CA1080158A - Method of concentration of finely divided materials - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT.
The two stages gravity method of concentration of fine dry materials makes use of the differences in the specific gravity of the materials by using principles fairly similar to those used in wet shaking table.The dry materials are load-ed in a continuous series of troughs as they pass successively underneath a loading means as they travel conveyor belt like in a close circuit and,as they travel they are firstly submitted to a series of cyclic directed shaking motions transversal to the troughs and secondly,to a series of similar cyclic shaking motions parallel to the long axis of the troughs,the whole resulting in the production of a concentrate,and of middlings and waste which are unloaded in suitable receivers as the troughs turn downward in their conveyor belt like circuit.

Description

108015~3 `

~ he proposed method of concentration has for aim the production Or a concentrate or concentrates of a material or materials from a mixture Or materials and,more especiall~
when applied to ores,the separation of the valuable elements ~rom the gangue.
The method of concentration will have special applications in the treatment of ore~ which have to be ~round to a great degree of rineness to liberate the valuable elements or,ores in which the valuable elements are friable and which when ground reduce the said elements to rather fine particles.
The method would appl~ to most ores whioh are not efrect-ively concentrated b~ the usual methods Or flottation or gravity and,it would appl~ to such ores as tantalite,p~ro-chlore,uranium oxide,etc.
The method Or concentration has for basic principle the separatlon according to the specific gravit~ of the material~
treated,being given in most cases a certain preliminary classirication.
The method makes u9e of principles fairl~ ~imilar to those used on wet shaking tables,except that it is used with dr~
pulverized ores and that the sald dr~ pulverized ores are carried by troughs,while in the wet shaking tables water 19 the carrier.The c~cllc shakin~ motions which will effect the concentration ln our method are similar ln all points to those used in the wet shaking tables and,their basic theor~ is found tcxtboo~<s in most to~tboobo on oredressing and,well known to all learned ln that art.
The troughs can be made with man~ shapes,a preferred oross-sectlon would be that of an open elong~ted box with an horizontal or inclined bottom,with or without rirrles.

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facilitate In order to f~e~late the concentration,the troughs would be divided in a series Or compartment~ b~ partition~
extending rrom the open top to the bottom,except that an hole properl~ shaped would be left at the bottom of the partitions ~gainst one Or the walls Or the troughs,so as to permlt a small connection between two ad~acent compartment~.
At the loadlng end,one or more compartment~ are suitably loaded with pulverized ores and,the troughs,in parallel rows, as the~ travel conve~or belt like,are rirstl~ submitted to a -serie~ o~ cy¢lic shaking motions directed at right angle to the long axls Or the troughs,thQt is at right angle to the serles Or the Pa~llol rows o~ trough~,shakings which will concentrate the elements o~ high speci~ic gravit~ in a bar liks deposlt at the bottom Or the trou~hs a~ainst one wall o~ ths troughs,while the contlnued shaking~ will pile up the the lighter elements over the 3~id higher gravit~ elements.
Secondly,the troughs will be suhmitted to a series Or cyclic shaking motions parallel to the long Qxls o~ the troughs,shQkings whlch will graduall~ push the elements o~ high-er specirlc gravit~ awa~ ~rom the overl~ing lighter elements into convenient compartments.
As all the troughs travel conve~or belt like in a closed circult,at the end Or thelr travel in a ~ as the~ curve downward in an halr Or a clrcle,the~ will unload in convenient receivers,waste,middlings and concentrates.
Now,to better lllustrate the method,we wlll have rererence to the ~oined drawings wherein we see:
rlgure l shows a top vlew Or an apparatus designed to effect the ~roduction Or concentrates rrom a mixture Or finelv divided materials.

