USRE4964E - And- siia eh amalgamating - Google Patents

Description

improvement in Process and Apparatus for Amalgamatin'g 3 Gold and'Silver. N'0"4,964 Reissued luly 9,"|872.

F "ii/30.3mm lime/Lair 2sheei's' shw2; A. B. CROSBY. I improvement in Proess and Apparatus for Amalgamating Quid and Silver.

N 4,964. fie ssuedluly 9,1872,

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UNITED Scarce PATENT @Orrron.

AUGUSTINE B. CROSBY, DE GEEEIEUE, MAKNE, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO "ran onosn'r ASSOGIATIQN.

ii-GL1) AlSlD SILVER AMALGAMATING- lMPRQVEMENT IN PRGSESSE S Mill hi l hlifiilfi FUR AMMQAHAUNG GGLD AND SILVER;

Specification forming pertof Letters Patent No. 113,264, dated September 26, 1871; reissue No. 4,964, dated July 9, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Anocsrnm B. Cnosnr, of the town of Greene, county of Androsccggin and State of Maine, have invented a new and. ImprovedMethod or rocess for the amalgamation of the Metals Gold'and Silver, in order to cfi'eot their separation from their ganguee, ores, or other associated material; and I do hereby declare that the following a .n exact description thereof, reference .1. Lg had to the accompanying drawing and the letters of reference marked thereon.

The nature of my invention novel method of treatment oi prep i and silver ores, whereby the difilcnities and loss attending the monipelation ci' 'pyritous or other base-metal ores by the ,rgresent methods of amalgamation are overcome and prevented. The invention further consists in an hereinafter described, adapted. for practicing such new method or process. In'order to effect a thorough intermixture of the quicksilver and prepared ores, and to keep the quicksilver all r ways 1n order and free from its own oxide, it is,

substantially as hereinafter deecribcd, caused to circulate by being drawn from the bottom of the amalgamator as rapidiy as it gathers;

passed through a strainer; than elevated to a small tank, in which is placed suitable quantity of amalgam of some of the alkaline metals; from thence it flows into a pipe placed radially in the top of the amalgamating-tub. This pipe is perforated with sufficiently fine apertures to discharge the quicksilver in a continuous shower upon the ore-pulp, in order to prevent loss in the form oi line particles of amalgam, which,.by ordinary methods, are :1 0t gathered or aggregated so asto be separated. from the ore-pulp, the material in the amalgamating-tub, after amalgaination has taken place, is diluted more or less, and snlzonitted to the action of a current water in such manner that none of the fine amalgam shall be carried away, and until the fine particles of amalgam shall be cleaned, or the base metals oxidized so as to separate from them, when they will combme and form a mass at the hcttom of the tub,

'fromiwhence they are carried the quick silvei'to the strainer, substantially as hereinafter described. In order that success may not depend on the skill of workmen, and thatthe process may he cheaply performed, the duration of each step of the process may, by my method, be fixed, as well as the manner in which it is to be done; and these steps succecd each other in the order of perpetual continuity,'and in such manner as to accomphsh the object and leave nothing discretionary to the workman, substantially as hereinafter described.

To enable others skilled. in the artto make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the construction and operation of the machine proposed for its application.

First, a circular tub of wood, bound iron hoops, large enough for the amount of ore it is designed to work at one charge, and in height so that the top of the tub shall be at least twice as far from the ore-line as the oreline is from the lowest point in the bottom of the tub. The bottom of the tub is made so as to form. a. cone, the base of which terminates six inches, more or less, inside the tub-stoves. Around the base of this cone is made a groove two inches wide and one-inch deep, more or less. Outside,-and from the edge of this groove,

the bottom of the tubris made to rise at an angie of about sixty deg es to the tub-staves, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, S S

showing sections of the sides and bottom of the tub; R R, the top of the tub, covering it close when the lid is closed. The ore is stirred acd intermixed with the quicksilver by means of wooden stirrers. L O O 0 show a section of them in Fig. 1, and a perspective, in part, in 3. These stirrers are attached to a wood en cylinder about .one foot in diameter, and

