Improvements in and Apparatus for the Extraction of Gold by Electrolysis.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Sept., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 25th July, 1895-Accepted, 21st Sept., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and Apparatus for the Extraction of Gold by
Electrolysis.
We, JOSEPH JOHN MACLEAN, of the Devonshire Club, Saint James's, in the
County of London, Engineer, and HENRY CLAY BULL of 36 Amyand Park Road,
Twickenham, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention, to be as follows:-
:-
This invention relates to improvements in, and apparatus for, the extraction of
gold by electrolysis, whereby its extraction from attenuated solutions can be
carried on in a continuous manner.
It is well known that gold is contained in sea water, in waters pumped from
mines, in water obtained from some mineral springs, and in the waste waters of the
various cyanide processes for extracting gold.
By way of example we will describe our invention as applied to the continuous
extraction of gold from sea water, although it must be understood that other waters
can be effectually treated in the same continuous manner; and an essential feature
of the invention consists in the separation of the water under treatment, and the
insulation of the same during the treatment, so as to enable the electric potential
to be raised sufficiently high to effect the decomposition of the gold salts.
In carrying out our invention, we employ apparatus consisting of a long and
narrow tube or chamber, open at both ends, and made of metal, or other suitable
material. It is lined with wood or other appropriate non conducting substance.
The bottom or floor of this tube or chamber is of iron, and acts as the cathode
of the electric depositing chamber. Within this chamber or tube we arrange,
in any suitable way, a number of division plates, also formed of a non-conducting
material, some of which extend from the top or roof of the tube or chamber,
and others from the bottom or floor thereof, and in such a manner as to form a
tortuous or zig-zag passage or channel to cause the water to flow up and down when
passing through said tube or chamber.
The anode is of iron, or other suitable material, and is placed over the cathode,
and as near to it as possible. The anode and cathode are connected to any source
of electricity, and are so arranged that the water, in passing through the tube or
chamber, shall be traversed by the electric current in its passage from the anode to
the cathode.
The division plates rising from the cathode or floor, also form chambers thereon
for containing mercury, and the passage of the electric current from the anode to
the cathode causes any gold in the water to be deposited in this mercury, the
downward movements of the water, in flowing through the tube or chamber, greatly
assisting the action of the electric current in depositing the gold in the mercury.
The sea water is caused to flow through the apparatus in any suitable way, as
for instance by constructing the apparatus so that it shall float in a current or tide-
way, or by making it a fixture therein, or by towing it behind a vessel.
The same mercury can be used repeatedly, after the gold has been extracted
therefrom in the usual way.
Dated this 25th day of September 1894.

page_text: Improvements in and Apparatus for the Extraction of Gold by
Electrolysis.
We, JOSEPH JOHN MACLEAN, of the Devonshire Club, Saint James's, in the
County of London, Engineer, and HENRY CLAY BULL, of 36 Amyand Park Road,
Twickenhamn, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of this 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 accompanying drawings and to the letters and figures marked
thereon, that is to say :-
This invention relates to improvements in, and apparatus for, the extraction of
gold by electrolysis, and is designed more particularly to recover gold contained
in sea water, although it is applicable to the recovery of gold from the waters of
certain mines, and springs, and from the waste waters of the various cyanide
processes for extracting gold; and the object of our invention is to enable such
gold to be extracted in a continuous and economical manner, on a commercial
scale.
To this end, we provide apparatus in which the water is caused to flow through
a narrow passage, or passages, formed between one or more pairs of electrodes, and
while so flowing to be subjected to the action of an electric current or currents,
the water under treatment being, by this means, in a sense, separated, isolated, or
insulated from the body of the water in which the apparatus is placed, thus
enabling its electric potential to be raised sufficiently high to permit the decom-
position of the gold salts to be effected, there being no expenditure of power,
except on the water immediately between the electrodes.
The gold which is separated by the electrolytic action is deposited on the
cathode, or cathodes, which, for the more ready collection of the gold, may be
amalgamated, or may be wholly or partially covered with a layer of mercury.
And in order that the invention may be readily understood, we will proceed to
describe the same by aid of the accompanying drawings, in which :-
Fig. 1 is a side view, and
Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section, showing one form of apparatus constructed
according to the invention.
Figs. 3 and 4 are transverse sections thereof, taken, respectively, on the
lines a, x, and y, y, of Fig. 2.
The apparatus consists of a tube or chamber a, constructed of metal or other
suitable material, lined with wood, or other appropriate non-conducting substance or
made entirely of wood. It is open at both ends, and of such a length as to allow
sufficient time for the water, in passing through, to deposit practically the whole of
the gold contained therein, under the influence of the electrolytic action. a¹ are
tie bolts and a² iron bands, for strengthening the apparatus. b is the narrow
passage which, in the example shown, is of tortuous form, although it may be of
any other suitable form, and through which the water can flow in an up and down
direction from either end, for example as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 2. This
passage has its inlet 6' of gradually decreasing area, which, when the apparatus
is placed in a tide way, or is towed behind a vessel, serves to assist the flow of
water through the passage. Its outlet 2 may be of any convenient form, or may be
of similar form to the inlet. In the lower portions or bends of the passage are forined
chambers or cells, which serve to contain mercury for the collection of the gold.
c and d are the electrodes, the former of which is the anode, and the latter the

