Revolutionary Mining Technology
Technology is not the exclusive domain of the 21st century, as the article “Clear Creek County: Silver Plume Concentration Works” illustrates. This week in 1877, The Colorado Miner spotlighted the Silver Plume Concentration Works, a mill run by a man known as E. Eddy, Esq. This then-revolutionary mill was able to process 25 tons of rock per day while employing only 5 workers. The rocks, containing only very small amounts of the desired minerals, were first thoroughly crushed, and then sifted down to the slime tables. Eventually, the rock was removed and the desired mineral emerged.