Process for the Treatment of Nickeliferous Iron Ores.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 18th July, 1894
Complete Specification Left, 29th Feb., 1895-Accepted, 13th Apr.. 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Process for the Treatment of Nickeliferous Iron Ores.
I, WILLIAM TAYLOR GIBBS, of the Town of Buckingham, County of Ottawa
and Province of Quebec, in the Dominion of Canada do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows :-
The process consists in roasting the crude ore, crushed so as to pass through
a sieve having meshes one quarter of an inch square, in a furnace the temperature
of which is easily controlled. At a bright red heat the sulphides of iron, nickel and
copper are converted into their respective oxides.
The granulated ore as it comes from the furnace is finely pulverised and when
quite cold is extracted in a closed cast iron percolator with aqueous ammonia
of about 900 s.g.
The oxides of copper & nickel are dissolved by the aqueous ammonia, whilst the
ferric oxide and gangue are left as a residue.
The clear ammoniacal solution which contains all the nickel & copper originally
present in the ore, is next subjected to fractional distillation in a series of three
cast iron retorts, each retort being provided with a condensing and absorbing
apparatus for the purpose of catching the ammonia gas.
The three retorts may be connected together and the solution allowed to flow
slowly through them.
In the first retort oxide or hydrate of nickel is deposited, in the second retort a
mixture of oxides of copper and nickel and in the third retort pure oxide of
copper.
As the solution flows from the last retort it should contain only a trace of
ammonia gas.
The oxides are removed from the first and last retorts, washed & reduced to their.
respective metals. The mixed oxides in the middle retort are returned to the next
batch of ore in the percolators.
The mixed oxides should only be a very small proportion of the total oxides
separated, as by carefully conducting the operation an almost quantitative separation
may be obtained.
Dated this Second day of July 1894.
Process for the Treatment of Nickeliferous Iron Ores.
I, WILLIAM TAYLOR GIBBS, of the Town of Buckingham, County of Ottawa
and Province of Quebec in the Dominion of Canada, 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:-
The process consists in roasting the crude ore crushed so as to pass through a
sieve having meshes one quarter of an inch square, in a furnace the temperature of
which is easily controlled. At a bright red heat the sulphides of iron, nickel and
copper are converted into their respective oxides.

page_text: The granulated ore as it comes from the furnace is finely pulverised and when
quite cold is extracted in a closed cast iron percolator with aqueous ammonia of
about 900 s.g.
The oxides of copper and nickel are dissolved by the aqueous ammonia, whilst the
ferric oxide and gangue are left as a residue.
The clear ammoniacal solution which contains all the nickel and copper originally
present in the ore, is next subjected to fractional distillation in a series of three cast
iron retorts, each retort being provided with a condensing and absorbing apparatus
for the purpose of catching the ammonia gas.
The three retorts may be connected together and the solution allowed to flow
slowly through them.
In the first retort oxide or hydrate of nickel is deposited, in the second retort a
mixture of oxides of copper and nickel and in the third retort pure oxide of
copper.
As the solution flows from the last retort it should contain only a trace of
ammonia gas.
The oxides are removed from the first and last retorts, washed and reduced to
their respective metals. The mixed oxides in the middle retort are returned to the
next batch of ore in the percolators.
The mixed oxides should only be a very small proportion of the total oxides
separated, as by carefully conducting the operation an almost quantitative separation
may be obtained.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what 1
claim is :-
:-
The process of separating nickel oxide and copper oxide from ores and separating
nickel oxide and copper oxide from each other consisting in treating the roasted ore
with ammonia, and the fractional distillation of the solution in its passage through
a number of retorts connected with each other, and provided with means of
condensation for the volatilised ammonia, as described.
Dated this Twenty-eighth day of February 1895.