AN IMPROVED METHOD OR MEANS OF DRESSING ORES AND SEPARATING METALS OR MINERALS FROM OTHER SUBSTANCES
Year: 1841

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
BRUNTON, of Neath, in the County of Glamorgan, Engineer, send greeting...
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Second day of November, in the
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said William Brunton, Her especial licence that I,
the said William Brunton, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Brunton, my exors, admors, and assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
timės during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully.
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England and Wales and the Town
of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "AN IMPROVED METHOD OR MEANS OF
DRESSING ORES AND SEPARATING METALS OR MINERALS FROM OTHER SUBSTANCES;"
in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso, obliging me, the
said William Brunton, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be
enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said recited Letters
Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto. had, will more fully
and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Brunton, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and

page_text: the manner in which the same is to be performed, are described and ascertained
in the Drawings in the margin hereof, or annexed hereto, and the words
following (that is to say):-
The materials containing the ore, minerals, or metal, being first separated
into classes, of the same bulk as nearly as can be, by seives, constructed
as herein-after to be described, are precipitated at proper intervals and
in certain quantities--through water, and as the particles descend they
are deposited in separate vessels, according to their specific gravity, or to
the time they take in falling. Or the materials containing the ores, minerals,
or metals, without being separated by seives (but broken, if need be, into
pieces of not larger bulk than will pass through a hole of three-eighths of an
inch diameter) are precipitated at proper intervals and in certain quantities
through water, and as the particles descend they are deposited and classified in
separate vessels, according to the time they take in falling, and are afterwards
separated as to their specific gravity or mineral worth, by seives or by other
means to be herein-after described.
J... :
To effect the deposition into separate vessels, as. above set forth, I
construct a tank capable of holding water,, either as a separate vessel or by
excavating a pit in the ground. In this tank or pit, I fix perpendicularly what
I call the precipitating trunk, namely, a hollow box of timber, from ten to
twenty feet in height, its horizontal section round or oblong.. When the
precipitating trunk is cylindrical, I place at the bottom of. it a conical shoot or
inclined channel (the inclination of the sides thereof should not be less than
sixty degrees from the horizon) made of sheet copper or of timber lined with
sheet copper, moveable upon a pivot concentric with the trunk, and capable by
a rod or spindle from the top of being quickly moved round to any point in its
range, so that particles falling upon it, viz, the moveable shoot, shall fall into
inclined radial fixed channels, at the lower end of which are suspended
or attached tubs or vessels to receive the materials deposited, as shewn in
Figures (1, 2, 3,) and Figure (4,) which, for the sake of perspicuity, I number
one, two, three, four, five, and six. At the top of the precipitating. trunk, and
about two inches under the surface of the water, when the tank and trunk are
full, I construct a table of wood, three inches thick, through which are radial
openings, the wider end of which should not exceed six inches, and rather less
than the solid part between, so that a bottom shutter, having openings in it of
the same dimensions as those in the table, shall, when turned with its solid
compartments under the openings of the table, close them, and form so many
boxes for the quantities of materials to be precipitated at the same time; the
shutter is made of wood, faced with sheet copper or brass, and moveable and
held up to the table by means of a hollow centrepiece passing up through the
...'

