US1056662A - Apparatus for collecting precious metals. - Google Patents

Description

613.6111111. APPARATUS FOR COLLECTING PRECIOUS METALS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 29, 1910.

Patented Mar. 1s, 1913.

LAWRENCE 1B. GRY, OF BOSTON,

MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR VACUUM JDREDGING COMPANY, OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, OF DELW.

TO HYDRAULIC A CORPORATION Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented raar. le, rara.

Application filed August 29, N10. Serial N o. 579,409.

To all 'whom t may concern:

-Be it known that ll, LAWRENCE' B.. GRAY, ot Boston,.inthe county ot Sudolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Apparatus for Collecting Precious Metals, of which the following is a specification.

lThis invention relates to an apparatus adapted to be used in placer mining tor collecting the precious metals when the same are separated by washing from the deposits of sediment in which they are contained.

The particular object of the present invention is to collect those particles of the metals which are too line to sink into the' water carrying them, and which are known as Heat may be. Y Accordingly the apparatus consists ot a sluicel or flume through which a stream ot water carrying the deposit-s with which the particles of precious metals are mingled, is led, with a device of such charactei` as to be able to retain the located in such a position as to intercept those particles which oat upon the surface oit the stream. Also, the apparatus includes, in combination with said device,y a set ot movable battles operated by the stream toy bank up the water adjacent to t-he device, while permitting solid matter carried by the stream to pass, which is also a motor for so moving` the device as to` present di'erent parts ot its s urtace to the doa'ting metal, and to carry such surface pactand in -contact with a scraper which removes the material adhering to such surface.

lin the accompanying `drawings l have illustrated an apparatus' embodying the principles ot my invention, and being one ci many forms in which these principles may be embodied. Figure l represents' the apparatus in side elevation., Fig. 2 representsa longitudinal section ot the same. lig. 3 is a plan view, and Fig. d is a cross section. rlhe same referenceA characters indicate the same parte in all the ltigures.

Att the outset ll'desire to state that this apparatus is adaptedfto be used for collecting thehne particles ot any-ot the precious gold, Heat silver, etc.,"as the case.

particles of metal, andacted upon as gold, for the purpose merely of convenience of description, and to avoid theuse of too many words, without, howlever, intending to limit myself in any manner to the kind of metals which l propose to save by the use of the apparatus. l

Referring to the drawings, a represents a flume or sluice through which the water charged with the gravel and dirt containing gold is caused to flow. At a suitable point in the sluice is located 4a drum b which is carried by trunnions c having bearings in boxes d in thesides of the sluice. The drum is so mounted that its lower part dips into t-he water in She sluice, and is preferably adjustable/ so that it maybe thus partly submerged when the water is at any height, and may also be submerged to a greater or less extent as desired. yFor this purpose the boxes al are adjustably contained in vertical guides e, and are provided with adjusting yscrews f passing through yokes g and carrying nuts k. The yokes cross' the guideways and the nuts bear on the yokes, thereby enabling the boxes and with them the drum .to be adjusted up or down. vln the bottom olf' the sluice, directly below the drum b `is a shallow 'pocket z' containing a quantity of mercury. 'lFhe drum is preferably made ot copper, with its outer surface silver plated, and covered with mercury. The mercury is necessary to form an amalgam with and piclr up the gold Heating on the stream, and the plating ot' silver on the drum'is necessary to malte the mercury stick and spread over its surface, while copper is used as the material for making the drum, because it is best adapted to retain a plating of silver.

Above thedrum'li's a trough or tank y' containing mercury, and'liavingioutlets 7" in its bottom 'through which `.small quantities ot the mercury are-l continually ted upon the drum. At the rear side of the drum is a scraper k which bears against the surface of the drum, and when the latter is rotated, scrapes olf the amalgam upon its `surface. The scraper also is above the mercury in the pocket z' and the amalgam which falls from it drps into the mercury and is kept by the latter from being carried on with the water and gravel. This descending current of amalgam falls through the stream of pulp passing betweenthe drum and pocket and catches any particles of metal which may escape the drum. The scraper may be a brush or brushes, and is conveniently a strip of wood, leather or the like, held at one edge in and projecting edgewise from a bar Z, the latter being pressed yieldingly toward the drum by springs Z and supported by studs Z2 passing through a stationary bar m spanning the. flume. In the embodiment of the invention here shown, the bar m is fastened to plates n. and n which are slotted so as t-o slip over the boxes d, and are contained between t-he sides of the flume and the ends of the drum. The mercury supply trough y' is also secured at its ends to these plates. The plates are further, connected together by a cross-bar o, which also provides a guard for the drum, protecting the same from injury. These, details of construction, however, are merely optional and may be varied and modified without departing from the spirit of the invention. On the pins Z2 previously referred to are threaded adjusting nuts y) which secure the scraper.

Secured'to the boxes Z in which the drum trunnions are held are plates shown in section in Fig. 4, and designated by the letter n2, which cover the openings in the walls of the sluice wherein are/the vertical guides e for 4the boxes. vThe plates n2' are arranged both on the inside and outside of each wall of the sluice and cover the spaces between the guides so that water will not. leak out even when the'boxes are raised above the bottoms of such spaces as shown in Fig. 4. The plates n-n/ above described have slots which enable them to fit over the inner cover plates n2.

A convenient motive mechanism for rotating the drum is found in the water wheels g and g, the shafts 1' and r of which are supported in bearings on the opposite walls of the flume. These water wheels are caused to rotate in unison by means of gears 8 and son their shafts respectively meshing with an intermediate idler wheel s2. On the shaft of one of the wheels is a sprocket t which drives, by means of a chain t', a sprocketl t2 on the shaft of the drum. Any suitable form of water wheel may be used differing if need be from that here shown, which consists merely of vanes secured to armed s iders on th shafts r and 7*. By reason o the water wheels the drum is kept in rotation in such a direction that the portion which dips into the water travels in the same direction as the stream. Preferably the wheels are so arranged that one of the blades of one dips squarely into the stream while the blades of the other are inclined to the flow of the stream. In other words, whenever a blade of one of the wheels projects vertically downward from its axis the two low'ermost blades of the other wheel are inclined and make equal angles with a vertical line passing through the axis of that wheel. There is a coaction between the paddle wheels and the amalgamatin drum in the recovery of precious metal an irrespective of the function which said paddle wheels have of rotating the drum. This is that the blades of the paddle wheels act as revolving and movable battles or dams which obstruct the ow of water through the sluice, causing the water to back up around the drum to a height greater than that due to the depth at which the drum is set in the sluice, and periodically withdraw to allow the gravel and stones carried in the stream, to pass on down the sluice. To explain further, it is to be understood thatthe stream which passes through theV sluice carries gravel and stones, some of the latter of considerable size. It is objectionable to set the drum so near the bottom of the sluice that there will be any danger of its being struck by these stones, as the stones would dent the drum, preventing an even coating of the quicksilver and removal from the drum of amalgam. Neither is it feasible in many instances to direct alarge volume of water through the sluice in proportion to the amount of gravel and stones so as to submerge the latter to any great depth, because in many mining regions the supply of water is limited and must not be wasted. Hence it is usually impossible to set the drum so that it dips much below the surface of the freely fiowing stream without liability of the drum being struck by stones. On the other hand the etiiciency of the apparatus in collecting float metals is greatly increased by having as great an extent as possible of the surface of the drum in contact with the water. Hence the value of the revolving baies or paddles q, q. When any one of these paddles extends downwardly intothe stream, it largely impedes the How thereof, causing the level to rise locally in the vicinity of the drum, increasing the extent of the submerged surface of the drum, without any increase in the actual quantity of water flowing, and without incurring danger of stones striking the drum. It is further necessary that the blades should be spaced angularly wide apart, in order to avoid danger of the stones wedging between the blades, hence they are set at an obtuse angle with each other as shown. Finally it is necessary that the backed up condition of the water should be practically continuous,

ipagees while at the same time provision be made to prevent the accumulationv of vstone and gravel, hence the provision'of the two wheels or sets' of balles, so arranged that when the baes of one set are so lacedI as not to obstruct the stream, a ba e of the other ,set

does obstruct the stream. The two sets oli balles in combination constitute a sort of.

lock which permits the solid matter to pass nishes an amalgamating surface directly in the path ofthe float same, and causes a fres surfaceto be'constantly presented to the advancing gold, so that it will be in condition to pick up the goldas fast as4 it is carried down bythe flowing stream.' This edect is Vproduced by vvirtue of the rotary movement of the drum inthe manner above described, The apparatus lis thus very simple and as it is driven by the power of the stream itse1f,it is economical as well. Such ofthe .precious metal as sinks during the pro ress of the stream through the'sluioe and alls into the pocket z' is retained by the quick'silver therein, and any of the metalwhich escapes contact with old to pick up the the mercury on the drum land that in the pocket, is caught by the amalgam 'passing through the stream from the drum to the pocket and saved. Thus a-descending cur- Atain of ments the action oft e mereuryon the drum and the mercury or amalgam in the pocket in retaining the preciousmetals.v

ll claim:

l. itn'amalgamating apparatus comprising an open sluice or flume, a drum having a smoothl amalgamating surface supported between .the walls of the sluiceabove thev bottom of the sluice, so as tocollect the fine float metal and permit the gravel to pass' freely, beneath it, a mercury pocket below and spaced' from the drum, means for rotatin lengt of the drum and bearing on its'surface at a point over said pocket, and adapted to dischar e the amalgam directly into the ocket an thi-ou hA the stream of pulp passing between the um and pocket.

2. An amalgamatingapparatus comprising an open sluice or Hume, a drum having' a smooth amalgamating surface supported between thewalls of the sluice at a height above the bottom of the sluice whereby to the top of .entire length, for

lticles l of metal i caught.

vwhereby to allow drum set into said sluice,

ing

amalgam is provided which supple'v 'combination with -gamating surface,

the drum, a scraper extending the voir secured at its opposite I collect line floating particles of'metal borne by the stream passing through' the sluicev means for continuously feeding mercury to the drum along its entire length, and a scraper bearing on the drum along its continuously removing amalgaml therefrom and producing a descending current .of amalgam, through which the stream flows and by which parescaping the drum are .3. In an amalgamating apparatus the4 combination with a sluice of an amalgamating-drum set'therein and means for maiutaining a relatively high level of .water at the locality of said drum while permitting y .the drum to remain sufficiently high above ythe bottom of the sluice topermit stones to pass without striking it, said means comprising a pair of baihes located at the downstream side of the drum whereby to obstruct the How of water, said bafi'ies being operated by the crrent so'as alternately to be withdrawn from and projected into 'lthe drum, 'solid substances -to pass them.A

y4f. In an amalgamatingapparatus the combination'with a sluice, an amalgamating a plurality of sets of revolving bames Vlocated atz'the downstream side `of the drum, each of said sets of baiies comprising a shaft and blades 'seand making obcured radially to said shaft tu'se angles with one another, said shafts begeared together yto rotate in unison, and

being driven by impingement of the' stream against the blades, the blades on thev shafts A being sofarranged that when afblad'e of either dips into the stream,the blades of' 4 the othervare withdrawn therefrom.

-5. 'In an amalgamating apparatus the drum havin `journals rotatably held in the side walls o the sluice, and having an amala vmercury reservoir, and means for removably supporting said reser-v voir in close proximity to the upper side of vthe drum,

,and being secured at its ends thereto.

6. I [n an amalgamating apparatus, the combinatipn with an open sluice trume, a drumrhaving walls of the sluice,-plates contained between the ends of the brace the boxes, wherebyt e plates-are sup-4 portedv and held in place,

a mercury reserends to the plates an'd extending from one to the other over thel top of the drum,. arranged to feed meran open sluice or flume, a\

drum and the side'wallsjofy the sluice, having slots to ass over and emjournals, boxes in ywhich said yournals are contained mounted in the side cury upon the drum, a bar at one side of l such relation to one another when so rethe drum secured at its ends to the plates, a moved as to permit ready replacement. l0 scraper supported by said bar and movable In testimony whereof I have aflxed my toward and from the drum, and springs signature, in presence of two witnesses.

1 acting between the bar and scraper to press LAWRENCE B. GRAY.

the latter against the drum; the plates, res- Witnesses: ervoir and scraper being removable to- A. H. BROWN,

`gather from the drum, and being held in P. W. PEzzETTI.

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