IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR TREATING ORES CHIEFLY FOR THE EXTRACTION OF PRECIOUS METAL THEREFROM
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Rowland Jordan, of Gracechurch Street, in
the City of London, Engineer, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR TREATING ORES CHIEFLY FOR THE EXTRACTION
OF PRECIOUS METAL THEREFROM"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Rowland Jordan
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 5th November 1883.
THOMAS ROWLAND JORDAN, of Gracechurch Street, in the City of London
Engineer "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR TREATING ORES
CHIEFLY FOR THE EXTRACTION OF PRECIOUS METAL THEREFROM"
My invention relates to improvements in machinery or apparatus for passing
ores containing gold or silver in a finely divided condition through mercury for
the purpose of separating the precious metals from such ores by amalgamation and
for concentrating the residue of such ores or similar materials.
The special construction of this machinery or apparatus is designed with a view
to introduce the ore-sand under a head of mercury and to retain the particles in
a finely divided condition in or under the mercury during any length of timo
necessary to effect the amalgamation of all the gold or silver contained in the sand
and further to recover from the tailings passing from the said machine the
"sickened" mercury or other valuable metallic substance which may be contained
therein.
pan
I
The said machinery or apparatus is constructed as follows that is to say ;-
I employ a circular pan of any required dimensions this pan is constructed
with a conical bottom and preferably provided with a steam jacket. In this
arrango a vertical tube carrying a hopper at its upper end the said tube being
provided with means whereby it may be revolved at any required speed. At the
bottom of this tube and under any required depth or head of mercury I attach
what I term an injector. The construction of this injector is peculiar, ib
comprises two circular plates or discs kept apart by blocks of wood or metal,
These blocks are so arranged and curved from the centre to the periphery of the
said discs as to form two or more passages from the bottom of the vertical pipo
into the pan containing the mercury. The said injector revolves with the tube.
I modify the said injector by constructing it without the bottom disc and
making the aforesaid block from two to three inches deep at the one side and
inclined to a feather edge at the other side the curved form of these blocks and tho
passages between them being retained as above described.
I surround the portion of the vertical tube immersed in the mercury with a
Irum to which I attach any required number of blades. These blades project
D

page_text: from this drum into the mercury and extend to the inner cylindrical surface of the
pan. Provision is made for setting them at any required angle. Suitable gearing
is provided for rotating the said drum and blades slowly in the reverse direction
to that in which the vertical tubo rotates.
At the upper part of the fan and near the surface of the mercury I provide a
pipe the mouth of which is flat and narrow on the opposite side of the pan and in
the same horizontal plane or nearly so I arrange an outlot passage leading to a
concentrating chamber. This part of the apparatus is constructed of wrought
iron or other suitable material and divided at its lower portion into two or more
compartments by vertical partitions. Each compartment has a conical bottom. 1
A waste pipe is introduced at the top of the said chamber opposite the pipe or
passage whereby the material enters from the pan.
The ore-sand is fed into the hopper at the top of the contral revolving tube and
passing down this tube to the injector is contrifugally forced into the mercury in
which a space is created to receive it by the peculiar form and action of the
aforesaid injector, when entering the mercury the immediate tendency of the ore-
sand is to rise rapidly to the surface thereof and thus to escape too quickly for tho
precious metal to be properly extracted by amalgamation; this premature escape
is however obviated by the aforesaid revolving blades which regulate the time of
the retention of the ore in the mercury. These blades can be varied or adjusted in
respect of their number their angle or their velocity to suit different qualities of ore.
The sand on reaching the surface of the mercury in the pan encounters a blast
from the aforesaid air supply pipo; this blast blows the sand across the concen-
trating chamber; the particles of sand fall in different parts thereof according to
their specific gravity the light waste being conveyed by the air current to a wasto
pipe suitably arranged to conduct it away from the concentrating chamber.
The amalgam formed in the pan settles in the conical bottom thereof and is
drawn off at convenient intervals through a valve or other means provided for this
purpose.
