US98518A - Improvement in collecting gold from orbs - Google Patents

Description

waited* tatt `Aucus'r F. W. PARTZ, or OAKLAND, cALIFonNIA.

Letters Patent No. 98,518, dated January 4, 1870.

IMPROVEMENT IN COLLECTING G-OLD `FROM: CRES.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same To all whom 'it may concern:

Beit known that I, AUGUST F. W. PAR'rz, of Oakland, in the county of Alameda, and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pulvcrizing and Collecting Orcs; and I hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descliption thereof, reference being had to the annexed drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l is ,an isometric-al projection ofthe apparatus I employ, and

Figure 2,a like sectional view ot the pump I make use ci', as part of the said'apparatus.

. In the mechanical reduction oi' gold and silver-bearing ores, by stamps, and other machinery, from which the ore, when suificiently pulverizcd, is removed by water, great losses are experienced on account of the water carrying oi a considerable portion of the o re, when it is h'nally allowed to escape from the mill, alihough it may have been conducted through rarious tanks, sIuice-boxes, or other apparatus designed to retain the ore, by settling or other means. The

prevention ot' such losses, in the treatment of oresk containing metallic particles ol' gold and silver, has proven the more diiiculi, because oi the peculiaritypossessed by metals, especially by gold, if in a finelydivided state, of remaining suspended in water, even longer thanclay and silex, the latter being in an equal state of division. The pulverizing of such ores, without the use of water, is, therefore, frequently resorted to, and, in many instances, it has been found the only means of saving the greater portion of the `precious metals. commonly done by stamps, is an operation undertaken only through necessity, because the wear. and tear caused to the machinery is far greater than in the Wet treatment, the mot-ion has to be slower, the loss of ore by dust is considerable, and the inhaling of the iine particles of ore, with which the atmosphere about the mill is constantly charged, has a most injurious effect upon the health of the men in attendance.

The nature of my invention consists in performing the pulverization ot' ores, by the use of' water, in such a manner that the wateris not allowed to ilow off, but is continually returned, by means of pumps and troughs, to the stamps, orother pulverizing-machinery,

while the ore is allowed to settle in tanks, from which itfmay'ii'om time to time be removed, without interruption to the process.

The invention also includesa pump, particularly adapted to the elevation of water in which earthy I matter is suspended.

The accol'npanying drawing, iig. 1, represents, as connected with a stamp-battery, an arrangement of tanks, pumps, troughs, and other appliances, well calculatedi'or accomplishing the object of my invention.

a a are the mortars ot' a ten-stamp battery.

But the dry pulverizing of ores, which is .which-glide in grooves, that are l b and d are two tanks, of equal dimensions, each one being divided by vertical partitions, so4 as to con- `tain several separate compartments. These partitions have, at one of their upper corners, and at opposite ends, a portioncnt away, so that Water, entering the first compartment, will, ata certain height, ilow over into the next, and, in tlowing from the iirst to the last compartment, will move in a serpentine line.

s s are two spouts. intended to lead oi any liquid .that may enter the tanks b and d, after they are filled to a proper level.

his annapron, across which the pounded ore is carried by thewater from the battery to the tanks b and d.

c is a gate, so adjustable, on either side ofthe block x, that, accordingly as it is placed, the ore and water, coming ,from the mortars a a., may be directed into either one of' the tanks b and d.

g and 'q are pumps, so arranged, in the compart` ments of the tanks 11 and d farthest iom the battery', that thei1:.suctiou-valves are about midway between the upper edges and the bottoms of the said tanks.

These pumps are worked separately, by power applied to the pulleys n and m,'near each of which is'a loose pulley.

The troughs o o are intended to convey the Water, elevated by the said pumps, ,to the mortars a a.

k is a tank, of about the same capacity as either of the tanks 'b and (l, and is so placed, in relation to them, that its upper edge is, horizontally, about in v line with their bottoms.

e e e'are plugs, by the removal of which the.liquid in each of the compartments of the tanks b and cl`may, to certain levels, be drawn oii' into the troughs t t, which convey the same to the tank k.

Outside oil this tank, and vcommunicating `with its interior, by an orifice near its bottom, and a tube, z,

is a pump, l, 'which is operated by power applied to the pulley i, near which is also a loose pulley.

The Water elevated by this pump is discharged into the trough c, through which, and the troughs o o, it vis conducted to the mortars u, a.

