IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR SEPARATING GOLD AND OTHER METALS FROM THEIR ORES
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR SEPARATING GOLD AND OTHER
METALS FROM THEIR ORES."-A communication.
Sealed the 20th May 1856, and dated the 14th March 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
- 14th March 1856.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Cliancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex,' Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR SEPARATING GOLD AND OTHER
METALS FROM THEIR ORES, to be as follows:-
...This Invention relates, first, to the use of a metal basin, which is supported
at its centre by a-ball and socket joint, and by a bed (over which it rolls) set
below the basin, a rolling or rocking and gyrating motion being imparted to
the basin by the revolving' of the crusher ball contained therein.
. Second, to the use of an arm, furnished with an antifriction 'roller, which
runs over a flange formed on the edge of the basin, for depressing the side of
the basin, immediately in front of the crushing ball, in combination' with a

page_text: second or supplemental ball in the basin, arranged in such a way as to follow
the crusher ball always down the inclined plane of the basin, and thereby, by
its connection with the opposite end of the crosshead of the depressing arm,
assisting the basin in its gyrating motion, while at the same time the crusher
ball is assisted in crushing the ores.
And, thirdly, to a peculiar construction of amalgamating mill, which is
capable of receiving through a hollow central shaft the wash of the crusher,
the metalliferous portions of which are to be ground and agitated in contact
with a volume of quicksilver, confined by a barrel surrounding the millstones.
To this central shaft the runner stone is keyed, and above the stone is a cross-
head, to one extremity of which a bracket is attached for carrying a rake,
and to the other end a bracket bearing is secured for carrying a roller, both
of which are for the purpose of keeping the quicksilver in constant agitation.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 13th September 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Edward Newton, Her special licence that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time, and
at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR SEPARATING GOLD AND OTHER METALS FROM THEIR
ORES," being a communication from abroad, upon the condition (amongst
others), that I, the said William Edward Newton, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,
and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six

page_text: calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
:-
This Invention of improved machinery for separating gold and other metals
from their ores is described by my foreign correspondent as consisting, first,
in the use of a metal basin, which is supported at its centre by a ball and
socket joint, and by the bed, upon which it is adjusted, at the depressed point
of contact between the lower surface of the basin and bed, caused by the
rocking and gyrating of the basin by the revolution of the crusher ball
contained therein.
Second, in the use of an arm for depressing the side of the basin imme-
diately in front of the crushing ball, in combination with a second or supple-
mental ball in the basin, arranged in such a way as to follow the crusher ball-
always down the inclined plane of the basin, and thereby by its connection
with the opposite end of the crosshead of the depressing arm assisting the
basin in its gyrating motion, while at the same time it assists the crusher ball
in crusing the ores.
And, thirdly, in the construction and use of the amalgamating mill, through
the cone of which the wash of the crusher basin is discharged, to be ground
and agitated in contact with a volume of quicksilver confined by a barrel
surrounding the millstones.
Fig. 1, in the accompanying Drawings, is a plan view of the machine;
Fig. 2 is a partial vertical section of the same through the line of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a plan view of the lower millstone with the barrel surrounding it.
The frame of the machine is shewn at A, A, and may be made of wood or
metal. In practical operations, however, it is intended to build up the bed
of solid masonry, and overlay it with a flooring of wood or metal for the
lower side of the basin to traverse upon, thereby giving great solidity and
steadiness of motion. B, B, are two upright pieces of timber, connected
together at their tops by a cross timber C; D, D, is the basin, which is poised
or supported upon its centre by a centre post E, permanently fixed into or
upon the bed A. The head of this post is spherical, and made to fit into a
cavity in the lower side of the basin, in the manner of a ball and socket joint,
so as to allow the basin to gyrate freely upon its centre of motion, while its
outer edge at the point of greatest depression is supported by contact with the