According to my Invention I provide for further treating the concentrated
tailings as follows that is to say;-I use two tanks constructed of wrought or cast
iron and connected by a tube. In this tube a spiral brush is fitted and copper pins
are inserted in the tube so as to project insido the same; a feed hopper is fitted to
one of these tanks and convenient gearing is provided for rotating the spiral brush
at any required speed. This apparatus is to be filled with mercury to the level of
the upper portion of the tube; a return tube connects the two tanks to keep tho
mercury at the same level in all parts throughout the tanks.
The tailings or sand is fed into the hopper and by the action of the revolving
spiral brush and the circulation of the mercury is gradually drawn through the
tubo and the mercury to the other tank; at this stage the heavy amalgam drops to
the bottom of this tank whence it can be drawn off by a valve or other suitable
means. The light sand ascends to the surface of the mercury where it encounters
a blast of air for which provision is made as above described or in any other
suitable manner.
In combination with these tanks or otherwise if necessary I uso a number of
circular brushes in a tank so arranged that their peripheries meet each other their
.centres being horizontal or slightly inclined, their width is such that they fill
or nearly fill the said tank. A hopper is placed at one end of this tank the first
brush being fed directly from the same. The ore being thus fed to the first brush
is conveyed through the mercury. All the brushes are rotated in the same
direction by suitable gearing outside the tank; the sand conveyed under the
mercury by the first brush is again passed forward by the next brush and so on as
many times as there are brushes until the waste is finally brushed out over the end
of the tank, and a suitable receptacle is provided to receive and collect the
amalgam.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Thomas Rowland Jordan in the Patent Office on the 5th May
1884.
THOMAS ROWLAND JORDAN, of Gracechurch Street, in the City of London,
Engineer, "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR TREATING ORES,
CHIEFLY FOR THE EXTRACTION OF PRECIOUS METAL THEREFROM'
My invention relates to improvements in machinery or apparatus for passing
ores containing gold or silver in a finely divided condition through mercury or
other material for the purpose of separating the precious metals from such ores by
amalgamation, and for concentrating the residue of such ores or similar materials.
The special construction of this machinery or apparatus for passing the ore-sand
through mercury or other material is designed with a view to introduce the oro-
sand under a head of the amalgamating fluid and to retain the particles in a
finely divided condition in, or under, the same during any length of time necessary
to effect the amalgamation of all the gold or silver contained in the sand, and
further to recover from the tailings passing from the said machine the "sickened "
mercury or other valuable metallic substance which may be contained therein.
In the accompanying drawing
Figuro 1 is a plan or top view, and
Figure 2 a central vertical section, partly in elevation, shewing one form or
modification of my amalgamating apparatus.
Figure 3 is a horizontal section, and.
Figure 4 a vertical central section, both drawn to an enlarged scale, of an
injector bereinafter described.
Figure 5 is a vertical central section shewing a slight modification of the
apparatus illustrated in Figures 1 and 2.
Figure 6 is a vertical central section, drawn to an enlarged scale, shewing a
modified form of the said injector, and
Figures 7, 8 and 9 are horizontal sections, also drawn to an enlarged scale,
shewing furthur modifications thereof.
Figure 10 is a longitudinal vertical section, and.
Figure 11 a transverse section on the line x, x, Figure 10, shewing another form
or modification of my amalgamating apparatus.
Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawing.
The machine shewn in Figures 1 and 2 has a cylindrical amalgamating pan a of
any required dimensions; this pan is constructed with a conical bottom a¹ and a
cover a³ and is preferably provided with a steam-jacket a³. In this plan a I
arrange a vertical tube b provided with a hopper cat its upper end, and with
cone-pulleys & or other means whereby it may be revolved at any required speed.
To the lower end of this tube b, or in any position thereon which is under the
required depth or head of mercury, I attach a device e which I term an injector
and which revolves with the said tube. The construction of this injector is
peculiar and is illustrated in Figures 3 and 4. The said injector comprises two
circular plates or discs e' kept apart by blocks e³ of wood, metal or other suitable
material. Those blocks are so arranged and curved from the centre to the
periphery of the said discs as to form passages e³, which extend from the aperture
at the lower end of the vertical pipe b to the exterior of the injector. The said
blocks are, moreover, so shaped that their outer sides are flush with the peripheries
of the discs e' at the points e and gradually recede therefrom towards the
passages e, so that, when the injector is rotated in the direction indicated by the
6
i

page_text: arrow in Figure 3, the said blocks will tend to throw the mercury from their
points e* towards the inner cylindrical surface of the pan a and thus form spaces,
between the said blocks and the mercury, for the introduction of the ore, which is
fed along the passages e³ into the pan a by centrifugal force.
