US1413724A - Ore concentrator - Google Patents

Description

F. GROCH.

ORE COI'ECENTRATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JULYZQ, 1913.

Patented Apr. 25,1922.

4 SHtEIS-SHEET I.

F. GROCH.

ORE G ONCENTRATOR. APPLICATION FILED 1uLY29. ms.

1 ,41 3,724. 2 Patented Apr. 25, 1922.

I. 4 swans-sum a.

/"I I if 1 I ll F. GROCH.

ORE CONCENTRATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JuLY29. 1918.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

PatentedApr. 25, 1-922.

FRANK GROCH, OF COBALT, ONTARIO, CANADA.

ORE CONCENTRATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Apr. 25,1922.

Original application filed July 3, 1916, Serial No. 107,434. Divided and this application filed July 29,

1918. Serial No.247,155. I

To all whom it ind/y concern: Be it known that I, FRANK GRooH, a citicm of the United States, residing in Cobalt,

in the Province of Ontario and Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ore Concentrators, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to ore concentration in which the metals and metalloids in an ore-pulp containing them are separated from the gangue by the selective action of a froth or foam producing agent, such as oil, which carries the metallic particles to the surface of a bath while the particles of gangue are allowed to settle. By thus separating the values from the gangue the two products may be separately removed and further treated.

The object of my invention is -to provide improved apparatus for practicing'a method of concentration of the kind referred to.

. In such processes it is important that the metalliferous particles should be detached or separated from the particles of gangue as thoroughly as possible in order that the buoyant oil or other froth producing substance and the upward currents of air may cause them to rise while the gangue'is settling and it is also important that, where possible, the process of separation should be continuous in a single apparatus and should reduce to a minimum the metallic content. of the tailings.

According to my invention I provide an apparatus wherein a pulp containing the material to be separated is thoroughly aerated and wherein the bath is so agitated that substantially all the metallic particles are caused to rise to the surface of the bath while the particles of gangue are allowed to settle. The apparatus is so constructed that the foam or froth containing the values is continuously removed while the settled gangue is also continuously withdrawn and contains a minimum quantity of values. The apparatus is so constructed that the gangue is retreated, being'taken from one compartment to the next and when finallydischarged it has been separated from .ciated with the air distributer.

practically all of the metallic values contained in the pulp.

The invention comprehends apparatus for aerating liquids in which a receptacle or tank is employed into which liquid pulp mingled with the necessary oil or other froth-producing agents is introduced. Lo-

cated at the bottom of this receptacle is a rotary headfrom which extends downwardly a short open-ended pipe which is in communication with the. pulp in the bottom of the tank. A conduit is also connected with this head and extends upwardly therefrom above the level of the pulp, the upper extremity of the pipe being open for the entrance of air. The lower pipe member is in communication with the inner extremities of a number of passages formed in the head and whose outer extremities termmate at the periphery of the head while the upwardly extending conduit is in communication at its lower extremity with a number of passages which also extend outwardly to the periphery of the head. As the head is rotated the centrifugal force draws pulp from the bottom of the tank and discharges it through certain passages of the head to the periphcry of the latter while the same force draws air downwardly through the upwardly extending conduit into the head and discharges it through other passages at the periphery of the head.

In one form of the apparatus a series'of agitation compartments is provided which terial may pass successively through the agitation and settling-compartments of the apparatus. At the delivery end of the apparatus a chamber is provided to receive the tailings and this chamber may be equlpped with a float valve for regulating the discharge; The details of construction of this form of the apparatus will be hereinafter more fully described.

In another form of the apparatus some of the gangue is taken from each settling compartment and returned to the same agitation compartment from which it came, the gangue from each agitation compartment which does not pass to the settling compartment being conveyed through a port to a chamber below the next agitation compartment from which it passes to a settling com partment. Other features of this form of the apparatus will be described later on.

In the accompanying drawings Figure l is a View in side elevation and partly in section showing one form of apparatus constructed in accordance wlth my invention.

Figure 2 shows a transverse section thereof on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Figure 3 shows a horizontal section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, some parts beingbroken away in order to better illustrate other parts.

Figure 4 shows in vertical section the combined air and pulp distributers.

Figure 5 is a plan view of the combined agitator and distributers with the air supply tube in section.

Figure 6 is a view similar to Fig. 1 of a modified form of the apparatus.

Figure 7 shows a transverse section on the line 7-'-7 of Fig. 6.

Figure 8 shows a horizontal section of the modified form of apparatus shown in Fig. 6.

Figure 9 shows a vertical section of a slightly modified form of distributer.

The vessel A is divided into a series of agitationcompartments and a series of settling compartments. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the vessel has a fiat horizontal bottom a with sidesa' which incline upwardly and outwardly and on each side of the vessel there is an overflow launder a provided with a discharge pipe Q The ends of the vessel are closed by end-pieces a and a as shown. Upright longitudinal partitions a divide the vessel into three sections, the middle section being subdivided by trans verse partitions a. into agitation compartments B, B B B The two outer sections are divided by-transverse partitions 6 into a series of settling compartments G, C C C. p I preferably employ two sets of settling compartments as shown but only one set need be used.