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108(~58 `

It shows schemati¢ally a continuou~ qeries Or troughs 1 all travelling conve~or belt like in the same directlon as per arrow 2,the said troughs 1 being conveniently loaded with the pulverized mixture Or matarials b~ suitable means as per arrow 7 and then,as thev travel over mechanism 3,not shown,thev are submitted to a continuous series o~ c~clic shaking motions as per arrow 5,at right angle to the long axis Or the trou~hs l,shaking motions which will cause the particleY
Or higher speciric gravity to concentrate in ~ bar like deposit underneath those of lighter gravitv a~ainst one wall of the troughs 1 and,as the troughs 1 travel ~urther as per arrow 2,the~ are submitted to another continuous ssries o~
c~clic directed shaking motions over mechanlsm 4,shakings directed as per arrow 6 which i8 about parallel to the long axis Or troughs l,~haklngs which will push and separate the element~ Or higher speciric gravit~ away from those o~ lighter gravlty.
As the troughs turn downward in an halr o~ a circle,not shown,thev dlscharge their content a8 per arrow 8,waste,as per arrow ~,mlddlings and,as per arrow 10 a concentrate.
Figure 2 i8 a plan view Or a trou~h 1 divided lnto a series Or compartments 12 b~ a serles Or partitions 11.
The partitlons 11 have a sultable hole 13 ag~inst one wall 90 as to leave an openlng between ad~acent compartments 12.
Such an hole 13 wlll prevent the spreadin~ Or the waste durlng the concentration,thererore facllitatlng the obtention or~better concentrate 10. (~a) Figure 3 i~ a section of trough 1 taken along llne 14-14, it shows a partltion 11 and a suitable hole 13 between two ad~acent compartments 12.

lOt30158 Figure 4 shows A section of a mean~ of driving the series Or troughs 1 conveyor belt like,the said trough~ 1 being linked on both sides ends,only one end shown,to V
belts 15 by suitable ela~tic means 16.
The elastic meQns 16 could be made o~ ribbons of rubber or again by suitable metal springs.
Figure 5 shows a section Or a compartment 12 Or a trough 1 after it has been submitted with it's load Or rlnely divided materials to a given series Or cyclic directed ~haking motions transversal to trough l,we ~ee a bar like deposit Or high gravit~ materials 10 restlng under smaller gravity materials 8.
Figure 6 shows a section Or a compartment 12 Or a trough 1 where at the end Or a series Or cyclic directed shaking motions transversal to the long axis Or the trough 1 we have, a bar like deposit of a concentrate 10 at the bottom resting under deposit 9 Or middllngs and,on top Or said middlings 9, a sheet like deposit 8 Or the elements Or smaller speciric gravit~.
The present rorm Or ap~aratus hQs been used only as an illustratlon of the application Or our method Or concentratlon and,it is certain that the dlmenslons and the shapes Or the troughs,the shapes and the dimensions o~ ~r- the holes connect-ing the compartments may vary.I,lkewise the bottom Or the troughs can be horizontal or lncllned,with or without rirrles, the movement Or the troughs continuous or c~clic,or the cyclic shaking motions mlght be produced by mechanical means or by electrlc induction.

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Claims (2)

The embodiments of the invention inwhich an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1.-In a two stages gravity method of concentretion of fine dry materials,a convenient means of loading successively the dry materials at the same end of troughs as they all travel conveyor belt like in a closed circuit,with the said troughs forming a continuous series of rows ,conveyor belt like,with the said troughs having their long axis parallel to the said rows and with the said rows at right angle with the direction in which they travel,and causing the loaded troughs to be submitted to a series of cyclic shaking motions perpendicular to the said rows,that is parallel to the said direction of travel,shaking motions similar to those used in the well known wet shaking concent -ration tables where the elements of high specific gravity are separated from those of lesser specific gravity and which,in our method will firstly produce a concentration of the materials of high specific gravity in a bar like deposit beneath a layer of materials of lesser specific gravity at the bottom of each trough against the longitudinal wall which is opposite to that of the loading of the fine materials,and secondly, submitting the troughs as they further travel to a series of directed shaking motions parallel to the long axis of the troughs so as to cause the above mention -ed deposit of high specific gravity to be displaced parallel to the said long axis of the troughs differentially from those of lesser specific gravity,
1. claim 1 continued, so that from the loading end of each trough we have entities as waste,middlings and concentrates in the case where the elements of high specific gravity are the valuable ones, and the reverse where the elements of lesser specific gravity are the valuable ones,and these entities are unloaded in suitable receivers as the troughs move downward in an half of a circle in their conveyor belt like circuit.
2. 2.-The method of claim 1 wherein the troughs are divided into compartments by partitions and,that convenient holes through the said partitions permit connections between adjacent compartments and,that riffles are provided on the interior bottom of the troughs.