IMPROVEMENTS IN A COMBINATION OF BLAST AND OTHER FURNACES, FOR THE EXTRACTION OF METALS FROM THEIR ORES
Year: 1884

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
THOMAS JOHN BARNARD of 13 Connaught Road, Harlesden, N.W. London
in the County of Middlesex Inventor and Patentes do hereby declare the
nature of my Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN A COMBINATION OF BLAST AND
OTHER FURNACES, FOR THE EXTRACTION OF METALS FROM THEIR ORES to be
as follows:
This invention has for its object, the concentration of Ores, minerals and metallic
substances, by an improved novel economical system of treatment, which enables
poor Ores, now rejected thro' lack of commercial success, to be treated with con-
siderable profit. This applies more particularly to foreign countries (for which
Letters Patent will be duly taken out) where nature has more bounteously diffused
the precious metals, in the form of Ores, associated with Copper, Lead, Sulphur and
other base ores, or mineralized matter. Yet both the precious and the base metals
in their mineral form, are recognized only as valueless, by reason of the hitherto
excessive cost of fuel and manipulations required for their elimination.
To this end I propose to erect a combined calcining, chloridising, reverberatory
and blast smelting furnace and herewith proceed to describe my invention, which
consists in the construction of a deep furnace or hearth, somewhat similar to the
ordinary blast furnace, whereby I dispense with the costly blast appliances now in
use, by leaving small apertures or tuyere holes, placed at suitable distance above
the hearth or bed, according to size of furnace, for the automatical admission of
air, to be increased at will by the introduction of a jet of superheated steam, either
thro' the aforesaid apertures, or thro' the chimney, or both.
To economize fuel and labor, by reducing the manipulations of several furnaces into
one, my furnace is so arranged that the otherwise and hitherto waste flame and heat
from the blast furnace passes into a chamber directly above the blast furnace itself,
where it is brought into contact with ore placed upon the hearth or floor of said
chamber. This chamber can be used either for calcining, chloridizing, or as a reverbe-
ratory furnace, separately or in combination, by a simple manipulation of the dampers
in connection with the flues. The said chamber, requiring no fuel or caloric but the
otherwise waste heat of the blast furnace, is so constructed as to afford sufficient
surface or shelves on three sides of the top of blast-furnace. The back part or
side of the upper furnace forms the calcining chamber, three fifths of the whole
D

page_text: surface. The remaining two fifths or front sides are utilized as two reverberatory
hearths. The Ore is first placed in the calciner and then after calcination is passed
from the calciner into the reverberatory hearths, which alone dispenses with
expensive plant, independent of the extra cost of fuel, the loss of time, the cooling
down of the ore only to be again re-heated, and its removal from the ordinary
separate calciner to the distinct reverberatory furnace. If necessary, the ore can
be afterwards puddled direct from the reverberatory into the blast furnace. Or the
whole combined furnace may be utilized as a chloridizer to suit the requisitions of
either Silver Lead Ores, containing but little earthy material, or of argentiferous
Copper sparsely disseminated in large quantities of silicious matter, which may be
worked to the maximum of profit by economical chlorination as above described,
to be afterwards lixiviated by my humid or nascent copper and silver process; or
through the agency of direct automatical smelting, as claimed by this invention.
Dated this eighteenth 18th day of September 1884.

