MINING.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17239, 15 February 1918, Page 6

MINING.

Yesterday was observed as a holiday by tho Duuetnn Stock Exchange-.

The smelting and converter returns of the Mount Lyell Al. and li. Company (T.) for the four-weekly •periods ended respectively with January 16 and December 19, coni-pai-e as under, tho December iigures being in parentheses:—Ore treated. 14,553 (21,735) tons, comprising—Mount Lyell 9199 (13,948) tons, North Mount. Lye-11 5034 (7290) tons, concentrates 240 (501) tons. Blister copper produced, 333' (550) tons, containing 329 (544) tons copper, 17,504 (27,814) oz. silver, and 419 (735) oz gold. The lower returns of January were duo to tho holidays and the consequent use of only one furnace.

Mr Robert Sticht, general manager of the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company, who left. Australia nino months ago for the United.States to study electrolytic methods of treating zinciferoue ores so as to save the zinc, has returned to Australia, and in tho course of an interview with a Sydney journalist eaid that there were now threo largo treatment plants working in America with success —one at Salt Lake City, another at Anaconda (Montana), and tho third at Trail (British Columbia). These had greatly helped the zinc industry. In tho Mount Lyell mines tho ore contained gold, silver, copper, load, and zinc, and tho process of purification to bo followed consisted of roasting and extraction of tho zino by leaching it out with an acid solution combined with electrolytio action. There was little that was really new in the processes, but tho combination of them was new and improved, and had been rendered possible by the expiration of various patents. The new industry would be expensive to instal, but the results anticipated were considered worth the outlay.