The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-02-15
out hammering. pounding or compressive
grinding.
PREPARED FOR NEW COMBINA-
TIONS


TIONS.
This reduction to practical uniformity
in the minuteness of the particles of the
whole mass will predispose to chemical
change and will prepare the mass for
new chemical combinations so that I'M
combined gold will the more readily be
taken up and amalgamate with mercury,
and gold in combinations in the minute
particles will the more easily leave these
combinations to form new one by
amalgamation.
For commercial results a 4O-mesh
screen IS the finest that can be used in
the battery of the stamp mill, while in
this process fineness of from 100 to 300
VIII be produced; take il at an average
OF zoe. The masses of solids of the same
material vary as the cubes of CORE
spending edges. The cube of 40 being
O. 900. and the cube of 200 being 5000 000
il follows that the relative fineneSS is as
g. 600. to 100000. or ] to 125 from which
it VIII be seen that the finest particles of
gold will be released from the gangue or
surrounding envelope so that it can be
amalgamated- But a fineneSS of 800 can
be obtained and the cube of 300 being 81.
0O0,0O0 the relative fineness would be as
l to 422. 1t is doubtful. however, if any
ore will require such extreme comminu-
ton.
IN practice 1 have found that ore pow
ders passing through screens having from
100 to 300 mesheS to the linear inch are
sufficiently fine, but finer states of divis-
ion may be obtained and may be neces-
sary with some ores. All gold ores. with
the exception of such as have their gold
chemically united to O. baser material,
contain q percentage of flour or flake
gold, varying from 30 to 100 per cent OF
the total amount of their gold Many
mines which show assay values of from
SIS to S34 per ton in native cold never
produce any such values by practical
working, for the simple reason that from
40 to 10 per cent of their native gold Is
in the flour, flake or molecular condition
and IS largely lost or wasted in the
methods of extraction now used.
VALUE OF THE PROCESS.
THE fact is well known also that
pounded or hammered gold will resist
the action of mercury for a long time,
and this is irrespective of mass, or in
other words equal surfaces of gold ham
mered to equal degrees resist amalgama-
ton equally, and the size and shape of
the hammered particles are relatively I'M
important. their total surface areas being
the real things for comparison
The value of my process, its novelty
and utility, appear in this: the saving
of all. or practically ALL the gold in such
ores. thereby rendering them of nearly
their gross values as indicated by chem
ical analysis. and Furthermore, the mill
ing of refractory ores such as are ordinar-
lily smelted.
The mill for the operation of the Muir
ply process is exceedingly simple in con-
struction. The ore is crushed in the or
binary method by crushers and Cornish
rolls. From the rolls the ore is raised by
elevators to a neXagOnal screen, at which
point it is presumed TO be of 20-mesh.
The ore OF the necessary degree of fine
ness is passed to the pulveriZing cylinder,
into which it is discharged through a
hollow trunnion. That which is too large
is returned to the rolls. The oulverizing
cylinder is from eight to twelve feet in
length, with a diameter of from six to
eight feet. This cylinder is porcelain
lined and is charged with about three
tons of loose Norway flint pebbles from
one to two inches in diameter. The |
crushed ore is fed into the cylinder from |
a hopper which receives the ore that |
passes through the heXagonal screen and |
as it passes from the receiving end to |
the discharge end of the cylinder the ore |
IS ground between the porcelain lining /
md the pebbles. and between the pebbles |
themselves and the pieces of ore rubbing |
against each other are gently worn away |
by self-attrition. the whole operation re-
sembling as closely as possible the nat
lral destruction and wearing away OF
'ock whereby placer deposits are formed. |
THE AMALGAMATION.
AS the ore in the cylinder rises TO the
evel of the idisehatge trunnion,. it is
orced through the trunnion and dis
charged into AN arnalgamating pan pro-
rided with mullers which rotate at the
ate of about 60 revolutions per minute,
at that speed until the ANAL
IS complete. when il is dis
harged through an inclined well at the
)OttOm or the pan, into settler, water
,e;ng turned into the pan to wash the
ntire mass of pulp and amalgam into the
ettler.
The settler is provided with stirrer,
which consists of radial arms with shoes
II Dlows, the whole being driven at the
ate of about 16 revolutions per minute
n this settler the amalgam and mercury
re finally, cleaned and. separated from
Impurities, which are drawn off through
oles in the periphery of the settler.
Ifter sufficient cleaning by means of the
evolution of the stirrer-arms and the
ettling of the mercury and amalgam into
he wells the mercury and amalgam are
nally withdrawn through said we'll or
ather through its orifice. which is pro-
ided with a plug.
Mr.. Murphy has certificates from j. X.
lark. superintendent of the Bullion
ling of Butte Mont. showing that the
re of that property. which is "a per cent
lad. on being treated by that process
bowed saving of $50 per cent of gold.
test of base iron ore from the Pyrenees
{ Butte, Mont. shows saving of 92.5
er cent. A test from No. l tailings OF
sc Maud S. of Butte shows a saving of
~ per cent, and from No. 2 tailings of
mil q M |