page_text: table, with a lever or handle upon it; also through the hollow of the centre piece
the spinale of the shoot ascends, having also a lever or handle upon it. Along
the sides of the radial openings in the table, towards which the shutter moves in
opening, and also at the ends, I form behind a lining of sheet copper a space
about half an inch wide, to' receive a packing of hemp or oakum, by which
the ore is prevented from getting between the table and the shutter and
impeding its movement, Figures (22, 23). These boxes in the table being
closed and charged, and the tank and trunk being full of water; the shutter is
suddenly moved, with its openings against those in the table, when the
materials fall through; and from that instant the time of falling is computed
by a stop watch or a pendulum within sight of the operator, at whose will all
that falls within ten seconds may be deposited in the first vessel of deposition,
or Number One, and all that falls between ten seconds and twenty seconds
into Number Two, and all that falls between twenty seconds and thirty seconds
into Number Three, and so on, dividing the quantity of materials precipitated
into as many portions as may be desirable, and varying the times of moving
the shoot to suit the nature of the materials operated upon; or I move the
shoot mechanically, by a weight suspended to a rope or chain coiled round a
barrel, attached to the spinale of the shoot by a ratchet wheel and spring
catch (that the weight may be wound up without moving the shoot). Also I
fix upon the spindle of the shoot, at equal distances from each other, as many
detents as there are vessels of deposition, and mark them with corresponding
numbers, viz, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, expressive of the order in which they act in the
operation. These detents are placed sideways with respect to each other, and
operated upon by two stop catches alternately, that is, one catch operates upon
Numbers 1, 3, 5, and the other upon Numbers 2, 4, 6, see Figures (22, 23).
The shutter of the charging table is also operated upon by a weight so attached
as by its falling will open the shutter, but which is kept shut by a stop catch,
to be acted upon when the materials are ready to be precipitated, Figure (23).
When I make the precipitating trunk oblong, I slope the bottom of it the
narrow way, inclining it not less than sixty degrees from the horizon, and
cover it with sheet copper, which projects through a low aperture extending
the whole width of the side of the trunk for the exit of the ore and materials
as they fall; and I place under the edge of the sloping bottom a hollow
channel of sheet copper suspended upon an axis, and thereby moveable at will,
and made to convey the ores and materials into any one of the apertures fixed
within the range of its lower opening, which range should not exceed thirty
degrees each side of the perpendicular. These apertures are the upper ends of
so many distinct and fixed shoots, to the lower ends of which are suspended

page_text: or attached tubs or vessels to receive the materials as they are separated
and deposited.
For the sake of perspicuity, I assume that there shall be five fixed shoots and
vessels of deposition, and number the same 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, expressive of the order
in which they are discharged into. Upon the end of the axis of the hollow
channel I fix a lever and joint, with a rod ascending through the water to the
top, and connect it by a joint to another lever loaded at one end so as to pro-
duce a constant tendency to turn the hollow channel to the aperture Number 5,
but having five detents, each numbered, and adapted to detain the hollow
channel against its respective aperture, by the operation of two stop catches
acting alternately, that is, one catch operating upon the detents Numbers 1, 3, 5,
and the other upon the detents No. 2 and 4, Figure (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10). At the top
of an oblong precipitating trunk, and about two inches under the surface of the
water, when the tank and trunk are full, I construct a frame or box of the
same dimensions as the area of the trunk and about two inches deep. The
bottom of this box is a solid sliding shutter faced with copper or brass, and
which in its place forms the floor or bottom of the box, for the charge of the
materials about to be operated upon; and in order that they may be prevented
moving with the shutter, but fall uniformly through the centre area of the box,
thin divisions of copper or brass are fixed in it longways, close down upon the
shutter, and about two inches asunder. On the side of the box under which
the shutter is drawn, I form behind a lining of sheet copper a space of about
one inch and a half wide for a packing of hemp or oakum similar to
that already described, as applied to the radial openings of the table for the
cylindrical trunk, Figures (24, 25). When the materials are precipitated the
shutter is withdrawn the whole width of the opening by means of a weight
fixed upon a lever, having a detent operated upon by a stop catch, by which
the shutter is detained in its place until the catch is moved for the purpose of
precipitation, from which instant the time of falling is computed; and by
having handles to the three stop catches, this machine may be operated upon
by hand at the will of the operator, as has already been described in relation to
that having a cylindrical trunk.
To operate at proper times upon the stop catches belonging to the
precipitating tables, the moveable shoot of the round trunk, or the suspended
channel of the oblong trunk, I construct a barrel like that of a hand organ,
which shall revolve in a fixed period of time, and for convenience divide
its circumference into three hundred and sixty equal parts, expressive of
seconds or of any other portion of time, being the three hundred and
sixtieth part of an entire revolution. Each revolution shall occupy the

