US642202A - Amalgamator. - Google Patents

Description

No. 642,202. Patented. lan. 30, |906. J. L. BBADBURY.

AMALGAMATOR.

(Application Bled Apr. 10, 1899.)

l 1 lll/lll!! l A r* pululan/1.1111116, Il', jy," E 'Il eo usually flowing into streams.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN lL. BRADBURY, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

AMALGAMATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 642,202, dated January 30, 1900.

Application tiled April 10, 1899. Serial No. 712,519. (No model.)

To al?, whom it may con/corio.-

Be it known that I, JOHN L. BRADBURY, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Amalgamators; and l do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in amalgamators, which consist in the arrangement of parts and details of construction, as will be hereinafter fully set forth in the drawings and described and pointed out in the specification.

The present invention is more especially designed for use in connection with the recovery of the fine particles of gold which at present escape from the ore-concentratorwith the tailings and are carried away and lost, To save as much as possible, it is usual, before permitting nal escape of thepulp, slime, or tailings, to cause the pulp, slime, or tailings discharged from the concentrator to flow or pass over a blanket of rubber or canvas placed or located at the rear thereof and below the same. However, a quantity of the gold carried by the tailings, pulp, or slime is so fine and light that the body of water passed over the blanket 3o in order to spread and separate the slime or tailings washes the same od of the blanket and carries the gold down with the stream or body of escaping water. It is mainly this class of material which I propose to treat by the present invention; and the object of the invention is to so arrange the amalgamator that the pulp, slime, or tailings may be treated within a closed rotating vessel provided with fixed breaker-arms, which serve to thoroughiy separate and scatter the quicksilver fed in with the pulp, slime, or tailings in order that the same may be brought into contact with the particles of gold freed from the base material during the rotation of the vessel, and thus catch or pick up the particles of gold liberated during the treatment of th pulp, slime, or tailings.

In order to comprehend the invention, reference must be had to the accompanying 5o sheet of drawings, forming a part of this application, wherein- Figure l is a side View in elevation of the amalgamator. Fig. 2 is an end view in elevation of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the receiver or separating vessel; and Fig. 1i is a cross-sectional view taken on line :c Fig. 3. l

In the drawings, the letter A is used to indicate any suitable frame for the amalgamator, within which frame is suspended and works the receiving vessel A. This receiving vessel is preferably a four-sided one and constructed entirely of Wood, and is supported within the frame A by means of the driveshaft B, which passes therethrough, said shaft working in bearings a., secured to the frame A. One end of the said shaft projects a distance beyond the frame and has secured thereon a gear A2, which meshes with a pinion A3, mounted upon an auxiliary shaft A4, which has secured thereon the fast and loose pulley B B2, by means of which motion or rotation is imparted to the shaft -B through the medium of the belt driven from any suitable machinery. y

The sides and ends C of the receiving vessel are firmly united by the bolts a passing therethrough, and each end of the said vessel is strengthened by the metallic end plates C2, which plates are cast with the flange h. These plates t against the outer face of the ends or heads C and within the projecting end h of the vessels sides and are united thereto by means of the bolts b2, which pass through the projecting ends ofthe vessel and flanges b of the end plates. Each end plate is provided with a hub d, through which thc drive-shaft passes and to which it is firmly secured by the pins or keysd'. These hubs serve as bearings for the said shaft and rclieve the wooden ends or heads C of the strains which otherwise would be placed thereon during the Working of the amalgamator.

It is essential that no metal be exposed Within the machine, as it effects the treatment of the ore and prevents the separated or freed material amalgamating perfectly, and for this reason the metallic drive-shaft within the receiving vessel is inclosed by, preferably, a wooded sleeve or casing D, and that portion of the shaft designed to be inclosed is treated to a coating of asphaltum IOO in order to provide against the-material contacting with the surface thereof.

Within the receiving vessel is arranged a series of what I term breaking-arms D', which arms extend from side to side of the receiving vessel crosswise of each other and are firmly united thereto by the screws or bolts d2. These arms are made of wood and when in place extend the entire length of the vessel, each being located an equidistance apart. These arms embrace the sleeve or casing D of the drive-shaft, as said arms are arranged crosswise of each other. Each arm stands atan incline to the other and are thus arranged so as not to retard the movement of the material being treated within the rotating vessel.

In one face of the vessel A is formed a feedopening d, which is closed by the plug-cover E. This cover when the feed-opening is closed is held down by the lock-bar E', which at one end is hinged to the ears e and at the opposite end secured between the ears c' by the removable pin e2. The cover is firmly forced to its seat by `inserting wedges f between the lock-bar E and upper face of the said cover.

In the side of the vessel A opposite to that containing the feed-opening is formed the outlet-openingf, which in the present case is closed by means of a removable plug E2. This discharge-opening may be located at any suitable point, although I prefer to place the same near one end of the receiver.

The operation of the amalgamator is as follows: The material to be treated is run into the receiver or vessel A and sufficient quantity of quicksilver added thereto to properly amalgamate the metal contained within the pulp, slime, or tailings, the amount of quicksilver introduced being proportionate to the material to be worked. The feed-opening is then closed and the cover securely locked in place, after which the drive-belt is shifted tov the fast pulley B', so as to rotate the auxiliary shaft A4,which has its motion transmitted to drive-shaft B through the medium of gear and pinion A2 A3. As this shaft is secured within the hubs ol of the end plates C2, which plates in turn are bolted to the vessel or receiver A', the rotary motion of the shaft will beimparted to the vessel or receiver A. Consequently the said receiver or vessel, shaft, and end plates will revolve as an entire structure. Now inasmuch as the rotatable receiverl or vessel Al is a flat-sided one it is obvious that as it isV rotated the material placed therein for treatment will be raised or elevated to a given height and then dropped downwardtowardthebottom. Thiscontinued raising and dropping of the material is required to thoroughlyseparate the pulp, which as thrown downward strikes against the inclined arms D and the quieksilver is thus broken and liberated. As the quicksilver is thoroughly scattered it picks up the small particles of gold liberated and collects the same in the form of amalgam. These arms are fixed to the inner Walls of the receiver or vessel A', and consequently are carried around with the rotary movement of the same. The pulp or qnicksilver is thus prevented from lodging between the arms, and as the arms are carried around they serve to break up or disintegrate, so to speak,the material being treated. As the receiver or vessel is rotated the material is turned over and over again, and by being thrown against the arms D' the entire mass is broken and separated. This continued agitation of the material is maintained for from three to ve hours, which is ample time for the treatment of about fifteen hundred pounds of material, the vessel or receiver being about ve and one-half feet long by about three feet wide. vDuring this time the material within the vessel or receiver will have been stirred, separated, and turned over and the quicksilver have had ample time to thoroughly work through the entire mass of pulp, slime, or tailing, so as to pick up and collect together the small particles of gold separated from the worked material. The material after having been thus treated is removed from Within the vessel or receiver by opening the outlet-opening f', through which the material escapes. The collected gold escaping from the vessel or receiver in the form of amalgam is then treated in the usual manner to separate the gold.

Practical working of the present machine has demonstrated the fact that I am enabled to treat the tailings, slime, or pulp after it has passed over the ordinary collecting-blankets, as before mentioned, and recover gold therefrom which is so ne and light as to be carried over the blanket.

The machine at the present time is being practically and successfully worked in the recovery of this fine grade of gold, and by its use I am enabled to save that which hereto.-

IOO

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fore has been lost and considered impossible to save.

Inasmuch as a cylindrical vessel or receiver cannot be employed for the reason that it will not raise the material, as desired, it is essential to the success of the machine that a flatsided vessel or receiver be employed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new,and desire to secure protection in by Letters Patent, is-

l. In an amalgamator for the treatmentof pulp, slime or tailings, the combination with a closed receiver or vessel for the material to be treated having flatinterior sides, of a driveshaft extending therethrough and to which the same is rigidly secured, a frame within which the shaft is mounted, means for im-l parting rotary motion to the shaft and receiver or vessel, and of a series of breakingarms arranged within the vreceiver or vessel and s ecurely attached to the sides thereof.

2. In an amalgamator for the treatment of pulp, slime or tailings, the combination with a closed receiver or vessel for the material to IIS be treated, and having interior longitudinal surfaces arranged at an angle, of a drive-shaft extending therethrough and to which the same is secured, means for imparting rotary motion to the shaft so as to rotate the receiver or vessel, a sleeve inclosing that portion of the drive-shaft Within the receiver or vessel, a series of breaking-arms arranged Within said receiver or vessel and secured so as to rotate therewith, said arms being arranged at an angle to each other, and of the end plates secured to the ends of the receiver or vessel outside of its heads or end.

3. In an amalgamator for the treatment of pulp, slime or tailings, the combination With a closed receiver or vessel for the material to be treated polygonal in cross-section, of a feedopening therein, a cover for said opening, a drive-shaft extending through said receiver or vessel and to which the same is secured, means for imparting rotary motion to the shaft so as to rotate the receiver or vessel, a covering for that portion of the shaft Within the receiver or vessel, a series of breaking-arms arranged therein so as to rotate With the shaft and receiver or vessel, said arms being arranged at an angle to each other, end plates secured to the receiver or vessel outside of its heads or ends, each plate being formed With a bearing-hub Within which the drive-shaft is secured, and of an outlet for the treated material.

4E. In an amalgamator for the treatment of pulp, slime or tailings, the combination with a suitable frame, of a receiver or vessel polygonal in cross-section suspended therein, a feed-opening Within the receiver or vessel and a cover therefor, means for imparting rotary motion to said'vessel, a series of breakingarms arranged therein so as to rotate therewith, said arms being arranged at an angle to each other and each extending entirely across the vessel, and of the outlet lfor the treated material.

In an amalgamator for the treatment of pulp, slime or tailings, the combination of a receiver or vessel polygonal in cross-section, means for rotatably supporting said receiver, means for rotating the same, a plurality of breakin g-arms Within the receiver secured to and extending across the same, said arms being inclined relative to the axis of rotation of the receiver, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of tWo Witnesses, this 3d day of April, 1899.

JOHN L. BRADBURY.

Vitnesses N. A. ACKER, WALTER F. VANE.

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