concentrator

"The zinc concentrator of the Butte & Superior Copper company, shown on the opposite page, represents an industry which is coming into importance in Butte. The existence of large bodies of zinc ore in some of the silver veins of Butte has been realized for years, but it is only recently that some of them have proved amenable to successful concentration. Most of the zinc ores thus far found in the camp are mixed with considerable pyrite, but those found in the Black Rock and Elm Orlu mines contain very little pyrite, so that a concentrate low in iron is possible.The Butte & Superior mill is rated at 1,200 tons daily capacity. The ore is sphalerite, most of which is finely disseminated through a hard quartz gangue, with small quantities of galena, pyrite, chalcopyrite, rhodocrosite and rhodonite. In mining, the included granite and the low grade vein matter are sorted out and used for waste filling so that the ore as it goes to the concentrator will carry about 20 per cent of zinc, 1 per cent lead, .25 per cent copper, 8 to 10 ozs. silver and a little gold. The ore bodies ranging from 5 to 103 feet in width, are mined by the square set method and filling of stopes with waste rock.The ore is hard and tough requiring extensive crushing and grinding equipment, consisting of Blake and gyratory crushers, 54-inch and 42-inch high speed rolls, Chili mills, Tube, and Conical mills. All of the lead con¬centrate and part of the zinc concentrate are recovered in the upper part of the mill by jigs and tables. The classifier overflow and the re-ground jig and table tailings go to settling tanks and from there to the Hyde Flotation process, where the balance of the zinc concentrate is recovered, and the tailing go to waste."