page_text: bed:A. The object of this arrangement is to give steadiness of motion .to
the basin, and avoid the great strain upon the machinery where basins have
been attempted to be used when entirely supported at their centre.
Around the upper edge of the inner circumference of the basin is a pathway
orledge F; upon which runs a depressing roller f, adjusted in the end of an
arm, which is connected with a revolving 'crosshead G, secured upon a
vertical shaft II, elevated upon a step h³ in the foot of the centre post' E, and.
passing upwards through the cross timber C, and connected by a cog wheel I
with other suitable gearing, whereby it is rotated. The object of this motion is!
to depress one side of the basin just in advance of the crusher ball J, and con-
sequently cause the latter. to roll forward to crush. the ore. This ball runs
freely by its own gravity; the supplemental ball K, however, has an axis k²,
through it, and to the ends of which is attached a forked arm. L, having its.
upper end secured to the opposite end of the crosshead G. The length-of
this forked arm L is such as to keep the ball attached thereto at about one
hundred and forty" degrees of the circumference of the basin behind the
crusher ball J, so as to be always upon the descending. plane of the basin, and
as it is connected with the opposite end of the depressing arm crosshead, it
has a gravitating tendency to cause a depressing motion in the basin, and
thereby assist the momentum of the crusher ball. M, M, (Fig. 1) are two'
studs or pins at opposite sides of the basin. These pins have friction rollers
on them, and work' vertically against the sides of the uprights Bof the frame.
Their use is to prevent any tendency of the basin to rotate, in conséquence of
the rotatory motion of the balls, while they admit of the constantly varying.
rocking motion of it. In the opposite sides of the basin are trunks or open-
ings 'N, N, through which the wash of, the basin is discharged into the funnel P
of the amalgamating mill. This funnel fits upon the head of a hollow' vertical
shaft Q,-which is supported by a suitable framework R: On this shaft is
mounted a driving pulley 2, and it carries at its lower end the upper stone S
of the grinding and amalgamating mill: The lower end of the hollow vertical
shaft is pointed or is provided with a spindle,, which rests upon a step s² in
tlie centre of the stationary or netlier millstone T. and at 'the sides of the
spindle are two or more openings q. 7, through which the wash is discharged'
upon the upper face of the 'nether millstone. At right angles in the 'face
of this stone are cut four grooves t, 't; which terminate in a circular groove t³;
around the centre of the stone; as seen in the detached view. Fig. 3. The
upper millstone is about twelve inches (more or less) in diameter smaller than
the lower stone. The object of this is to form a,chamber between the upper
stone and the drum U surrounding the mill, into which the quicksilver is

page_text: placed, and through which the ground mass of ore has-to-pass before:it-can be!
discharged or drawn off by the spouts V; V2; (Fig. 3.). In this quicksilver
chamber is mounted an agitator or rake X, and also, a roller or wheel Y,
which are connected to the ends of a crosshead W, which is secured to the
hollow vertical shaft of the mill. The object of these parts is to keep the
quicksilver constantly in agitation, so that by the centrifugal force of the mill
and pressure of water in the hollow vertical pipe or shaft Q the quicksilver is
brought into contact with every portion of the ore in a diffused state. Z
(Fig. 2) is a vertical shaft, on which is a driving pulley z², and around which
driving belts pass for operating or rotating the pulleys ², 2, on the shafts of
the amalgamating millstones. On the head of the shaft Z is a cog wheel a'
(Fig. 1), which gears into a driving cog wheel 62 on a main driving shaft c³.
This shaft is supported in bearings upon the top of the frame or cross
timber C of the machine, and has on its end a cog wheel d³, which gears into
a horizontal cog wheel I on the head of the vertical shaft H, used for rotating
the depresser arm G for depressing the basin. g² is the main driving pulley
on the shaft c³, whereby the working parts of the machine are driven when it
is actuated by any prime mover.
Having now described the Invention, which has been communicated to me
as aforesaid, and its operation, I will proceed to state what I claim and desire
to secure by Letters Patent.
First, I claim the use of the basin D, in combination with the centre
post E and bed A, as a means of supporting and giving steadiness of motion
to the basin while being rocked by the rotating action of the crusher ball J,
or any mere modification thereof, for obtaining substantially the same results.
Second, I claim the use of the depressing pathway or ledge F in the upper
edge of the basin D, in combination with the rotating depressing arm f³, or
their equivalents, as a means for depressing the basin.
Third, I claim the use of the supplemental ball K, in combination with
the basin D and rotary crosshead G, as a means for adjusting and sustaining
the ball on the downward incliued plane of the bottom of the basin behind the
crusher ball.
Fourth, I also claim the use of the amalgamating mill when made and
operated by the use of a small upper rotating millstone, whereby a recess or
amalgamating chamber is obtained between the periphery of the said mill-
stone and the barrel or envelope surrounding the mill, and upon the upper
surface of the nether or stationary millstone, substantially for the purposes
herein-before set forth.
Fifth, also claim the use of the agitator rake X and roller Y, attached to

page_text: the crosshead W on the axle of the rotating or upper millstone, in combination
with the amalgamating chamber or recess.
In witness whereof; I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twelfth day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)