US24706A - Machine for washing and amalgamating gold - Google Patents

Description

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE C. WHEELER, OF GRAYSVILLE, GEORGIA, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF, AND GEO. CALVERT, OF UPPERVILLE, VIRGINIA.

MACHINE FOR WASHING AND AMALGAMATING GOLD.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 24,706, dated July 5, 1859.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE CALVERT VHEELER, of Graysville, in the county of Catoosa and State of Georgia, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Machines for lVa-shing and Amalgamating Gold; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming apart of this specification, in which Figure 1, is a vertical central section of a gold washer and amalgamator constructed after my invention. Fig. 2, is a. horizontal section of the same.

Similar letters of reference, in each of the several figures indicate corresponding parts.

The nature of my invention consists in the combination of a series of horizontally revolving vertical hollow tubes with a series of horizontally revolving rakes and a. stationary vessel or receiver, substantially as hereinafter described.

It also consists in arranging the body of the vessel or receiver so as to be adjusted or elevated independently of its dish shaped bottom, substantially as and for the purposes hereinafter described.

By the use of the vertical tubes, the mercury is exposed to the action of descending columns of water and consequently an ebullition or boiling up of the same is constantly going on; and thus covering up of the same by sand and foreign substances avoided, and while this ebullition is going on, the water and quartz are stirred up and keptin circulation by the rakes and the descending columns of water and consequently a thorough and speedy washing and amalgama' tion of the precious metal with the quick silver accomplished. And by having the body of the vessel capable of being elevated independently of the amalgamating or mercury dish or basin which forms the bottom of the receiver or washing and amalgamating vessel, the water can be allowed to flow out all round the lower edge of the receiver and over the edge of the basin 01' bottom and thus the sand and foreign substances carried off, while the gold and mercury, owing to their superior specific gravity, remain in the basin or dish formed bottom to be removed in any proper manner after several quantities of quartz are thus washed and the precious metals they contain amalgamated with the quicksilver.

To enable others skilled in the art, to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A, is a frame for supporting the machine.

B, C, is the receiver or washing and amalgamating vessel. The part B, of this vessel is stationary and is of dish form on its upper surface so as to contain the quick-silver. The body-part C, is to be fitted water tight to the bottom part B, and yet is arranged so as to be adjustable up and down.

In the drawing, I have shown a ring D, with two arms a, a, pivoted to the sides of the body of the receiving or washing vessel and arranged to slide up and down in slots (Z, (Z, of the frame; for the purpose of adjusting the body of the receiver. This adjustment is effected by elevating the arms, as shown in red. Thus adjusting the parts, allows water to flow over the edge of the bottom B, in a manner to carry off all sand and foreign matter.

E, is a vertical shaft arranged in the center of the receiver on a cone step c. On the upper end of this shaft, a bevel pinion F, is fastened and with this pinion, another pinion G, of a crank shaft gear as shown.

Gr, G G are three sets of wings, keyed fast on the shaft as shown. These wings are toothed so as to act as rakes. The lower set G, stir up the surface of the mercury, and thus keep it exposed and free from a coating of sand, while the other two sets G G serve for stirring the quartz and water and thus keeping the same in motion and holding the foreign matters in suspension until the gold deposits and amalgamates.

In order to render the exposition of the mercury more perfect and the agitation and washing of the quartz more thorough, I arrange between the rakes a series of vertical hollow tubes H, H, H, H. These tubes pro ject down from an enlarged water hopper I, which is arranged so as to slide up and down loosely on the shaft E, and to turn with it. The lower ends of the tubes nearly touch the surface of thequick-silver. With this last arrangement, by allowing water to fall from a height, into the hopper I, and descend through the tubes, a boiling up orebullition of the mercury and also of the water and quartz will be produced. This agitation combined with that produced by the revolution of the rakes, causes a speedy washing and a bringing in contact of the precious metals with the quick-silver.

As soon as the sand has collected on the 7 bottom or basin B, sufliciently deep to interfere with the perfect amalgamation of the gold with the mercury the body of the receiver and the water hopper and tubes are elevated as shown in red and the water allowed to flow and wash the sand over the edge of the basin B, without disturbing the gold and mercury.

scribed. V v

GEO. 0. WHEELER. Witnesses:

J. A. CARPENTER, W. C. DAVIDSON.

Images