In Figure 5 I have shewn a slight modification of the apparatus illustrated in
Figures 1 and 2. According to this modification I use a conical tube or pipe 6¹ for
the introduction of the sand into the amalgamating fluid or agent. This conical
tube may, if desired, be used in other forms of amalgamating machines
'
I sometimes use an agitator arranged in any suitable manner to be rotated
within this tube to prevent the clogging of the oro-sand therein.
I, in some cases, modify the said injector, as shown in Figure 6, by constructing
it without the bottom disc and making the blocks e from two to three inches deep
at the side marked e and inclined to a feather-edge at the side marked e, the
curved form of these blocks, and the passages between them, being the same as
shewn in Figure 3 and as above described.
Figures 7, 8 and 9 show further modifications of the said injector. Those shewn
in Figures 7 and 8 have only one block e³, and that shewn in Figure 9 has two
blocks e²; the said blocks, in each of these cases, being made in the form of a voluto
or approximately so, and having their points e* projecting beyond the peripheries
of the discs e¹.
The portion of the vertical tube b immersed in the mercury (the level of which
is shewn by a dotted line in Figure 2) is surrounded by a drum f to which I attach
screw blades, vanes or wings g. These blades g project from the drum into the
mercury and extend nearly to the inner cylindrical surface of the pan a as shewn.
Provision is made for setting them at any required angle so that the time during
which the ore-sand is retained below the surface of the mercury can be regulated.
A pulley h, a worm h¹, and a worm-wheel h³, or other suitable means, are
provided for rotating the said drum and blades slowly in the reverse direction to
that in which the vertical tube b rotates.
"I sometimes form one or more passages in the drum ƒ and tube b, as shewn by
dotted lines in Figure 2, to maintain a circulation of the mercury or other fluid
when the tube and drum are rotated. Each passage has at one side an extension or
projection f¹ to ensure the entrance of the fluid therein.
At the upper part of the pan a and in such a position as to be near, and above,
the surface of the mercury (when the pan is properly filled therewith) I provide a
pipe the mouth or orifice of which is flat and narrow. On the opposite side of the
pan and in the same horizontal plane, or nearly so, I arrange an outlet pipe or
passage which is connected with a concentrating chamber k. This part of the
apparatus is constructed of wrought iron or other suitable material and is divided,
at its lower portion, into two or more compartments by vertical partitions.
These partitions are each composed of a fixed plate and an adjustable plate l³,
the latter plate being secured by bolts & passing through slots therein. Each
compartment has a conical bottom k and a sliding door . A waste-pipe m is
introduced at the top of the said chamber opposite the pipe or passago j.
In using the above described machine, the ore-sand is fed into the hopper cat
the top of the revolving tube b and, passing down this tube to the injector e, is
centrifugally forced into the mercury, in which a space is created to receive it by
the peculiar form and action of the said injector. When entering the mercury, the
immediate tendency of the ore-sand is to rise rapidly to the surface thereof and thus
to escape too quickly for the precious metal to be properly extracted by
amalgamation; this premature escape is, however, prevented by the revolving
blades g which regulate the time of the retention of the ore in the mercury.
These blades can be varied or adjusted in respect of their number, their angle or
their velocity to suit different qualities of ore.
The sand, on reaching the surface of the mercury in the pan, encounters a blast
from the aforesaid air-supply-pipe i; this blast blows the sand through the pipe or
passage j and across the compartments of the concentrating chamber; the particles

page_text: of sand fall into the different compartments of the said chamber according to their
specific gravity, the light waste being conveyed by the air-current to the waste
pipe m, which is suitably arranged to conduct it away from the said concentrating
chamber.
