The Chemistry and Metallurgy of CopperThe Shelf2Life Mines and Mining Collection is a unique set of materials focusing on the operation of mines, the mining industry and mineralogy in the 19th and 20th centuries. From first-hand accounts of life in the mines to descriptions of mine construction, excavation methods and machinery, to mine taxation and determinative mineralogy, this collection reveals the science and culture of the thriving mining industry pre-1923. Illuminating the pages of these intriguing volumes are rock and mineral photographs and mineral classification tables including chemical tests and scientific experiments written during a period of significant expansion in the discipline of mineralogy. The Mines and Mining Collection unearths a period of early historical mining practices and related scientific discoveries of value to enthusiasts, students and mineralogists alike. |
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Common terms and phrases
acetate adit alloy ammonia antimony aqua regia arsenic assay beds black oxide blue boiling brass bronze calcined carbonate cent charcoal charge chloride color containing copper pyrites crucible crystalline crystals cupel decomposed deposits depth dilute dissolved earthy fathom feet filter fissures formed furnace fused fusible fusion gangue gossan gray copper green heat hydrated hydrochloric acid iron iron pyrites Lake Superior layer lead lode mass matt matter melted metallic copper metalliferous mineral Mining Company mixed mixture native copper nitric acid numerous obtained occurs opened operation oxide of copper oxyd oxygen portion potash potassa pounds powder precipitate pure copper quantity quartz result rich roasting rock salt sandstone scoria separated shaft silicate silver slag slates smelting soda soluble solution specific gravity strata suboxide substance sulphate of copper sulphide sulphuric acid surface tion tons trap usually varies vein-stone washed weight white metal yellow zinc
Popular passages
Page 362 - On analysing separately specimens taken from the bas-reliefs of the pedestal of this column, from the shaft, and from the capital, it was found that the first contained only 6 per cent, of the alloy, and 94 of copper, the second much less, and the third only 0'21.
Page 150 - Barmouth sandstones, Penrhyn slates, &c. Various rocks subjacent to the Silurian series in Wales and Ireland, and above the mica and chlorite slates, quartz, and other rocks of Anglesea and part of Caernarvonshire. Unknown : probably primitive.
Page 280 - The spot selected had been marked by a neighbour, who, passing it in the dark, had observed a flame rising from the ground, nearly as large as the body of a man. At about 15 feet, the miners struck a vein of blue stone, about two feet thick, between loose walls of red sand stone, covered with a sheet of pure copper, somewhat thicker than gold leaf.
Page 362 - ... shaft, and from the capital, it was found that the first contained six per cent. of tin, the second much less, and the third only 0.21 per cent., being nearly pure copper. Hence, it appears that the unskilful founder had gone on refining the copper by the oxidation of the tin until he had exhausted his copper, and that he had then worked up the refuse scoriae in the upper part of the column. The cannons which the government furnished him were composed of Copper, . . . 89.360 Tin, .... 10.040...
Page 237 - Boston, who commenced mining in the summer of 1844. The first work was done in the autumn of 1844, upon the outcrop of a cupriferous vein at Copper Harbor, known to the voyageurs as the
Page 240 - States. quartz, calcareous spar, and the zeolitic minerals, and it abounds in fine crystallizations. Its metallic contents are exclusively native copper and silver. The copper occurs in masses of great size, from a few hundred pounds up to nearly a hundred tons ; and the vein is not only rich in these, but also furnishes a large quantity of stamp-work, containing an unusually high per centage of copper. At the date of the last report, shaft No. 4, had reached a depth of 251 feet. The second shaft...
Page 239 - ... it. On calculating the number of fathoms of the vein removed in the drifts, shafts and slopes, I find it to be, approximately, 8,270 ; and there has been produced an average amount of 761 pounds of copper per fathom — a result which is truly astonishing, when it is considered that the whole of the...
Page 237 - December, and proved to be a continuation of that ff<vked during the summer. Mining was commenced here immediately ; two shafts were sunk 100 feet apart, and a goodly quantity of black oxyd of copper, mixed with silicate, was taken out. This was remarkable, as being the only known instance of a vein containing this as the principal ore. Unfortunately, this was but a rich bunch, which gave out at the depth of a few feet, although the vein continued. The gangue was chiefly calcareous spar, mixed with...
Page 187 - This consists of a large box, covered with a tight wooden floor, in the centre of which, is a circular metallic trough, perforated with six holes, each about two feet in diameter, and into all these openings a sieve is closely fitted. A large piston working in a cylinder placed in the centre of this arrangement, and which is moved by an eccentric, driven either by water or steam power, is made to alternately raise and depress the level of the water in the box and consequently also in the sieves,...
Page 45 - The hydrated chloride is prepared by dissolving the oxide in hydrochloric acid, or the metal in aqua regia, evaporating and allowing the solution to crystallize. It forms beautiful green needles, which are very deliquescent and easily soluble, both in water and alcohol. When the latter solution is kindled, it burns with a beautiful green flame. The solution is blue when diluted, but a rich emerald green when concentrated, or when mixed with excess of hydrochloric acid. The anhydrous chloride absorbs...