page_text: precise time needful for the disposition of one charge of ore, including besides
the times for moving the shoot or the suspended channel, about half a minute
of the operator, to prepare for the next operation; by closing the shutter and
charging the precipitating box, and raising the weight which turns the shoot or
the suspended channel. Upon the barrel there is one fixed pin which at the
beginning of each revolution acts upon the catch of the precipitating shutter,
and there are as many moveable rings, having each a pin in it, as there are
vessels of deposition or movements to be communicated to the stop catches,
which pins can be moved to and fixed at any part of the circumference of the
barrel, so as to act upon its relative detent or catch at the times previously
fixed upon by the operator, Figure (26). I communicate motion to the barrel,
which I call the chronometric barrel, by a small and uniform stream of
water falling upon a water wheel, by the revolutions of which and the well-
known medium of wheel-work, suitable velocity is given to the said barrel;
and as this will vary with different descriptions of ores, (such as a revolu-
tion in two minutes, in three minutes, in four minutes, and in six minutes,)
the time of the revolution of the barrel will be regulated by a water
valve or stopcock upon the pipe or trough by which water is conveyed
to the wheel, which, together with all the communicating machinery,
should be supported upon fine steel pivots and brass bearings, to neu-
tralize the effect of friction as much as possible. And in order to supply
a simple and efficient method of adjusting by a stop watch or common pen-
dulum clock, beating seconds, the speed of a water wheel to this purpose, I
fix upon the chronometric barrel a ring having two series of teeth equally
divided, one having three hundred and sixty teeth, the other two hundred and
forty teeth. When it is required that the barrel should make one revolution
in two minutes, then a light spring applied to the two hundred and forty circle
of teeth will beat half seconds, when the water upon the wheel is properly
adjusted. When the barrel is to revolve in three minutes, then the spring
applied to the circle of three hundred and sixty teeth will also beat half
seconds. When the barrel is to revolve in four minutes, then the spring upon
the two hundred and forty tooth circle will beat seconds; and when a revolution
is made in six minutes, the spring placed upon the three hundred and sixty
tooth circle will also beat seconds. The divisions of these rings being numbered
serve also to fix the relative positions of the pins for operating upon the catches
of the shoots or of the suspended channel. Or, I communicate motion to the
barrel by wheel-work, acted upon by a weight and regulated by a pendulum,
like a common clock. But I connect the wheel-work by means of a small
crank and connecting rod to the pendulum rod, having an intermediate spring
to compensate for the variation between the reciprocating and rotative motions.

page_text: and thereby give a more uniform progressive motion to the barrel than would
be obtained by the ordinary escapements. The dimensions of the precipitating
trunk may be varied to suit the quantity and nature of the materials to be
separated, which, if any of its parts be larger than would pass through a hole
of one third of an inch diameter, should be broken. A precipitating table of
three feet diameter, or of one foot six inches by.four feet, will. contain from
fifty-six to one hundred and twelve pounds of materials for one operation,
which seldom exceeds two minutes and a half. For tubs of deposition, I prefer
conical tubs made of sheet iron, suspended by a strong shank, about one and a
half the whole depth of the tub, rivetted to the middle of the bottom, and to each
tub or chain, sheave, and-windlass, so fixed above the machine, that when the tub
is lowered to its proper depth it shall hang directly under the discharging shoot,
with sufficient room to be drawn from under when the tub is to be raised.
Or, I deliver the materials separated or classified into fixed close vessels of
deposition, capable of containing several tons of ores, having stop valves whereby
the communication between the machine and any of the deposition vessels may
be stopped until the contents are discharged through a bottom opening, which,
when the vessel is at work, is stopped by a wooden plug. See Figure (27).
In operating by the separating machine upon ores or materials pre-
viously classified as to their bulk by the operation of seives, the conditions
governing the times of their falling, viz., their specific gravity and their
bulk, are so numerous and variable, that it is impracticable to specify
times applicable to the immense variety that is to be found; but in order to
ascertain with facility and precision the proper times to move the shoot or the
suspended channel, adapted to the beneficial separation of ores or minerals of
every class or admixture, I construct a. small precipitating machine, having
the precipitating trunk or pipe of sheet copper, of about four inches and a
half diameter, of the same height as the large machine, with a small cistern at
the top to cover the charging or precipitating table with water, having also
a moveable shoot at bottom, with a rod ascending through the centre of the pipe
or trunk and also of the charging table, which, with the exception of
the packings of oakum, is constructed in the same manner as that already
described for the cylindrical trunk. The bottom shoot is enclosed in a
water-tight case, the bottom of which is formed into six conical cups
uniting their edges under the range of the end of the shoot; at the bottom of
each cup there is a stopcock, large enough in the opening to let the largest
pieces of ore pass freely through, and the bottom ends of the cocks are
furnished with screwed collars into which six flint glass bottles are cemented,
and the whole made water-tight, and supported upon a platform by six uprights,
Figures (11, 12, 13): The machine thus constructed and filled with water, and