The amalgam formed in the pan a settles in the conical bottom a' thereof and is
drawn off at convenient intervals through a valve or cock a* or other means
provided for this purpose. A pipe a' is provided for drawing off the liquid mercury
or other amalgamating agent when desired.
According to another part of my invention I provide for treating the ore-sand,
or the concentrated tailings from the above described machine, as follows, that is,
to say, I construct an apparatus as illustrated in Figures 10 and 11. This.
apparatus has two tanks n, n' constructed of wrought or cast iron and connected
by a tube o. In this tube and extending through the same I arrange a spiral
brush p, or a spiral blade, and in combination therewith I insert in the said. tube
pegs or pins q of copper or other suitable material, so arranged that they project
toward the centre of the tube as shewn. A feed-hopper r is fitted on the tank n
and I provide a worm or endless screw 8 and a worm-wheel s¹, or other suitable
gearing, for rotating the spiral brush or blade at any required speed. Below the
hopper r, the tube o is provided with a helical blade o' and the brush p is circular
at this part and completely covers the shaft pl. The tank n' and tube o are to bo
filled with mercury to the level of the upper portion of the said tube. A return
tube o* connects the two ends of the tube o to keep the mercury at the same level
in all parts throughout the said tube and the tank n¹, and cause a slow circulation
of the mercury to be maintained by the rotation of the brush p. A cock o¹ is
provided in this tube for regulating the roturn of the mercury. The tank n, as
shewn, is designed to serve as a support for the hopper and one end of the
tube o, and to receive any mercury that may overflow from the said tube. But the
said tank may, in some cases, be filled with mercury as well as the tank n' and
tubo o.
The sand or tailings are fed into the hopper r and, by the action of the revolving
spiral brush p and the circulation of the mercury, will be gradually drawn through
the tube o and the mercury to the tank n'; at this stage of the operation the
heavy amalgam drops to the bottom of the tank n', whenco it can be drawn off by
a valve or other suitable means. The light sand ascends to the surface of the
mercury, where it encounters a blast of air for which provision is made as shown
in Figures 1 and 2, or in any other suitable manner.
Having thus fully described my said invention and the manner of performing
the same I wish it understood that I claim;-
First. An amalgamating machine wherein the passage of the ore-sand through
the amalgamating fluid or agent is continuously retarded or controlled by a series
of revolving blades, or by a spiral brush, substantially as, and for the purposo,
above set forth.
Second. In a machine for extracting metals from their ores by amalgamation,
the use of a revolving pipe or tube and injector for forcing the sand under a head
of the amalgamating fluid or agent, in combination with screw-blades or vanos
arranged to rotate in the said Huid or agent for the purpose of retarding or
controlling the rising of the sand to the surface and for subdividing and
distributing the particles of the sand while subjected to the action of the said fluid
or agent.
Third. In an amalgamating machine, the combination, with an amalgamating
pan and a concentrating chamber substantially as described, of suitable means for
producing an air-blast over the surface of the mercury to convey the tailings from
the said pan into or through the said concentrating chamber.
Fourth. In an amalgamating machine, the provision of a return pipe or passage
to allow a slow circulation of the amalgamating fluid or agent to be maintained for
the purpose of passing ore-saud through the same, substantially as described.

page_text: Fifth. In an amalgamating machine, the combination of the rotating conical
pipe or tube with an injector for introducing the ore-sand into, or under, the
amalgamating fluid or agent by centrifugal force, substantially as set forth.
Sixth. For use in an amalgamating machine, the injector constructed substantially
as herein described.
Seventh. The amalgamating machine consisting of the parts constructed and
combined substantially as shewn in Figures 1 and 2 (or as modified in Figure 5)
and operating as set forth, for the purposes specified.
. Eighth. The amalgamating machine consisting of the parts constructed and
combined substantially as shewn in Figures 10 and 11 and operating as set forth,
for the purposes specified.
In witness whereof I the said Thomas Rowland Jordan have hereunto set my
hand and seal this Fifth day of May in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and eighty four:
THOMAS ROWLAND JORDAN (L.S.)