Improvements in Dissolving, Leaching, and Filtering Ores or Minerals, and Apparatus for that Purpose.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Aug., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 4th Apr., 1894-Accepted, 25th May, 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by BENJAMIN THOMAS LACY, of San Francisco,
California, United States of America, Mining Engineer, and Dr. JOHN STORER,
of 29, Bligh Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Consulting Chemist and
Chemical Engineer.]
Improvements in Dissolving, Leaching, and Filtering Ores or
Minerals, and Apparatus for that Purpose.
I, OLIVER IMRAY, of No. 28, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the
County of London, Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to a process and apparatus for effecting, with economy of
time and labour, the dissolving, leaching and filtering of ores or minerals for
extracting, by the wet method, the metals contained in or associated with them.
For this purpose, steam pressure is applied to force solvent and other liquid
through the material treated, in apparatus of which a convenient arrangement is
the following.
A couple of closed tanks provided with filter bottoms are charged with the ore
or mineral, and to these are connected by pipes furnished with suitable valves or
cocks another couple of closed tanks one of which is charged with the solvent or
other liquid that has to be passed through the material. Each of the two latter
tanks is preferably made with a cylindrical body and a long conical head
terminating in a mouth in which is inserted a conical distributing nozzle. Steam
admitted to the tank containing liquid forces it through the mineral in the first
tank, through its filter bottom, through the mineral in the second tank and its
filter bottom, into the fourth tank. The valves in the connecting pipes are then so
set, that when steam is admitted to the fourth tank the liquid is forced from it
back to the tank in which it was originally contained. The valves being again
altered, the liquid is forced again through the mineral, and this can be repeated as
often as necessary. Water or other liquid, instead of solvent, can be forced
through for washing, and filtering can be effected by straining liquid through the
filter bottoms under steam pressure if required.
Dated this 23rd day of August 1893.
ABEL & IMKA),
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Dissolving, Leaching, and Filtering Ores or
Minerals, and Apparatus for that Purpose.
1, OLIVER IMRAY, of No. 28 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the
County of London, Chartered Patent Agent, 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 :-
This invention relates to a process and apparatus for effecting, with economy of
time and labour, the dissolving, leaching and filtering of ores or minerals for
extracting by the wet method, the metals contained in or associated with them.
For this purpose, steam pressure is applied to force solvent and other liquid
Price 8d1

page_text: through the material treated, in apparatus of which a convenient arrangement is
shewn in the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 is an elevation partly in section of the apparatus and
Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the steam distributor.
A A' are vessels or tanks into which the material to be operated on is charged.
Each tank is preferably cylindrical with ends B B B2 tapered as shewn. The
bottoms B are hinged at C to permit of easy emptying, the bottoms being lowered
by chains worked over pulleys D D' from the winches F F or from other suitable
hoisting and lowering gear. After emptying, the bottoms are hoisted back into
position and bolted. They are then ready for a fresh charge. Fixed near the top
of the ends B are false bottoms C C³, such as are used in lixiviation or filtering,
prepared as is customary and covered with any desired cloth, sacking or other
suitable filtering medium.
E E' are cylindrical vessels or tanks fitted with tapering tops H H' having their
sides preferably inclined about 75° from the horizontal.
An inverted cone J, shewn on an enlarged scale in Fig. 2, having preferably the
same taper as H, is fitted at the top of each tank E E¹.
Each cone serves in conjunction with the tops H H' as a distributor and equalizer
of the steam pressure upon the surface of the liquid contents of the tanks E E'.
Steam admitted into the distributor from the steam pipes L L' passes by lateral
inlets K into the tanks.
The steam pressure upon the dissolving, leaching or filtering liquid, with which
the tanks E and E¹ are nearly filled, forces the liquid into circulation as determined
by the regulation or adjustment of cocks or valves. Usually the liquid passes from
tank E into tank A thence into tank A¹ and finally into tank E'. By closing
valves or cocks N N¹ and opening valves or cocks X X the liquid, by turning on
the steam pressure from pipe L' is forced back through the pipe V into the tank E
from which it is again forced through the circuit as often as may be necessary.
The arrows drawn in full lines indicate the course of the liquid through
tanks E A A¹ to tank E', and the dotted arrows show its course from tank E¹ back
to tank E. OO' are drain taps to drain off solutions from the ends B', before
emptying such solid contents as may be in tanks A A'. From tanks E and E¹
or either of them by means of steam pressure, applied as before described, the
liquid may be forced out through pipes P and P.
SS' are charging manholes. TT are pipes through which tanks E and E¹ are
filled and which also may be used as steam escape pipes. W W' are gauge glasses
to shew level of liquid.
The material employed in the construction of the apparatus may be suited to the
character of the solution or solutions used or the operations to be performed, lining,
being applied when necessary.
An air vessel R may be applied as shewn and a spreader Y in the tank A. The
tank A¹ has preferably a tapered top B2 similar to H and H'.
Various combinations of parts may obviously be arranged to suit various
conditions. For washing, the same procedure is employed as for dissolving.
Solutions or liquids containing insoluble or suspended matters may be filtered
directly through the filter beds C C'.
I have described the method and apparatus as being carried out by means of
steam pressure but obviously they might be operated with compressed air or other
suitable gas or vapour capable of giving the required pressure.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The herein described process for dissolving, leaching or filtering, by applying
the pressure of steam or other elastic fluid to cause the liquid solvent to pass
repeatedly through the material to be dissolved, or the solution to pass through
a filter.

page_text: 2. Apparatus for effecting the above process constructed and operating substan-
tially as described with reference to the drawings.
3. In the apparatus above referred to, the combination of the tapered distributing
nozzle with the correspondingly tapered top of the tank, substantially as described.
Dated this 2nd day of April 1894.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.