The agitation compartments are all arranged above a false bottom D and the f connected at its lower end with an air space between this false bottom and the bottom a of the vessel is divided by transverse partitions 03 into a series of chambers E, 1 1 E E The several compartments and chamberscommunicate with each other in the manner hereinafter described.

In each agitation compartment there is a combined agitator and distributer'F. each of which comprises a vertically arranged tube distributer 7 which communicates with the tube and which is arranged above a pulp distributer 7. The tubes and the distributers are rotated bygearing 5 operated by a power shaft G.

Various forms of distributers and agitators may be employed, but in Figs. 4 and 5 I have shown the preferred construction.- As there illustrated two circular plates or discs 71-, h carry between them blades k disposed as shown in Fig. 5, and the construction issuch that as the distributers are rotated air will be discharged by centrifugal force from the periphery of the distributer. The tubes f are all open, air enters at their upper ends and passes down to the air distributers f and is thrown centrifugally' outwards intb the agitation compartments. The pulp distributers f are formed in a similar way, blades 71. being mounted. between the plates h and k These blades may be disposed in various ways, but the construction should be such that the pulp which enters the center of the distributer shall be thrown outwards by centrifugal force. Preferably the upper disc h is perforated as shown so that air will not only pass outward from the periphery of the distributer but will also pass upwardly therefrom and thus increase the distribution of the air for agitation and flotation purposes.

The distributers of course operate to draw air and pulp to their centers as well as to discharge air and pulp from their peripheries. It will be observed that the distributor F is in the form of a rotary head or member and is provided with a set of passages extending from its central portion towards its periphery which communicate with the hollow member or shaft f, which i in turn communicates with the atmosphere above the liquid in the. tank, and said head is provided with another set of similar passages having both ends of each passage in communication with the liquid in the tank. The several passages above described are produced by the blades k and h 'between the upper and lower discs and the intermediate disc. I i i The pulp is mixed with oil or other frothproducing agent preferably before it is fed to the apparatus but it may be. supplied in any suitable way.

The pulp may be fed to the tube f of the; 130

' last chamber E of the series communicates.

first agitator through a supply conveyer a: as indicated in Fig. 1. When the pulp is thus supplied it enters with the air and becomes, to some degree, mixed therewith be-. fore it passes out from the agitator or distributer F. Pulp may also be delivered through a supply pipeI-I which enters the first chamber E in the series. Each chamber E, E E, E communicates with the agitation compartment above it through a tube I which, as. shown in Fig. 1, has a threaded connection with the'partition D and which enters the pulp distributer in said agitation compartment. The capacity of each of said tubes may be regulated by an adjustable bolt J in an obvious manner. Each agitation compartment communicates with a corresponding settling compartment on each side of it through openings 3 disposed between slats or baffles As the pulp rises in the agitation compartments it passes through the openings between the slats and these slats or bafiies serve to retard the upward air currents so that when the pulp passes to the settling chambers quiet settling may be. more efliciently accomplished. Each settling compartment or each pair of settling compartments communicates with a chamber below the next agitation compartment in the series as indicated at c in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings. The

by means of an opening-e with a chamber L for the tailings or gangue after the metallic values have been separated. This chamber L is provided with a discharge opening 6 provided with a valve e controlled by a float e in well known ways.

If it be necessary to maintain an even fluid level in all the settling compartments, it

can be accomplished by providing openings or communications between said compartments controlled by slides or valves N.

As before stated, the pulp may be fed to the first tube f by means of "a supply pipe :0, or it may be fed to the first chamber E by a pipe H. In fact pulp may be supplied simultaneously to the first agitation com.- partment from both of these sources. The several agitators and distributer'sare rotated simultaneously and continuously.

' first compartment the pulp isdistributed and thoroughly mixed with the air thrown out by the agitator. The agitated pulp passes through the openings y into the settling chambers C'*. The froth with the metallic values passes over into the-launders a while the settled material passes through the opening a to the chamber E below ,the-

second agitation compartment B In this compartment the settled pulp from the first compartment, deprivedof some of its values, is thoroughly agitated and aerated and passes to the settling compartments oneach side of it, the froth rising and overflowing In the into the launders a and the settled material passing through the openings 0 to the chamber E below the third agitation compartment. The material in like .manner passes through the other compartments in theseries, the froth overflowing into the launders and the gangue passing to the chamber L. The froth may be conveyed away for further treatment. Preferably but not necessarily, the troughs or launders are continuous and preferably each agitation compartment is provided with a settling compartment on each side of it,'although obviously it is only necessary to provide each agitation compartment with a single settling compartment.

By this apparatus a thorough commingling of the pulp with the air is accomplished in all of the compartments. Much of the. metallicvalues is removed from the pulp in the first compartment and as the material passes through theseveral compartments the remaining metallic values are gradually separated so that the gangue which reaches the-chamber L is practically free from all materials of value which it is desiredto recover.

