US45214A - Improved apparatus for amalgamating gold and silver - Google Patents

Description

Irains by which l have chosen to lillustrate my UNITED STATES PATENT @Fries HENRY W. ADAMS, OF NEV YORK, N. Y.

'llVlPiiVl-D APPARATUS FOR AMALGAMATlNG GOLD'AND SILVER.

` Specification 'forming part ol Letters Patent No. 45,214, dated Novembet'29, 186,4.A

To all whom 272i may concern: silver in a. liquid state cannot amalgamate lie it known that l, HENRY WaADAMs, of Withany metal unless the surface of that the city, county, land State QtNeWAYoi-k, metal at the point of contact be cleanand have invented new and uset'ul lmprovements'- bright. i

in Amalgamating Gold and Silver; and'I do r Third. Mnehot` the gold and silver exists in hereby declare that the following is a full, the quartz in an extremely comminuted state, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled. in the art to make I and use the same, reference being had to the eye, and scarcely discernible by the lnost powacccmpan yin g drawings, forming part of this l erfulr microscope. Y The molecules of' this metspecilication, in whichl allit'erous liour are vastly'T to light`to repose Figure l is a perspective view of an appal in agitated Water, but are unavoidably floated f away in the'process ot' Washing out thereinvention. Figxlis a view showing a portion l fuse quartz from the amalgam and conseoll the apparatus in section and another porl quently lost. tion in elevation, and Fig. 3 is a Adetailed l Fourth. The utter impossibility of mixing forming an impalpable powder or ilour too inl nitesimally iiue to' be seen by thenaked.

vien7 of one of the drags K of the mill B. liquid quicksilver with any considera-ble bodyT Similar letters of reference indicate like of pulverized quartz so intimately as to touch parts. t l every. particle of the gold and silver. The The nature ot my invention Yconsists in the, [mechanical difficulties areV very great by rea. construction and arrangement of certain inesonot' their specific gravities, and also their chanical devices forutilizin'g the process of j respective mobilities. Hence it must be obamalgamating gold and silver by means of l vions that the enveloping coatings ot' foreign the distilled vapor of quiclrsilver.v

To'comprehend more fully the novelty and importance of this invention it is necessary to set forth in a concise manner the chiet` obsubstauces, bodies, and the dirty or dull surfacesof the precious particles when properly liberated from the quartz bygrinding,l by which conditions' contact With-the-vniercury is .stacles to be overcome inthe process of amalhindered, and also the running ai'vay with the may be easilyY demonstrated to all, that 4quick-I gamating gold and silver by the use ot' mercury y water ot large quantities of' the linestfdust of in a liquid state, the much greater eflieiencyof ,f the precious metals, and theldiitculty of mix# 1 thel distilled vapor of this metal to meet and I ing intimately any considerable quantities of overcome these hitherto insuperable difiiculpulverized quartz with liquid mercury, vso that ties, and the adn'iirable adaption ot' my meevery particle of the gold and silver' shall be chanical arrangement for rendering available touched by it, must .of necessity render the this new and useful method of amalgamation.

Four formidable dilliculties oppose and hinmetals very inn'ierteet and unsatisfactory.

der the extraction of the precious metals from The most experienced miners universally most kinds oi' quartz or metalliterous rock. p admit a very great loss. How much this loss lirst. The admixturc ot' many foreign subis no one really knows, inasmuch as no one present process ot amalgamatin g the precious stances n'iih the gold and silver-such as sull can tell how much tine. gold vand silver he,l

p'nur, iron, copper, arsenic, antimony, Vand g' loses by the action of running water in washother simil-ar bodies existing' in the torm of ing it away; but all concede that from onesulphurets or pyrites-#by which the precious l tenth to three-fourths of the Whole amount, metals are coated Vover and etl'ectually pro- Q in one Way and another, is totally lost. ylhe tucted from the vslightest touch ot' the quicki' difference in the loss arises from the difersilver.

. Second. The dull or dirty surfaces of the the rock that hinder effectual amalgamation precious particles n'hen released from the and in the diiiercnt amounts oftlne metal rock by the process et" pulver-ization, by which carried oii' by the action of Water in the proan interposing iilm or` base matter effectually i cess of elut-riation. Y prevents their contactand unionwith the l From the concurrent testimony of practical mercury.v lt. is vveli irnfoivn to many,'and it miners, and'irom divers experiments and 'comi parisons made with my. process in connection ence in the amount ot'foreign substances inl l 'With the old method on the same ores, l do not doubt that the losses more 'frequently anount to one halt' the original quantity conta'ned in the quartz than any percentage less.

Many eorts have been vmade to overcome these ditliculties by attempting io prepare the quartz by preliminary processes 'more thoroughly for amalgamation. Supposing that lire would easily'decompose the ,stubblrn sulphurets and pyrites and lay bare the hidden metal for an easy and magical process ot' amalgamation with mercury, they halve resorted with high hopes tovarious methods of calcinatio'n. Although this mode ot' treating refractory and composite ores `may prepare- 'tiem for liner pulverization, and may, inlsome cases, cause them to yield with quiclrsilver a larger percentage of gold and silver, yet

new difliculties are extemporized bythis process Without fully curing the old ones.

