AN IMPROVED METHOD OR MEANS OF DRESSING ORES, AND SEPARATING METALS OR MINERALS FROM OTHER SUBSTANCES
Year: 1842

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 Nineteenth day of May, 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 license, that I, the
said William Brunton, my exors, adiñors, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Brunton, my exors, adññiors, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term
of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within all our Colonies and Plantations abroad, and in the Isles of
Man, Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, and Sark, 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 four
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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, 1, the said
William Brunton, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are described and
ascertained by the Drawing 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 sieves 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 sepa-
rated by sieves, but broken, if need be, to 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 afterward separated, as to their specific gravity
or mineral worth, by sieves or by other means to be herein-after described. 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 pit or tank I fix perpendicularly what I call the
precipitating trunk, viz., 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 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. At
the top of the precipitating trunk, and about two inches under the surface of
the water when the tank or 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 quantity of materials to
be precipitated at the same time. The shutter is made of wood, faced with

page_text: sheet copper or brass, and moveable, and held up to the table by means of a
hollow center piece passing up through the table, with 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 of 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, Figure (21). 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 in ten
seconds may be deposited into the first vessel of deposition, or No. 1, and all
that falls between ten seconds and twenty seconds into No. 2, and all that falls
between twenty seconds and thirty seconds into No. 3, and so on, dividing the
quantity of materials precipitated into as many portions as it 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 spindle 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 Nos. 1, 3, 5, and the other upon Nos. 2, 4, 6, see Figures (21 and
22). 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, Figures
(21 and 22). 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 or materials into any one of the apertures fixed within
the range of its lower opening, which range should not exceed thirty degrees
each side the perpendicular. These apertures are the upper ends of so many
distinct and fixed shoots, to the lower ends of which are suspended or attached
tubs or vessels to receive the materials as they are separated and deposited.

page_text: 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, 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 No. 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 alter-
nately, that is, one catch operating upon the detents Nos. 1, 3, 5, and the other
upon the detents Nos. 2 and 4, Figures (5, 6, 7, 8, 9). 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 when 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 entire 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 and a half inch
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
(23 and 24). 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
á 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 sixtyeth part of
an entire revolution; each revolution shall occupy the precise time needful for
the deposition of one charge of ore, including, besides the times for moving the
shoot or suspended channel, about half a minute, for the operator to prepare for
the next operation by closing the shutter, and charging the precipitating box,

page_text: 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 revo-
lutions of which and the well-known medium of wheelwork, suitable velocity
is given to the said barrel, and as this will vary with different descriptions of
ores (such as a revolution 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 stop-cock upon the pipe or trough, by which water is con-
veyed to the wheel, which, together with all the communicating machinery,
should be supported upon fine steel pivots and brass bearings to neutralize the
effects of friction as much as possible. And in order to supply a simple and
efficient method of adjusting by a stop watch or common pendulum 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 teeth circle
will beat also 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 shoot, or of the suspended channel. Or I communicate notion
to the barrel by wheelwork acted upon by a weight, and regulated by a
pendulum, like a common clock, but I connect the wheelwork by means
of a small crank and connecting rod to the pendulum rod, having an
intermediate spring to compensate for the variation between the recipro-
cating and rotative motions, 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

page_text: 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 dia-
meter, 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 and a
half minutes. 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 a 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 (26). In operating by the
separating machine upon ores or materials previously classified as to their
bulk by the operation of sieves, 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 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 a pipe of sheet copper of about four
and a half inches diameter of the same height as the large machine, with a
small cistern at top to cover the charging or precipitating table with water,
having also a moveable shoot at bottom, with a rod ascending through the
center of the pipe or trunk, and also of the charging table, which, with the
exception of the packing of oakum, is contructed 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-shaped cups
uniting their edges under the range of the end of the shoot; at the bottom
of each cup their is a stop-cock 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, 11, 12). The machine thus constructed and filled with water,
and the stop-cocks 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