page_text: the stopcocks open, a small quantity, as a sample, of the ores or materials to
be separated is put into the charging table and precipitated, and is permitted
all to fall into the same bottle; the time of the deposition of the first and last
portions being noted by a stop watch, the operator will acquire the knowledge of
the time required for this class of materials to fall from first to last; thus,
supposing the first portion arrives in the bottle in fifteen seconds and the last
in thirty seconds, then the same sample is taken from the bottle and again
precipitated while 'the shoot stands over Number One bottle seventeen seconds
from the time of precipitation, therefore the portion of ores falling two seconds
from the first arrival will be deposited in the first bottle. The shoot then
being moved over No. 2 bottle shall stand, suppose for twenty seconds, therefore
all that falls between.seventeen seconds, and twenty seconds will be deposited
in No. 2 bottle, and by dividing the time between twenty seconds and thirty
seconds into two, three, or four parts, the remainder of the materials will be
likewise separated and deposited in as many bottles. The specific gravity of
the first of these: will be the greatest, and the specific gravity of the last the
least, while the intermediate portions will be of different gravities ranging
between them. The operator cannot fail to learn by a few trials conducted
after this manner, the times at which the shoot should be moved to separate
most beneficially one character of material from another, as copper ore from
quartz, or the metallic from the mere earthy part of any admixture of ores or
materials, and that these times being fixed and recorded, the same time will
produce upon the same class..of materials the same results with the large
machine. The operation of the precipitating machine upon ores or minerals
which have not been previously assorted as to..their bulk, separates them into
classes of particles falling in like times, therefore differing in bulk inversely as
their specific gravities, in which state they are peculiarly adapted to a sub-
sequent process of separation, either by seives or by washing, and the more so
according to the shortness of the period of deposition into such vessel. But
the most beneficial times will be best ascertained by a trial of a sample of
the materials upon the auxilliary machine, as already explained.
For the purpose of separating ores or materials containing metals or minerals
into classes of the same bulk, I construct a series of square or oblong seives fixed
one above another, having spaces of one inch and a half between, and gradually
diminishing in the 'size' of their meshes from the uppermost to the undermost;
the whole being in a cistern of water, and shaken whilst the ores or materials
distributed upon the upper seive are divided into as many classes as to their bulk
as there are seives in the series. For the purpose of thus agitating, but more
especially for discharging, the ores so classified and divided into separate.