Nearly-all the native sulphurets of theme15- als exist in the rock in the form of bisuilphureis. Heat easily drives-oil` the first equivalent of sulphur and produces proto-'suliphur ets, (which are very refractory and insepara-v hie, except at a very hi ghrheat maintained for a long time,) together with oxides, sul phates,

and other binary compounds, Whose plastic c energy in a nascent state creates impenetrabletilms and coatings which crystalline on cooling and protect from amalgamation much of the precious metal. Theprooess oi' desulphurization by heat, as now usually practiced, besides being defective in the above respects,.cannot i'ail also tostveep away the tine flour of gold and silver inthe pnlverized roch by the stron g draft or the furnacc,snlphurous llames, and gases through the chimney into the air.

lt is an infallible law, 'well known to chemists, that heat increases chemical aiiinities, and that those affinities can take place only at insensible distances from each otherthat is,upon absolute contact. Hence, thorough amalgamation with liquid quicksilver necessarily requires that all the particles of gold and silver contained' in the metalliferous quartzushould be eliminated lroin every protecting envelope and exposed with clean and/ bright surfaces lto the interblending mercury. Without this perfect contact of every particle, molecule, or separate atom of the pref rions metal with quicksilver no amalgamation can possibly take place, consequently vthe use of mercury in a liquid state, even though' the quartz be calcined,l can never exhaust the rock oi' its gold and silver, simply because cannot come in contact with it. Tais just conclusion both the analytical chemist, fresh from his crucible, 'his process ot' amalgamation, and his elutriation, and the practical miner, searching in vain for anything like the amount, of gold and silver in his amalgam, which he has reason to believe is in his quartz, will readily acknowledge. Only the coarserparticles, whose specific gravity is too great to be heldin suspension or carried away by agitated or iunning water, and whose surfaces are without films ot' alloy, dirt, or dullness, are ever amalgamated by this detective process; but can these ivellknorvn and universally admitted difficulties be remedied by the use of the distilled vapor ot' mercury, inl stead of the liquid metal l From many p1 actical experiments and demonstrations l can answer this question with the utmost contidence in the attirmative.

The vapor of quicksilver at a distilling heat, which is 6620 Fahrenheit,V is a much more er1 iicient and potential agent. Some oi" its more available properties for amalgamating purposes are:

First. Its aliinity for gold and vsilver is im# mensely intensified:

Secondi lts power to interpenetrate dull, (Titty, or alloyed and' coated surfaces is instantaneous and irresistible. This may he easily tested by any one in the following manner: 'l'alre a piece of zinc or other. metal whose surroll over itfreely Without theleast tendency to amalgama-te with it. Non/,expose the' same and the eil'ect is like breathing on a polished plate ot' metal on afrosty morning. rElie vapor penetra-tes through the dirt and Yirhitens the metal beneath it in a moment. y

Third; lt is easily conveyed in continuous streams like steam int-o a rotating or oscillating cylinder, in which inetallii'erous and pulverulent quartz is tumbled round and intein mingled instantly with the Whole mass, con- (lensing in contact with every particle of the cold oreand precious metal in tine devry atoms and eiiecting a perfect amalgamation', eren through their interpenetrated ijlnis and coatings of every molecule ofthe precious dust.

Fourth.' lt does thisin such a rotating or oscillating cylinder through which p ulverizeil with yWater, and seizes instantly the finest ilonr ofthe gold and silver stirred up in clouds of revolving dust, amalgamates with them and soincreases their specific gravity that as the end of the revolving cylinder and sealed beneath Water, the amalgam settles to the bottorn, instead of 'floating oil' with the muddy Water.

A Fifth. By supplying such a cylinder continuously with fresh vapor from a still, and with ground quartz, in a powder as nearly impalpable as possible, through a hopper, the process. otamaigamation becomesv continuous andl at least ten times as rapid ast-he old method and thoroughly exhaustive of every particle ot the precious metal.

Both the theory and practice of this novel and useful process arebased upon scientitic i'ail, when employed with mechanical lidelity, to produce the most satisfactory results. The importantlquestiou Whichnorv arises is: What is the simplest, cheapest, and best mechaliioal device for utilizing this processi Alter re l'ace is so dirty that liquid 'quiclrsilver will f `soiled surface to the vapor only ior an instant,A

quartz is passing in a dry state out-*of contact mass is graduallyr discharged from the lower principles and natural laws which can never peated trials 'with various kinds of carefullyconstructedv machines with a view to arrive as nearlgv to perfection as possible, the following arran gement is believed to combinethe great est simplicity, economy, portability, rapidity ot working, and certaintgv ot' action ot' any,all

things considered, that can he devised.

