in 1911, james m. hyde, a former employee of minerals separation, ltd., modified the minerals separation process and installed a test plant in the butte and superior mill in basin, montana, the first such installation in the usa. in 1912, he designed the butte & superior zinc works, butte, montana, the first great flotation plant in america. minerals separation, ltd., which had set up an office in san francisco, sued hyde for infringement as well as the butte & superior company, both cases were eventually won by the firm in the u. s. supreme court. daniel cowan jackling and partners, who controlled butte & superior, also refuted the minerals separation patent and funded the ensuing legal battles that lasted over a decade. they - utah copper (kennecott), nevada consolidated, chino copper, ray con and other jackling firms - eventually settled, in 1922, paying a substantial fee for licenses to use the minerals separation process. one unfortunate result of the dispute was professional divisiveness among the mining engineering community for a generation.