page_text: compartments, I communicate a motion to the whole series, by which it
alternately is depressed and elevated, and in the direction of the length of the
seives moved backward and forward. By their depression the water is urged
up through the seives and floats or bears up the particles of ore or materials
from off the surface of the seives, and during the time they are so suspended
by the water the seives move backward, so that when they are elevated the
particles of ore or materials rest upon them in positions more in advance
toward the end over which they are to be discharged than they occupied
before the seives were depressed, inasmuch as they moved backwards
under the ores, whilst they were borne up by the water. By a repetition
of these movements the ores or materials are divided into classes; and
urged forward to the ends of the respective seives, which project over
each other so far, that all that falls from them individually may be
delivered into separate compartments, which for convenience are. num-
bered consecutively; and their contents being withdrawn by a rakė, are
removed to separate places ready for the operation of the precipitating machine,
or as dressed ore and refuse, as the case may be. I communicate the motions
as above set forth, by connecting the end of the series of seives to cranks or
eccentrics revolving in the same direction and time, and acting simultaneously
upon each end of the series, and may be driven by manual labor, but more
efficiently by a more regular and uniform power, as a water wheel or steam
engine (Fig. 18, 19, 20, 21).
For the purpose of separating ores or minerals by washing, I construct
a square or oblong cistern to be filled with water, in which, suspended
by four chains, is a table about seven feet long, inclined in the direction
of its length, in which direction also a slight percutient movement is
communicated to it, whereby the ore uniformly discharged upon the higher end
of the table is made to progress to the lower end of it in a continuous stream
or current, and there deposited. The course over which the current of ore
proceeds is slightly indented lengthways with grooves; and parallel with and
about six inches from this course there is a deep groove or channel into which
the earthy matter is washed from the ore during its passage along the inclined
table by a cross stream of water, and conveyed in the said channel to the bottom
of the table, where it is deposited in a vessel separate from the one receiving the
As the size of the grooves along the course of the ore should be somewhat
proportionate to the size of the particles of the ore to be dressed thereupon, I
make that part of the table loose so that it may be changed or renewed at pleasure.
Upon the same table there may be several distinct streams of ore, and channels
for earthy matter, as described, all operated upon by the same cross stream of,
ore.

page_text: water, which cross stream constitutes what I claim as new in this machine.
To produce this stream, the cistern in which the inclined table already
described is suspended I divide by a partition extending the whole length of
the cistern, and close against the side of the table. In this partition, or in
some other convenient place, I fix a paddle wheel and race suited to its diameter,
whereby, upon turning the wheel, the water is taken from one side and delivered
into the other side of the partition. Upon the inclined table I fix two boards
of timber about six inches high, extending all across it, and about eighteen
inches asunder on their lower edges, having openings over each of the courses
on which the ores progress sufficiently high to let the ores pass under; between
these boards a cover is fitted the whole width of the table, with convenient
screws or other means of raising or lowering the cover, as occasion may require.
The space so enclosed under the cover, or what I call the trunk of the cross
stream, having against its end a corresponding opening through the partition,
when the paddle wheel is turned with proper velocity a stream of water is pro-
pelled across the table-sufficiently strong to sweep off the earthy particles from
the ore into the wide groove or channel. The velocity of the cross stream is
regulated either by the speed of the paddle wheel, or by the raising or lowering
of the cover, thereby enlarging or contracting the area of the trunk. That the
inclination of the table may be adjusted to that best suited to the ore to be
operated upon, at the same time maintain a free and sufficient opening for the
water through the partition, a hole is made in it large enough to comprehend
the area of the trunk of the cross stream at all needful acclivities. To close
or cover a portion of this large opening a board is projected from the table down-
ward, and from the upper sides of the trunk upward, and close against or near
to the partition, so as sufficiently to close the opening and maintain the stream,
through the trunk; the paddle wheel may be driven by a water wheel or steam
engine, or other power communicating a uniform velocity (Fig. 14, 15, 16, 17).
Having now described the various means I use in dressing ores and separating
metals or minerals from other substances, I wish to be clearly understood that
for these purposes I claim as new the free precipitation of the ores or materials
in water, and the separation of them according to the times of their falling, as
the same is effected by the means already described and set forth in the Draw-
ings upon the margin hereof, or annexed hereto. That I do not claim as new
the combination of seives, or the simultaneous agitation of them, so as to
separate the ores or materials into distinct classes. But I claim only the
method of discharging the classified ores or materials from the respective seives
into separate compartments by the motion described, in conjunction with the
action of the water. The only part of the ore washing machine which I claim

page_text: matter; d, a piece of timber for the table to strike against; e, shaft and
cam for agitating the table; f, partition; g, paddle wheel; h, opening in
the partition for water; 1, trunk of the cross stream; m, corresponding
opening in the partition; n, n, n, places into which the ore falls; o, the.
place into which the earthy matter falls.
(L.s.) WILLIAM BRUNTON.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-eighth day of April, in the
year of our Lord 1842, the aforesaid William Brunton came before our said
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification aforesaid,
and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above written.
And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of
the Statute made for that purpose.