A Rudimentary Treatise on the Metallurgy of Copper

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1860 edition. Excerpt: ...is required in properly conducting this operation, and great care is necessary in drawing the scraper along the surface of the metal, so as not to take out any of the valuable lower stratum along with the slag. When the workman by a want of attention allows copper to mix with the slags, so that they hold more than about a quarter of a per cent., he is compelled to resmelt them free of charge; a regulation that serves as a check to secure his good working. When the furnace is skimmed, it is the usual plan to let down a second charge of ore, and fuse and skim in the same manner as above, before tapping the hearth to let out the matt. When sufficient metal is collected, the tapping is accomplished by breaking out the clay stopper, and thus opening a communication between the lower part of the hearth and the exterior. From this aperture the matt is run directly into a vat of water 6 or 8 feet deep and 4 to 5 feet square, at the bottom of which is a box with a perforated bottom that receives the granules thus produced, and which may be raised by a crane and the contents removed to the yard to dry ready for the next operation. Another plan is to run the matt into moulds, and thus form pigs, which are stamped to a powder before going to process III. Since at the time of throwing the ore into the furnace the hearth is at a high heat, smelting soon sets in; the sulphides of iron and copper are formed and sink to the bottom. The silica combined with copper, gives it up to the sulphur, combines with the oxides of iron and other bases, and rises to the top, forming a distinct layer of Blag. The tin that may be present goes partly into the slag as an oxide, while the antimony and arsenic combining with the copper are absorbed into the matt. Where...