IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING COPPER ORES
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Richardson, of New Bridge Street, New-
castle-on-Tyne, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING COPPER
ORES."
Sealed the 27th October 1859, and dated the 23rd August 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Richardson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
23rd August 1859.
I, THOMAS RICHARDSON, of New Bridge Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne, do
hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING
COPPER ORES," to be as follows:―
I expose sulphuret of copper, more or less contaminated with sulphuret of
iron (copper pyrites) in tolerably fine powder mixed with muriate of soda or
potash, well moistened with water from time to time (or salt water may be
directly employed,) to a temperature not lower than about 80 degrees F., and
by preference as high as is consistent with the moist condition of the
materials. The mass is turned over as often as convenient. When the copper
has become soluble in water, the materials are lixiviated, and the copper,
which dissolves, may be precipitated by iron, or otherwise.
Also, I take copper ore which has been roasted, and from which the copper
soluble in water may have been extracted; or I take carbonate or oxide of
copper, more or less mixed in gangue, and mix it with copper or iron pyrites,
having previously reduced all the materials to powder. I then roast the mass
at a dull red heat, and thus a part or the whole of the remaining copper is
rendered soluble in water. I repeat this operation until all the copper becomes
soluble in water.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Richardson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 22nd February 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
RICHARDSON, of New Bridge Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Thomas Richardson, Her special licence that I, the said Thomas
Richardson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Thomas Richardson, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING COPPER ORES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Thomas Richardson, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
seals, 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 calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Richardson, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thercof, that is to say:-
I expose sulphuret of copper, more or less contaminated with sulphuret of
iron (copper pyrites) in tolerably fine powder, mixed with muriate of soda or
potash, well moistened with water from time to time, (or I use salt water)
to a temperature not lower than about 80° Fahrenheit, and as high as is
consistent with the moist condition of the materials. The mass is turned over
as often as convenient. When the copper has become soluble in water, the
materials are lixiviated, and the copper which dissolves may be precipitated by
iron or otherwise.

page_text: Also, I take copper ore which has been roasted, and from which the copper
soluble in water may have been extracted. Or, I take carbonate or oxide of
copper, more or less mixed with gangue, and mix it with about 10 per cent.
of copper or iron pyrites, having previously reduced all the materials to
powder; and I roast the mass at a dull red heat, by which a part or the
whole of the remaining copper is rendered soluble in water.
operation until all the copper becomes soluble in water.
I repeat this
Or, I take the above mixture of ore and pyrites, and treat it with muriate
of soda or potash, as previously described.
In carrying out the first process, I reduce the cupreous sulphuret to as fine
a powder as possible, and then mix it with about 10 per cent. of common salt.
It saves time to employ the common salt in solution in water, and sea-water
or brine liquors answer equally well as a solution made for this purpose by
dissolving any kind of common salt in water.
I find that the mineral in the state I prefer to use it absorbs about 20 per
cent. of its weight of water before it becomes sufficiently damp or moist for
the operation; and as this proportion of water is insufficient to hold as much
salt in solution as effects my process best, and as the quantity necessary to
yield the above proportion of salt renders the mass too damp, or even wet,
only so much of the saline solution must be thrown on the ore at one time as
will make it sufficiently moist or damp to the touch. As the water evaporates,
another portion of the saline solution is to be added with the same precaution,
and this is to be repeated until the proportion of salt above mentioned has
been applied. The mass of ore and salt is to be turned over with wooden or
copper shovels or other instruments, from time to time, so as to present a
fresh surface to the action of the air, and as often as possible. For the same
reason, the layer of materials ought not to be spread too thick, a depth of from
6 to 12 inches being well adapted for the promotion of the chemical action
which ensues. During the whole of the operation, the temperature of the
materials should not be allowed to fall below 80° Fahrenheit, nor to rise so
high as to cause a too rapid evaporation of the moisture. When the materials
appear dry, fresh quantities of water must be added, so as thoroughly to
moisten them, in which condition the process proceeds most rapidly. The
process ought also to be conducted in a locality which has a floor or bottom
impervious to water, and where the surrounding air can be maintained in a
moist state at nearly the same temperature as the materials. Muriate of
potash may be substituted for the common salt.
I will now describe the second part. I am aware that it has been proposed to
extract copper from its sulphurets by roasting; for the conversion of this metal

page_text: into a soluble sulphate I treat those ores which are used in the manufacture
of sulphuric acid in the form of large pieces in kilns. I extract, by water,
whatever portion of the metal is soluble, and reduce the residuum to powder.
This ground residuum I mix with fresh copper or iron pyrites in powder, in
the proportion of 10 per cent., and submit the mixture to a dull red heat in
an, ordinary reverberatory furnace. This roasted material is then treated with
water to remove the soluble salt of copper, and the process is repeated as
often as is necessary to separate all or nearly all of the copper in a form
soluble in water.
Or, I take any materials containing carbonate or oxide of copper and mix
them with about 10 per cent. of iron or copper pyrites. This mixture I grind
to a fine powder, roast, and lixiviate it, as already described. If the residuum
contains any copper in an insoluble form, I repeat the operation until I obtain
all or nearly all of the copper in the aqueous solution. Instead of these
repeated roastings of the above mixture of ore and pyrites, I employ the
process first described, and proceed to render the copper soluble in water by
means of muriate of soda or of potash, moisture, and a sufficient degree of
heat in a suitable locality.
In,all these operations, the copper gradually becomes soluble in water; and
the point at which the process is completed may be easily, ascertained by
treating an average sample of the mass with sufficient water to remove all the
soluble copper, then dissolving the. residuum in an acid, and adding ammonia,
when the well known blue color will be imparted to the liquid if any copper
be present.
i.
..
When the various operations are finished, the materials are thrown into
suitable shallow cisterns, and the copper dissolved out by means of water. It
is advisable to employ heat to assist the solution of the copper, and to perform
this operation in leaden cisterns with wooden utensils. I run the cupreous
solutions into cisterns,, and slightly acidulate the liquid with sulphuric
acid before precipitating the copper in the usual manner by means of iron
or zinc.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Richardson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of February; in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
.
THOMAS RICHARDSON. (L.B.)