In Figs. 6 to 9 of the ilrawings I have shown some modifications. Much of the apparatus is similar to that before described and the parts are similarly lettered. In this case, however, ,the bottom a of the vessel is preferably inclined. The agitators and distributers are of the same construction as those previously described but in this case the tubes I are shown as being rigidly connected with the distributers and rotatingwith them. Instead of employing'a continuous partition D, as shown in Fig.'1, a series of false bottoms 0 are used and the .tubes I extend through said false bottoms and are free to rotate therein. The settling compartments are similar to those before described and-communicate with the agitation compartments in a similar way except that each chamber below an agitation compartment communicates with the settling compartments associated therewith through openings at, that is to say, the settling compartmentsC communicate with the chamber E below the agitation compartment B. The compartments C communicate with the chamber E below the agitation compartment B and so on, so that in this way material which has passed from each agitation compartment is returned thereto for recommunicates with the chamber E in the manner indicated. The agitated pulp passes from the first agitation compartment B to the settling compartments on each side of it and is returned in the manner before described. Settled material in the first compartment B passes through the port 'or opening 1' to the chamber E below the second agitation compartment and in like manner the material passes from an agitation compartment to a settling compartment throughout the series and from the several agitation compartments to chambers below the succeeding agitation compartments and so on until the ganiue or tailings finally reaches the chamber from which it is disis received by the troughs or launders a and conveyed away for further treatment.

It will, of course, be understood that any, desired number of compartments may be employed for agitation, settling, etc. The specific number shown is not essential. The apparatus is self contained requiring no auxiliary apparatus to supply air under pressure, the rotary agitators serving to in duce or draw in air which is forcibly discharged into the agitation compartments where it mingles throroughly with pulp which is induced and' distributed by the rotary'pulp distributers associated with the rotary air distributers'.

While I prefer to employ the chambers E, etc. below the agitation compartments it is obvious that such chambers constitute part of the means for conveying the settled pulp from a settling compartment to the next agitation compartment in the series and that a more direct connection might be employed.

In case the pulp is fed to the first agitation compartment by way of the tube '7 only, as indicated at an in Fig. 1, it will not be necessary to provide a pulp distributer in the first compartment as the pulp, is distributed by the same apparatus which distributes the air.

This application is a division of my appli cation for patent No. 107,434, filed July 3, 1916, in which I have shown an apparatus for concentrating ores comprising" a series of agitation compartments, each provided with means for distributing air and pulp therein, a series of settling compartments communicating with the agitation compartments, a pulp-receiving chamber below each agitation compartment, and means for conveying settled'material from the lower portion of one settling compartment to the chamber below the next agitation compartment. it do not herein claim such subject matter as claims thereto are made in my application for patent No. 107,434, filed July 3, 1916.

I claim as my invention:

1. Aerating apparatus, including a tank, a

vided with an air passage extending from its central portion to its periphery, and a hollow member through which said passage.

is in communication with the atmosphere charged, while the froth containing values above the liquid which the tank is adapted to contain, and another similar liquid conducting passage having both of its ends in com-- munication with the liquid in the tank.

3. Aerating apparatus, including a tank, a. rotary member located therein and provided with a plurality of independent air passages extending from its central portion ,to its periphery, and a hollow member through which said passages are in communication with the atmosphere above the liquid, which the tank is adapted to contain, and

anotherliquid conducting passage havingboth of its ends in communication with the liquid in the tank, and means for rotating the said member at a speed to develop sufficient centrifugal force to overcome the pressure of the liquid in the tank, whereby air and liquid are taken into the said member and discharged at its periphery.

4. Aerating apparatus, including a tank, a member mounted to rotate therein and com posed of a head having a number of passages extending from its central portion outwardly to its periphery, a tubular member connected with the head and extending above the liquid in the tank, said tubular member being open to the atmosphere at its upper extremity and in communication at its lower extremity with the passages of the head, the rotary memberhaving a depending conduit open at its lower extremity to allow the liquid of the tank to enter, the rotary member having a number of passages in communication with the said liquid-receiving conduit, said last named passages being open ended and extending from the central portion of the r0- tary member to its periphery.

5. A gas-diifusing device comprising a rotary head having a set of passages for gas extending outwardly away from the center towards the periphery of the head and having means for admitting air to the inner ends of said passages, a set ofliquid-conducting passages also extending towards the periphery of the head and which are connected with means for admitting liquid to their inner ends.

6. Aerating apparatus comprising a tank having an overflow at its upper portion and passes outwards from the hollow shaft, and

means for continuously, supplying it with provided also with another horizontal pas- 10 liquid, :1 vertical hollow shaft within the sage through which liquid is conducted tank open to the atmosphere above the overfrom the tank to the periphery of the rotary fiow portion of the tank, a rotary member member.

within the tank provided with a horizontal In testimony whereof, I have hereunto passage extending from its central portion subscribed my name.

towards its periphery and through which air FRANK GROCH.

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