[D8949ABK], Letter from John Birkinbine to Thomas Alva Edison, July 13th, 1889
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Title
[D8949ABK], Letter from John Birkinbine to Thomas Alva Edison, July 13th, 1889
Editor's Notes
[IMPORTANT TAE MARG but on a long-ish letter] [TAE marg: "Birkinbine: I have firmly resolved to waste no time on proving the benefits of the process to mine owners. I am buying mines myself have lately bought 1/2 doz & propose putting up mills myself. Some day they will come (to terms?) with me without any parleying E" -- select as draft to Birkinbine?] As I find that it is essential that I attend a meeting in Duluth next week and as I may be somewhat detained, I fear that I will not have an opportunity of seeing you before you sail for France, which I understood you would do on August 1st. I therefore wish that you would advise me as to any matters which you think I should give attention to especially doing your absence and also state if you wish me to communicate with anyone in your stead while you are away. I am investigating a chance for concentration which strikes me favorably in Maryland and am promised maps and samples of the material if the deposit turns out as reported to me it will pay someone to take up the properties and weork them. The ore is reproted as occurring as crystals of magnetite in a soft sandstone, which disintegrates so readily as to cause considerable deposits of magnetic sands along the stream beds. As soon as I get all the data in shape so that you can be well posted I will present it to you for you consideration.##I spent a day lately at the Cornwall Mines and had a long talk on concentration with Mr. Byd the manager who was rather skeptical upon the economic results. I think I demonstrated to him however the fact that there was a decided advantage to the Cornwall Ore Banks Co., in concentrating their leaner ores and he finally stated that he would like to have another test made and I suggested that it would be well to have a test made on a thoroughly commercial scale passing tons instead of pounds and that he should be present to see the operation. What would you think of the plan of having him send say 10 tons of each grade of ore this would be 40 or 50 tons in all to the Bechtelsville plant passing it through at a time when Mr. Boyd could be there, after you ahd made your preliminary experiments the resultant concentrate being sold to the furnaces and whatever was received above the freights and cost of concentration to be divided between the Cornwall Ore Banks Co. and yourself or if you prefer paid to the Cornwall Ore Banks Co. I think this would demonstrate that concentration would pay and at Cornwall the process could be carried on a very large scale. If you will let me know your wishes in the matter I will endeavor to work a plan u while you are absent. You never advised me as to the test of the Port Henry ores at Bechtelsville.
Author
Recipient
Mentioned
Date
1889-07-13
Type
Folder/Volume ID
D8949-F
Microfilm ID
126:1022
Document ID
D8949ABK
Publisher
Thomas A. Edison Papers, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University