page_text: cathode. The anode c is of iron, carbon, or other suitable material, and forms a
lining to the upper part of the zig-zag or tortuous passage b. The electrical connec
tions with this anode is effected by means of a screw bolt ch and by a bar. c² in direct
connection with the anode, and into which the said bolt is screwed. The cathode d
consists of a plate of iron, lead, or other suitable material extending along the
apparatus and forming the bottom of the chambers or cells 63. The mercury in
the said chambers or cells lies on this cathode, and the electrical connection there-
with is effected by a bolt d¹. The anode is arranged over the cathode, as near to
it as possible, so that the water flowing through the apparatus may be readily
traversed by the electric current. Conductors from any suitable source of
electricity are brought up to the bolts c¹ and d', and the circuit is completed by
the water between the electrodes.
Eyes or lugs, of which only one pair is shown at a³, are provided for the attach-
ment of chains or ropes for securing the apparatus to a pier, boat, ship, or other
object, or for lowering or raising it into, or out of, the water.
The apparatus may, however, be so constructed, as shown in fragmentary section
Fig. 5, that a number of division plates e of a non-conducting material may extend
downward from the roof of the chamber, while others e' may extend upward from the
bottom or floor thereof, those on one side projecting into the spaces between those
on the other and so forming the tortuous or zig-zag passage or channel through
which the water is caused to flow up and down when passing between the electrodes.
As in the preceding figures, c is the anode, d the cathode, and 3 the chambers or
cells containing the mercury.
The working is as follows:-The apparatus having been placed in the sea, or
other water from which the gold is to be extracted, and the electric current having
been switched on, the current liberates the gold in the water between the electrodes
and causes it to be deposited in the mercury contained in the chambers or cells b³,
and, as the water continues to flow through the apparatus the deposition of gold in
the said chambers or cells is effected, the water entering at the inlet b' depositing
is gold, and passing out of the apparatus, to make way for a fresh body of water.
After sufficient gold has been collected, the mercury is removed and treated in any
ordinary way to obtain the gold therefrom, and may then be re-used as often as
desired.
It is obvious that any number of these apparatus may be combined together.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. The method of electrically extracting gold from sea water, and other waters
containing that metal, which consists in causing such water to flow through a
narrow passage or passages, in which it is separated, isolated, or insulated, so that
while under treatment its potential can be raised to the required degree without
waste of power, the said passage or passages being formed between one or more
pairs of electrodes, and the cathode, or cathodes, being either amalgamated or
covered with a layer of mercury to retain the gold as deposited, substantially as
set forth.
2. Apparatus for the extraction of gold by electrolysis, consisting of a tube or
chamber (for immersion in the water from which the gold is to be extracted)
having a tortuous (or other suitably shaped) passage through which the water is
caused to flow between a pair of electrodes, the upper one of which (the anode)
conforms to the shape of the passage, while the lower one (the cathode) forms the
bottom of a set of chambers or cells in which mercury is placed to receive the
gold as deposited, substantially as described and shown by way of example in
the accompanying drawings.
3. The arrangement of apparatus in which division plates extend vertically from
the roof and from the bottom or floor in such a manner as to form a tortuous or

page_text: zig-zag passage to cause the water to flow up and down in passing through between
thefelectrodes, substantially as described with reference to Fig. 5.
Dated this 25th day of July 1895.
ERNEST DE PASS,
Chartered Patent Agent,
78, Fleet Street, London, and 5*, Market Street, Nottingham,
Agent for the Applicants.