AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR SEPARATING ORES, METALS, AND OTHER HEAVY SUBSTANCES FROM MUD, SAND, GRAVEL, STONES, AND OTHER IMPURITIES
Year: 1852

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer,
for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR SEPARATING ORES,
METALS, AND OTHER HEAVY SUBSTANCES FROM MUD, SAND, GRAVEL,
STONES, AND OTHER IMPURITIES."-A communication.
Sealed the 5th March 1853, and dated the 19th October 1852.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 19th October 1852.
I, WILLIAM NEWTON, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR SEPARATING ORES, METALS,
AND OTHER HEAVY SUBSTANCES FROM MUD, SAND, GRAVEL, STONES, AND
OTHER IMPURITIES," to be as follows:-
The machine or apparatus which forms the subject of this Invention
consists principally of a shallow circular vessel or dish, having a flat or
concave bottom, with its sides inclining outwards from the bottom to
the upper edge thereof. Within the vessel, either upon the bottom or

page_text: (preferably) upon the sides, are fixed numerous conductors, each made
of a trough-shape, or like the half of a tube placed with the concavity
downward, and the conductors are arranged tangentially all round the
vessel, so that each shall overlap the one that precedes it. The vessel
is affixed to the lower end of a vertical shaft, which can be caused
to rotate by turning a winch handle connected therewith by suitable
gearing. The vessel being submerged in water, either in another
containing vessel, or in a stream or river, rotary motion is communicated
to it, the substances to be operated upon being thrown in promiscuously.
The centrifugal force cansed by the rotation of the vessel carries the
lighter particles over the edge. The heavy substances to be retained
falling to the bottom, are afterwards, as the rotary motion continues,
thrown to the periphery, and being caught by the conductor upon which
they strike, pass along it till they reach that end of it which is nearest
the centre of the pan. The revolution continuing in the passage of the
remaining particles from one conductor to another, the outflowing
current of water performs the operation of sifting out the remainder of
the lighter particles, which are discharged over the side On the rotary
motion ceasing, the ores and other heavy substances to be retained
fall to the bottom, and are then collected.
When the machine is to be used for washing ores which contain,
along with the earthy and gravelly impurities, stones, &c. too large to
be thrown out by centrifugal force, the bottom of the pan is covered by
a moveable sieve which lies below the conductors. After the stones
from which the earth has been washed away bave accumulated to such
an extent as to appear to interfere with the action of the conductors,
the rotation of the vessel is stopped; the sieve is then raised by means
of an upright handle, and suspended thereby from a hook pon the
vertical shaft of the vessel, while the stones, &c. upon the sieve are
examined, and any pieces of ore or metal that are too large to pass
through the sieve are removed, after which, by three or four sudden
revolutions of the shaft, the stones are discharged over the side of the
vessel. The rotation being stopped, the sieve is replaced on the bottom
of the pan, and the process continues as before.
.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William. Newton in. the Great Seal Patent.
Office, on the 19th April 1853.
.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
WILLIAM NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters. Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of October,. in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, in the six-
teenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give 'and granit unto me, the said William Newton, Her special license
that I, the said William Newton, my executors, administrators, and:
assigns, or such others as I..the said William Newton, my executors,
alministrators, 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 "AN IMPROVED
MACHINE FOR SEPARATING ORES, METALS, AND OTHER HEAVY SUBSTANCES
FROM MUD, SAND, GRAVEL, STONES, AND OTHER IMPURITIES," being a
communication from a foreigner residing abroad, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Newton. by an instrument
in writing under my hand and seal, 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 1, the sail William Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawings here-
unto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say) :-
This Invention, communicated to me by a foreigner residing abroad,"

page_text: consists of an apparatus by which gold and other ores may be expe-
ditiously clearised from stones and other earthy matters by a process of
washing, leaving the metal free in the lower part of the vessel in which
the rough materials have been placed.
The Inventor proposes to use a hollow containing vessel of metal,
wood, or other substance to receive the 1ough ores with the earthy
matter, and having placed this in a pool or réservoir of water, or in a
running stream, submits the vessel to a rapid rotary motion, by which
means all the lighter particles are thrown off by centrifugal force,
and the heavy metallic parts allowed to subside to the bottom of
the vessel.
In the accompanying Drawings a suitable and convenient machine
is represented in several Figures, the respective letters of reference
pointing out the same parts in all: Fig. 1, is a side elevation of the
machine, the pan at bottom being shown in section. Fig. 2, is an end
elevation of the same machine. Fig. 3, is a horizontal view of the pain
looking down into it, the sieve being removed and shewn separately at
Fig. 4. The wooden frame supporting the machine is indicated by
a. a, a, a, in the lower rail of which is firmly fixed by a screw and nut,
or otherwise, an upright pin 6, rounded at the top for the purpose of
supporting the rotary part of the apparatus as a pivot, and allowing it
to revolve freely. The pan c, is a horizontal dish attached to and
supported by an upright shaft d, in the lower part of which a socket is
formed to receive the pin b, and thereby enable the dish to revolve
upon the pivot. The upper part of the shaft d, is confined to the
wooden frame by a loop or other means, in order that it may keep its
perpendicular position. At the top of this shaft a bóvel wheel e, is fixed,
taking into a similar wheel f, on a horizontal shaft g, above which shaft
is supported in brackets h, and i, and made to revolve by means of a
crank handle j. The rotation of this handle and shaft, it will be per-
ceived, through the mitre wheels c, and f, gives a horizontal rotary
movement to the vertical shaft d, and dish c, at bottoni.
The Inventor says, I use a hollow containing vessel of metal, wood,
or other suitable substance. The form I prefer is that having a flat
bottom; but sometimes I have the bottom concave, or with grooves