extending gap to nearly two inches below;' the with shown by B B, Fig. 1, and B, Fig. 4, the boxes being indicated by J J J of the same figures. Fig. 4 shows, in perspective, the beam 13, a part of the shaft-pipe H, the box J, and the collar I, that runs with the shaftpipe and on the end of the box J The shaft-pipe and stirrers are driven by means of gear, as shown by D D, Fig. 1. The shaft-pipe terminates in a bowl, as shown by '10, Fig. 1, the object of which is to prevent the spattring of water from the pipe 1:, as shown in Fig. I; This pipe connects with a tank, not shown. Of the same figure, w is a stopcock to regulate the supply of water. N N N, Fig. 1, show a fixed wing or partition with arms 11. n, so attached that they cut the spaces between the arms 0 O O, and extend nearly to the cross-piece L of the stirrers, so that when the stirrers are revolving all caking orbanking of the ore on the top of the cross-pieceL shall be prevented. The partition is placed on a radial line from one-half inch,'more or less, from the wooden cylinder K K to the tub-staves, so that when the orepulp is diluted and the tub filled with water. the circular motion caused by the stirrers shall be stopped and its surface made quiet, in order that all material specifically heavier than the water may settle to some distance below the discharge y, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5. The apertures y y y, &c., are dischargepoints opened at different stages of the manipulation. T is a mechanical arrangement for drawing the quicksilver from the groove Q in the tub bottom, and straining it before elevation, as shown in Fig. 1 in section, and in perspective in Fig. 6. The pipe is and the bowl n extend high enough to balance the pressure of quicksilver in the pipe j as high as the top of the groove Q, added to the water'pressure or awhen the tub is full. The stop-cock l sliding pipe, or other device regulates the flow of the quicksilver, and the pipe m discharges it directly into the straining-bag k. U is a tank of suflicient size to hold all the quicksilver being used, of such form that the sun face of the quicksilver shall not rise up to the shaft of the pulleyF of the elevator, and communicates from its bottom with the space Y of the elevator, substantially as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. F F are pulleys of .a belt and cupelevator, W being the belt and w w w the cups, as shownin Figs. I and 2. The hopper 5; re-

ceives the quicksilver from the elevator, and

discharges it through the pipes X into the tank V, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Vis a tank, four by six by twelve inches, more or less, in dimensions, that receives the quicksilver near its bottom 0 from the pipe X, from whence it flows over a small partition into the 7 middle chamber b, in which is placed some reducing agent, like the, alkaline metal amal gains; from thence it passes under the partition d,'through a small chamber, to the pipe e, as shown in Fig. 1. The pipeZ is placed in the top of the tub radially and pierced with 'fineholes or slots; it has a plug, P, to be reshoved when cleaning is necessary. The quickwill barely flow from a ladle; then the finelyground ore l is admitted for the charge of one ton, more or less, or so that the charge shall reach just above the stirrers; then three hundred pounds, more or less, of quicksilver having been placed in the tank U the circulation of the quicksilver is started by giving motion to the elevator; it is discharged from theelevator into the tank V, in which is placed some sodium, or other alkaline metal amalgam, for the purpose of reducing the oxide of quicksilver that is formed and absorbed by using in contact with air or other oxidizing material, and putting it in positive condition to act. The pipe. Z discharges the quicksilver, as rapidly as it is received from the tank V, through its holes or slots, in fine streams f f f, into the ore-puip. In a short time the ore-pulp becomes thoroughly charged with fine globules of quicksilver that gradually gather in mass at the,

mation is completed the ore-pulp is diluted by water admitted through the shaft-pipe H H until the tub is filled to the discharge-pointy.

In this condition the running is continued about one hour, when all the material specifically heavier than the water will have settled,

to some depth in the amalgamating-tub. At this period a current of water is admitted through the shaft-pipe H H so as to about onehalf fill thedischarge 3 The action of this current is kept up until the amalgam particles shall have t gathered. The object of this action of the water is to remove entirely the base metals from the fine amalgam particles, the films from which prevent the particles from uniting when they come together, so that l the amalgam may be readily collected. The free oxygen in the water is believed to be the agent of this action. After running until the amalgam is about collected by the water actiou last described, open the discharge 52 and. run about one-half hour; then open the discharge y and run about one-half hour; and so on for each discharge; and on the completion of the last discharge all the discharge-points are closed except y, and the water is shut 011' so as to leave the necessary quantity for a new charge of ore--the amalgamating-tub being now ready for it-no'fmther cleaning up being necessary in continuous work.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. The continual straining, circulation, and renovation of the quicksilver while in acti've use, and the washing of the ore-pulp, so that the action 'of the free oxygen, or other agent or agencies pertaining to or contained in the water, may be obtained upon the particles of amalgam, to purify and make them easily collected, and in such manner that but a small amount shall be lost during the collection, substantially as hereinbefore described.

2. I alsoclaim the combination in apparatus for the amalgamation of gold and silver, of means for showering quicksilver upon the pulp, means for intermixing it with the pulp,

means for straining it as it leaves the pulp, and means for elevating it to a tank, in which is a deoxidizing agent, to fit it to be again discharged into the pulp, the combination being substantially as described.

AUGUSTINE B. CROSBY.

Witnesses:

H. S. LANSING, G. A. H. Ross.

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