page_text: DE ECIFICATION,
I THOMAS JOHN BARNARD of 13 Connaught Road, Harlesden, London in the
county of Middlesex, Inventor and Patentee do hereby declare the nature of my
invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN A COMBINATION OF BLAST AND OTHER FURNACES
FOR THE EXTRACTION OF METALS FROM THEIR ORES" and in what manner the
same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :—
This invention relates to certain improvements in a combination of blast and
other furnaces for the extraction of metals from their ores and has for its object to
provide a novel means for effecting an efficient system of concentrating ores,
minerals, and metallic substances, whereby poor ores hitherto rejected through lack
of economical means of manipulation can be treated with commercial success.
By my present improvements the system of treatment applies more particularly
to those ores which are comparatively rich in precious metals associated with
copper, lead, sulphur and other base ores or mineralized matter.
Hitherto the elimination and extraction of the precious metals from these ores
has only been accomplished by such great cost and labour that in most cases it has
been attended with loss and consequently these ores have been rejected as valueless,
but by my invention I am able to utilize the same and extract the metals at a cost
greatly below their intrinsic value and I accomplish this by the method herein set
forth.
I will now proceed to describe my invention in detail by aid of the accompanying
drawings in which Figure 1, is a general elevation.
Figure 2, is a longitudinal section on line a, b, Figure 4. Figure 3 is a sectional
plan on line c, d, Figure 1. Figure 4, is a sectional plan on line c. f. Figure 1.
Similar letters indicate similar parts in all of these figures. I construct a combined
calcining, chlorodising, reverberatory and blast smelting furnace as shown in the
drawings, having a deep furnace or hearth A, properly formed and lined, somewhat
similar to the ordinary blast furnace, and I form tuyere holes of suitable size B, B,
placed a convenient distance above the hearth or bed C, according to the size of
the furnace. Through these tuyeres currents of air are automatically introduced
which can be increased at will, by the introduction of a jet of steam superheated
if necessary; or the steam may be introduced by any other convenient and suitable
means.
The hearth may be formed of fireclay, quartz, or other refractory material.
Around the furnace I construct passages P, P, and at a convenient level above
the furnace A, and passages P, P, place the floor of a calcining or roasting
chamber D.
In order to economise fuel and labour by reducing the manipulations of several
furnaces into one, I so construct the furnace that the otherwise and hitherto wasted
flame heat and gases generated by combustion in the blast furnace A, pass into the
chamber D, directly above and around three sides of the furnace A. At a suitable
distance from the back of the furnace A, in the chamber D, I construct a cross wall
or partition E, having dampers therein as at F, F, Figure 4. The space G, Figures 2,

page_text: and 4, behind this partition E, the more remote from the furnace is used for a
chlorodising chamber.
These chambers D, and G, are provided with doors or eyes H, H, communicating
with the outside of the furnace, through which the charges of ore are passed into
the chambers. The charges placed in D are at once brought into contact with the
above mentioned flame heat and gases and are thereby calcined. This chamber D,
can be used either for calcining chlorodising, or as a reverberatory furnace, separately
or in combination with G, by a simple manipulation of the dampers F, F, in con⚫
nection with the flues through which the products of combustion escape.
This process alone dispenses with the extensive plant, the extra fuel, the loss of
time, the cooling down and reheating; and the labour of removal from the separate
calcining chamber to the reverberatory furnaces as required by present methods.
In the floor of the chamber D, I provide apertures fitted with lids or covers L, L,
communicating with passages P, P, for withdrawing the charge when calcined.
The chamber D, requiring no caloric but the otherwise waste heat of the blast
furnace, is so constructed to afford sufficient surface for shelves d', d', d³, on the
three sides of the top of the blast furnace.
The back part or side d', of the chamber D forms the calcining chamber and is
equal in area to about three fifths of the whole surface of chamber D. The
remaining two fifths of chamber D, marked d¹, d³, are utilized as two reverberatory
hearths.
The mode of operation is as follows:-
The ore is first passed through the doors H, H, into the part d², of the chamber D,
and calcined, and after calcination is placed on the reverberatory hearths d, d³.
The ore is then if required puddled direct from the reverberatory hearths d', d³,
into the blast furnace A; or the whole combined furnace chambers D, and G, may
be used as a chlorodiser alone, to suit the particular requirements of ores, such as
silver or lead ores containing but little earthy material or of argentiferous copper
sparsely disseminated in large quantities of silicious or other matter, which may be
most economically worked by chlorodisation only as above described and afterwards
treated by my humid or nascent copper and silver process, or by direct automatic
smelting as described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that
what I claim is
:
Firstly In a furnace for the concentration of ores, the combination with a deep
blast furnace A, of the calcining chamber D, with parts d', and d³, capable of use
as reverberatory furnaces and the chlorodising chamber G, all arranged substantially
as and for the purposes described and illustrated.
Secondly: The construction of a furnace for the concentration of ores as
described, which can either be used as a combined calcining, chlorodising and
reverberatory furnace, or as a chlorodising furnace only, substantially as and for
the purposes described and illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
Dated this nineteenth day of June 1885.