page_text: a
made therein; and I prefer to arrange the side so as that a section of
the vessel (the pan c) would, supposing the bottom to be flat, present
the figure of a trapezoid. The plan of the contrivance (see Fig. 3,).
shews it to be of a round shape. In the interior of this plan there'
are placed, sometimes at the bottom, but preferable round the sides,-
conductors c¹, generally made in the form of a split tube, with the
concavity downward, each conductor overlapping the one preceding
it; and having slight curvature necessary to correspond, with the
side of the vessel. The curvature should be greater or less, as the
number of conductors are greater or less; and these conductors may
be arranged in one row, or two or more rows, the outer ends of all
the conductors being generally equi-distant from the centre of the
pan, and the same is the case generally with the inner ends of all
those on the same. row. These conductors may be permanently
fixed in their places, or made removeable and capable of sliding
in guides, or of being set in different positions. Passing through the
centre of the vessel there is fixed a shaft d, as before mentioned, with
a crank or wheel, which shaft is fixed in different ways, as may be con-
venient, and by this shaft a rotary motion is to be communicated to the
pan. This vessel being submerged in water in another containing
vessel or otherwise, and rotary motion being given to it, as described,
the substances about to be operated upon are thrown promiscuously into
the pan, when the centrifugal force caused by the rapid rotation of the
pan will carry the water, with the lighter particles of the earthy matter
within it, over the edge, leaving the heavy substances (consisting of the
metal desired to be retained) at the bottom of the pan. These heavy
substances being, as the rotary motion continues, caught by the con-
ductors upon which they strike, an action takes place here which the
Inventor considers to be peculiar to his machine. The revolutioni
continuing in the passage of the remaining particles from one conductor
to another, the outflowing current of water created by the action of
centrifugal force performs the operation of washing out the remainder
of the lighter particles, which are discharged over the sides, and the
heavier particles, being retained by gravitation, fall to the bottom of the
pan. The rotary action being now discontinued, the ores and other
heavy substances are collected.

page_text: The Inventor says, I sometimes enclose the vessel above mentioned
in another vessel of metal or other substance, and form a complete
machine of the whole; sometimes the vessel or pan revolves in a
wooden or metallic frame placed in a river, and sometimes I combine
several pans together side by side, and under some circumstances I am
enabled to use the contrivance without.water.
.
The sieve or screen shewn at Fig. 4, is, under some circumstances,
found very desirable. On this subject the Inventor says, There is
another feature in the machinery which I at present use for washing
ores which contain, with the carthy and gravelly impurities, stones and
other substances too large to be thrown out by the action of centrifugal-
force. I have lying near to the bottom of the pan (as shown at h, k, in
Fig. 1) a wire sieve, of such fineness as may be desired, supported on.
iron arms, as shewn in Fig. 4, which has hooks or a couple of cars 9, I;,
projecting upwards through the sieve, and on the upright shaft a 'pan
or hook h. When the machine is in use the sieve covering the bottom
of the pan lies below the conductors; and after the stones from which
the earth has been washed away have accumulated, so as to appear to;
interfere with the action of the conductors, I stop the rotation of the-
pan, and raising the sieve by its handle, hang it on to the hook h, and
examine the stones, &c., taking from them any pieces of ore too large,
to pass through the sieve, and then giving three or four sudden revolu
tions of the pan the stones are discharged over the sides of the pan:
The rotation being stopped, the sieve is replaced on the bottom of the
pan, and the process is continued. The sieves thus arranged. I usc
mostly for what, is called the surface washing of gold.
.
The dimensions which are preferred for the apparatus are, the pan
three feet in diameter, the sides three and a half inches. The con-
ductors overlapping each other three quarters of an inch, and the lower
end of each two inches below the edge of its-predecessor. The sides
may incline at an angle of thirty degrees from the perpendicular. The
water should be free of obstruction in its course for not less than four
inches from the outer edge of the pan.
.
The particular features of novelty claimed under the above recited
Letters Patent are, the arrangement of concluctors on the inner surface
of a revolving metallic or other containing vessel overlapping each

page_text: other, thus permitting the particles of the material under operation to
be subjected to the action of the water in their passage from one
conductor to another; also, the adaptation of a sieve having water
running through it, in combination with an ore washer operating by
centrifugal force.
In witness whereof I, the said William Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
10 Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
WILLIAM NEWTON. (L.S.)