To illustrate the inner construction of the pumps g, q, and Z, I have,'in g. 2, shown their main features on a larger scale.

p is a piston, with a valve and lifting-r-od attached to it. To guide the same, and prevent friction with the woodeutube w, in which it'isdesigned to move quite freely, the said piston is supplied with two pins, c fr, protected against wear' 'by strips of band-iron u u.

The. operation, by means of the apparatus above described, is as follows:

The tanks b and d are iilled with water. The'gate c is placed (as shown in the drawing) so that the orel and water, coming from the stamps, will be directedinto the tank b. On `starting the. stamps, the pump g is also put in motion to supply the mortars a a with the necessary water, and to continually replenish the same, as the water thus conveyed flows oft through the vmortar-screens,n carrying the pulver-ized ore over the-apron h, into the tankb. Most ot' the ore will naturally settlefin the first compartment, less in the second, and still less iu the third. As the ore accumulates Yin the tank, the surplus water Hows through the. spout s intb the tank The operation having thus been carried on for apracticable length of time, that is to say, untii the' first compartmentfis about half filled with ore, or, as 4--the case may be, the water iu the thirdcompartment becomes too muddy, the gate c ischanged, s`o as to let the water, with the ore, iiow into the tank d; the pump q is put in motion, and the pump gis stopped by slipping the belt from the pulley n upon the" loose pulley alongside ot' it. While the ore isnow collecting in the tank d, the mass contained 'in the tank b is left iuidisturbed, until the ore remaining suspended in the water has settled. By removing some or all of the plugs c c le, the water is then drawn oft nto'the tank k, whereupon the plugs are replaced, and the ore is taken out. When it becomes necessary,

on account of the accumulation of ore, or the muddy state ot' the water in the tank'd, to discontinue the' discharge into the same, the gate c is again changed,

so as t0 allow the water, with the ore, to iow into the tank b thepump l is put in motion to supply the mortars a a. with water, and the' pumpq is stopped'. As

soon as all the water has been returned from Vthe tank 7a to the tank i), the pump l is stopped, and the pump g again set towork. 'Meanwhile, time is given to the ore in the tank d to settle,vwhereupon the water is drawnoff into the tank 7-, the ore is removed, and the process repeated, in the same manner as already described with reference to the tank b.

It will require no further explanation to show how, by means of the consecutive changes and manipulations above set forthythe pulverizing' and collecting of oresmay be continued without interrupt-ion.

In place of the water taken with the settled ore from the tanks/ib and d, a corresponding amount of fresh water must be supplied. It' the ore passes into amalgamati'ng-pans, tubs, or barrels, the water necessary for thinning the ore-pulp should always be taken from the tanks b and d, and be replaced by fresh wat-er.

It will be best to have the tanks b and al of such size, (that of the tank 7c to be correspondig,) that each of them will hold all the ore ot' a twelve-hours run, together with the necessary water, in order that there may be sucient time for the settling and removing of the ore.

Under circumstances, it may be expedient to have one ormore reservetanks or cisterns, into which the water, in case it i becomes slimy with earthy matter,

'may from .time to time be led, and in which it can re main until the tine particl'cs of ore suspended therein have subsided. y

vInstead ot'. being connected with a stamp-battery, the same apparatus may, in like manner, be applied to any other ore-pnlverizing machinery which is operated with fiowing water.

Instead of the two pumps g and q, only one pump may be used, the same'bei'ng so arranged between the tanks b and d, that by a suitable adj ust-ment of valves,A

it can be made to draw water from either one ot' the said tanks.

Instead of the kind of pumps herein described, chaii ipnu|psorany other suitable coutrivance for raising water containingl earthy matter, may be em ployed. For the troughs o o and 11, pipes may be subi stituted, and it will be apparent that various other alterations may be made, by which essentially the same effect is produced. 1, therefore, do not conline myself to the exact shape and construction ot' the apparatus herein described.A

What I-claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

vThe use, in connection with stamp-,batteries and otherore-pnlverizing machinery, of' thatanks b, d, and` 1c, together with the pumps g, q, and l, and the troughs o and v, or their respective equivalents, substantially as and for the purpose herein specied.

' AUGUST F. W. PARTZ. [n.s]

Witnesses:

J ouN L. BOONE, A. T. DEWEY.

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