A represents any suitable tlooring or platt'orni 'for supporting the operating mechanism. l is intended to represent an arastra, with its sweeps t) and drags li, to which rotation I' por of the Quicksilver within the worin, and

eiven bv means ot' a crown'wheel D and a l a M 9 7 pinion, E, or hy means of bevel-wheels. The pinion E is secured to a horizontal shaft, F,

arising from the center ofthe ara stra, and near its other end in a standard, H. The inner end ot the shatt carries a mitered pinion, I, which engages a initer wheel, I', set upon the l inclined clinder L. .this iuclinedeyhnder1s hollow, and it extends from the opening n in it is therefore to he ot any,Y good non con` ducting material. The'iacliet c and worin are to be supported within the cylinder at about its center by means ot' stays or iur-acirets. (llot shown.) The drags or skids ,l are formed like that shown in Fig. 3, and serre 1 the saine otice, asin 'the common arastra used which is iournaled at one end in a hearing the lower part of the alestra through the stniting-hox N in the lower part of a hopper,

il. A sleeve, J, rigidly secured to the arastra in or around the opening n, receives that part olthe cylinder which lies helowthegear-wheel l, and forms ahearing or socket within which that end ot" the cylinder revolves. The hop per is. sustained upon a suitable standard in it to receive the upper end of the cylinder, may he constructed in any way known to Athe mechanic art, The hottoin ot' the hopper is adapted to permit the rotation oi' the cylin i l i l der whose end is slitted so as to forni leaves 1 d, which are bent so as to tlare outward, as is f clearly shown in lrlig. il. 'llie hopper has a diaphragm, l?, at a suitable height up its sides, which diaphragm is perihrated in its center. fr pllng, closes `the perforation when dell'l..

At any convenient place on the iiooring l I locate a furnace, T, which is supplied with 1 The products oi rlhis retort lis to he used for the va from time to time by means ci' the bulb V and i hopper U in the following manner: The quantity ot' Quicksilver' to be. introduced into the retort bein g placedv in the hopper U, and the stop coclgintheconnectingtubeqbeingclosed,

,tact with which it becomes condensed and by gold and silver miners, together with the oiiice of separating from the pulrerized :nass andcollecting theiine particles ot the condensed vapor of Quicksilver. The aras-,tra is supplied with constant supply ot' water through the indnetionpipe y, and it has on its opposite side an eduction-pipc, t, to 4set a little lower than the pipe y. The lower disf chargeopening at its bottoni is closed by means oi the plug h.

.lt is not absolutely necessary that the con` nec'rion ot` the cylinder with the hopper U be through a shitting-box, N, hutit may he passed through anI open joint without impeding the successful operation ot" the parte meiosor foundation, itl. The starting hor. h?, formed ing the cylinder at its npperend within a box, which may receive the escaping contents ot the hopper (i. The accumulation ot'the, escaping matter will then rise and t'orm a packing about the joint or" the cylinder, and thus prevent any escape therefrom ot' the mercury.

rilhe operation ot' lthe parte as follows: rilhe retort lV', being lcharged with epiioasiln ver, and the hopper O being filled with pnlverizi'd inetalliferous roel; and earth 'through the diaphragm lll, and the plug Q inserted in its openings, rotarj.v motion is given to the cyl inder by means of the pulley G, whenthe hent or haring leaves i'ornied apen upper end of the cylinder whose rotation npon its axis will cause the ore to be oonstantlii turned and tossed over as it descends within it. The qniclrsilver is to be. simultaneously vaporined and 4permitted to pass the worm it and ne discharged into the midstof the whirling mass of pulvcrizcd matter in the cylinder, by cout amalgamates with the precious metals present,

the operator proceeds by opening the stopcock inthe pipep, thereby allowing the charge to pass into the bulb V. The stop-cock p is then closed Iand the cool; q opened, when the charge is allowed to pass into the retort, the stopcock r] heilig then ininiediatel'v closed.

The retort istlius charged while in operation,

without allowing the escape ot' an;v of the vapor therefrom. A worin, R, connected with the retort, is passed into and through the lower part ot' the hopper 0, and thence into the upper part. ofthe cylinder L, terminating The arastra will be set in operation at the saine tiinothrougli the rotation ot the shaft, f F. VThe water therein, being kept at the lei'el ing as a packing and condenser oi thc vapor ot' the' Quicksilver.

When it is so discharged the drags begin to operate upon it in the wa)v at a considerable distance within the saine. {peculiarto tliatwellknownmachine.thclightwith t.

ver? and Wham at the same tim@ the@ mii? par. f is suppld Wim die @winding and ma 'ng .mgs K, mf :my qumeu; washing devise, my which apparatus the said, 'mm became@ sub EL or their ciivments, rmibstatially in the manner and for h@ :pmposes specied..

l5.. The us@ of ruiming of osclamg; @my

'vayer brimming over .and exp'o'ng Eh@ or@ 17. Making; the jim; which commi@ the conveyel with @he amsum, and sustaining th@ lo. ...u

HENRY W. ADAMS LNINGSTON,

L. TQPMFF.

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