D Retort and Condensing System - New Almaden, CA, USA - Daughters of the American Revolution on Waymarking.com

The D Retort, Condensing System and the interpretive sign are located in the overflow parking area of the county park. The system was part of the process of mining ore from the mines. The former mining equipment is from the Guadalupe Mine and was donated by Guadalupe Rubbish Company. The park was also home to a former mine.

DAR Chapter: The California State Society Daughters of the American Revolution Date Placed: 01/01/2011 Inscription: The D retort, line the rotary furnace, was used to recover mercury from cinnabar ore. Whereas the rotary furnace was a continuously-operating system, the D retort was loaded with ore, fired for a period of time (usually 8 to 24 hours), then allowed to cool before emptying the burnt ore (calcines) and recharging with more ore. Burning fuel in a fire box under the retort heated [the] ore to dissociation temperature (1095 degrees F). Vapors driven from the ore by heat, including mercury, sulphur [sic], and water vapor, were condensed in external air-cooled or water-cooled metal pipes attached to the top of the retort. The retort was most often used to process relatively small amounts of ore and to perform a second processing of calcines and dust from the rotary furnace. This retort and condenser were used in the Guadalupe mine from 194-s until the mine closed in the 1970s. The Guadalupe Rubbish Company donated the D retort to NAQCPA in 1987. The California State Society Daughters of the American Revolution

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