In- PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF METALS, AND IN COATING METALS
Year: 1848

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
PARKES, of Birmingham, Experimental Chemist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-seventh
day of April, One thousand eight hundred and forty-eight, in the eleventh
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Alexander Parkes, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her
especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said
Alexander Parkes, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Alexander Parkes, my exors, admors, or 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 England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed,
and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and in all
Her said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "In-
PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF METALS, AND IN COATING METALS;" in
which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said Alexander
Parkes, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument
in writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said in part 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, I, the said
Alexander Parkes, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described
and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof; that is to say:-
My Invention consists in separating copper and some other metals from
their sulphuretted ores into the state known by copper smelters as regulus or
coarse metal, as hereafter described, and also in obtaining the metals by one
process or operation of melting from a regulus or other sulphuret of a metal.
I will first explain, that in order to obtain a regulus of copper from a sul-
phuret ore, I take the usual precautions practised by sinelters to form a fusible
slag; that is to say, by a due admixture of the ores themselves, or with other
matters, as fluxes, as is well understood. And to every ton of such ores so
mixed, when containing about ten per cent. of metal, 1 add before or during
the melted state from 100lbs. to 150lbs. of sulphate of lime, or of soda, or
of baryta, or of potash; and I keep the whole in a melted state until the
regulus becomes separated from the carthy matters, as is well understood. I
find the use of the above-named substances to produce a regulus richer in
metal than by operating in the usual way. I then tap the furnace, as is usually
practised, either into sand or water. When operating as above described I
sometimes (as in the ordinary practise) add a carbonate or oxide ore, whereby 1
obtain a regulus still richer in metal. I treat this product in the usual way prac-
tised by smelters to obtain the metal, or what I prefer is, to treat it as hereafter
directed. Although I have only spoken of copper in the above description, a
corresponding treatment is likewise applicable to the sulphuret ores of silver
and antimony; but when I operate on the sulphuret ores of silver I add from
five to ten per cent. of scrap iron. Although I have mentioned only the
sulphates of lime, soda, haryta, and potash, the sulphurets of the same
substances, and other sulphates and their sulphurets, may be employed, but
not, I believe, so advantageously. In treating the product or regulus obtained
as above described, or other regulus or sulphuret of copper to obtain the
metal by one operation of melting, I proceed as follows:-The principle on
which I act is to mix with a regulus or other sulphuret of copper such a
metallic compound that the oxygen therein contained shall desulphurize the
sulphuret in the act of melting, and allow the metal to separate. 1 employ for
such purpose a carbonate or oxide of copper, whereby I obtain copper fit for
refining by the ordinary process; or I employ a carbonate or oxide of zinc, in
which case a great part of the zinc will form an alloy with copper. In all
cases when employing zinc to produce an alloy I use the flux herein-after
described. I find also that the sulphate of copper, of iron, and of zinc will

page_text: answer, but they will require to be used in larger proportions than the oxides,
and I do not find them so advantageous; and I therefore prefer an oxidized
compound of copper when operating upon the. sulphuret of copper, or an
oxidized compound of the same metal as the sulphuret under treatment,
excepting when I wish to obtain an alloy. In such cases I use by preference
an oxide of the other metal which is to be alloyed with the metal. I do not;
however, confine myself to any particular oxidized compound of metal, so long
as the same is capable of acting in reducing a sulphuret of metal, as herein
explained. When reducing a regulus or sulphuret of copper containing thirty
per cent. or thereabouts of copper, I prefer to use a carbonate or an oxide of
copper containing the same per centage of metal, in which case I take equal
quantities by weight of the two matters; but in case the sulphuret contains
more sulphur than is equivalent to the oxygen contained in the oxide I add a
larger proportion of the oxide compound. And for the purpose of carrying
out this process I first introduce the sulphuret into the furnace and fuse it,
removing any slag that forms previous to introducing the oxide or carbonate,
which I do by degrees, occasionally removing the slag, and I gradually add
about ten per cent. of a flux composed of carbonaceous matter and chloride of
calcium or chloride of barium in equal proportions; in about three to six
hours the sulphuret will be decomposed and the metal become separated. In
case I want to operate upon an ore containing excess of sulphur, as is
frequently the case with poor ores, I prefer to obtain the copper in a state.of
regulus by the means herein described; and in order to ascertain the quantity
of sulphur or of oxygen in the compounds before named I submit them to
analysis in the usual way; or, in place thereof, I fuse a mixture of the two in
a crucible, and thus ascertain the proportion of the ingredients requisite for
mutual decomposition. And I prefer in all cases to have the sulphuret rather
in excess, and thus have a small portion of the sulphuret undecomposed.(say
two or three per cent. of the whole), and this remaining sulphuret I introduce
into the next charge. I would remark, that although I have spoken only of
obtaining copper from a sulphuret, the description above given is also
applicable to sulphurets of silver and autimony. When I am treating
sulphuret ores of silver I prefer to obtain the regulus by means of the same
sulphur compounds described for copper, as above stated, and subsequently
decompose them by the carbonates of zinc or of copper, using therewith from five
to ten per cent. of scrap iron, and I observe the same directions as before given
when treating the sulphurets of copper. When I am treating a sulphuret of
antimony, if it contain much earthy impurity, I fuse it in the manner described
when obtaining-a regulus of copper, and I calcine this product at a low tem-
perature, and thereby obtain an oxide of the metal.. I then employ this

page_text: oxide in about equal proportions with a sulphuret of antimony, not calcined,
and fuse them together, adding a flux as directed for copper, and thus obtain
the metal. In place of employing oxidized compounds of metal as the means
of decomposing sulphurets of copper at one operation of melting, I, in place
thereof, employ the oxygen of the air. For this purpose I act on a melted
regulus of copper, and I recommend that it should contain at least, thirty per
cent. of copper ina reverberatory furnace, by causing currents of air (either cold
or hot) to be forced in contact with the melted materials, preferring to use hot
blast for such purposes; and in working according to this method I cause
numerous openings to be made in the fire bridge or in the roof or other part
of the furnace, and by suitable blowing apparatus I force in streams of air, so
that they will come in contact with the melted matter, and I remove the
slag from time to time as it forms, and the sulphuret will thus be progres-
sively decomposed, and the metal ultimately caused to separate.
My improvements in coating metals apply to iron and steel, and con-
sist in the use of an alloy composed of about nine parts lead and about
three parts antimony, or of about nine parts lead, about one of tin, and
about one of antimony, and I fuse these alloys in a convenient vessel, and
keep them in a melted state under a flux composed of chloride of barium or
of sodium, or of the two combined, and I prefer to have such flux of con-
siderable depth upon the melted alloy. In order to coat therewith I first
carefully clean the articles, as is well understood, and immerse them in the
melted metals till the desired coating is obtained.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Parkes, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty seventh day of October, One thousand
eight hundred and forty-eight.
ALEXANDER (L.s.) PARKES.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-seventh day of October,
in the year of our Lord 1848, the aforesaid Alexander Parkes came before
our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specifi-
cation 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.
Enrolled the Twenty-seventh day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-eight.