page_text: all to full 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 No. 1 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 till 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 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 metalic
from the merely earthy part of any admixture of ores or materials, and that'
these times being fixed and recorded, the same times will produce upon the
same class of materials the same results with the large machine. The opera-
tion 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 subsequent process of
separation, either by sieves 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 material with the
auxiliary machine, as already explained.
For the purpose of separating ores and materials containing metals or
minerals into classes of the same bulk, I construct a series of square or
oblong sieves, fixed one above another, having spaces of one and a half
inches 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 sieve are
divided into as many classes as to their bulk as there are sieves in the series.
For the purpose of thus agitating, but more especially for discharging the ores
so classified or divided into separate compartments, I communicate a motion
to the whole series, by which it is alternately depressed and elevated, and in

page_text: the direction of the length of the sieves moved backward and forward. By
their depression the water is urged up through the sieves, and floats or bears
up the particles of ore or materials from off the surface of the sieves, and
during the time they are so suspended by the water the sieves 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 dis-
charged than they occupied before the sieves were depressed, inasmuch as they
moved backward 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 end of the respective sieves, which project over each other.
so far that all that falls from them individually may be delivered into separate
compartments, which for convenience are numbered consecutively, and their
contents withdrawn by a rake, 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
ends of the series of sieves 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 labour, but more efficiently by a more regular and
uniform power, as a water wheel or steam engine, Figures (17, 18, 19, 20).
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 that one receiving the ore.
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 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

page_text: length of the cistern, and close against the side of the table. In this partition;
or in 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; b tween
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
propelled 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 which best suits 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 pro-
jected from the table downward, and from the upper side 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, Figures 13, 14, 15, 16.
Having now described the various means I use in dressing ores, and. sepa-
rating metals or minerals from other substances, I wish to 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 or set
forth in the Drawings upon the margin hereof or annexed hereto; that I do
not claim as new the construction of sieves, 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 sieves into separate compartments, by the motions described, in con-
junction with the action of the water. The only part of the ore-washing
machine which I claim as new is the application of the cross stream of water,
all the other parts of this machine having been, as I believe, known and used

page_text: before, and are only described by me for the sake of explaining the application
of my Invention, viz., of the cross stream of water.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Brunton, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Fifteenth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-two.
Reference to Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4:-A, tank; B, precipitating trunk; C, cover
of the tank; D, surface of ground; (a), precipitating table; (b), shutter of
ditto; (c), spindle of conical shoot; (d), handle of the precipitating shutter ;
(e), handle of the conical shoot; (f), conical shoot; (g, g, &c.), six radial
fixed shoots; (h, h, &c.), suspended tubs of deposition; (k),"stage for ore;*(l),
charging shoot; (m, m, &c.), openings in cover of tank; (n), stage; (0, 0, &c.),
poles for the support of ditto; (s, 3), sheeves, &c.; (p, p), cranes; (u), pivot of
conical shoot; (v), collar for ditto.
References to Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9:-A, tank; B, precipitating trunk; C,
cover of the tank; a, precipitating table; b, shutter for ditto; d, rod and lever
for opening ditto; e, rod uniting lever (e) with the suspended hollow channel
(f); 9, 9, inclined channels and shoots to convey the ore to vessels (h); k,
chronometric barrel; 1, alternate stop catches; m, the stop-catch of the
precipitating shutter.
Reference to Figs. 10, 11, 12:-a, a cistern at the top of the precipitating
pipe; b, a rod by which the shoot is turned to any of the cocks (e) by the
handle (c); j, a pipe in which the pivot of the shoot turns; f, glass bottle;
g, enclosing case of copper; h, supports.
References to Figures 17, 18, 19, 20:-A, cistern; a, a series of flat sieves;
b, b, four levers, by which the sieves are suspended to; c, c, two shafts, levers,
and balance weights; d, d, two crank shafts attached to the levers (b, b);
e, driving shaft and fly wheel; f, f, compartments for the reception of the
classified ores; 9, 9, divisions of copper plates.
References to Fig" 13, 14, 15, 16:-A, oblong cistern; B, race of paddle
wheel; a, inclined table; b, b, b, course on which the ores progress; c, c, c,
deep grooves for earthy matter; d, 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; l, trunk of the cross stream;
m, corresponding opening into the partition; n, m, n, places into which the ore
falls; o, place into which the earthy matter falls.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Fifteenth day of September,
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.
Inrolled the Seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord One