IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING GOLD AND SILVER FROM " and in what AURIFEROUS AND ARGENTIFEROUS SULPHIDE OF ANTIMONY ORES
Year: 1884

page_text: We JAMES SIMPSON of 8 Rumford Place Liverpool in the County of Lancaster,
Alkali Manufacturer and EDWARD WILLIAM PARNELL of 28 Canning Street
Liverpool in the County of Lancaster Analytical Chemist do hereby declare the
nature of our invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING GOLD AND SILVER FROM
" and in what
AURIFEROUS AND ARGENTIFEROUS SULPHIDE OF ANTIMONY ORES
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:-
In treating sulphide of antimony ores for the purpose of separating the sulphide
of antimony from the gangue or residue by dissolving out the said sulphide with a
solution of an alkali, an alkaline sulpbide or the sulphide of an alkaline earth in
the manner setforth in the complete specifications Nos 11827 and 11828 of the
year 1884 if the ore under treatment should contain any Gold or Silver it will be
found that the greater part of the Gold and the whole of the silver will be
undissolved and will fall down with the insoluble residue or gangue while a certain
portion of the Gold will be converted into a sulphide by the action of the solution
employed (the solution of an alkali excepted) and will remain in solution along
with the sulphide of antimony and other sulphide.
In order to obtain the gold or silver which has been carried down in the residue
We under the first part of our invention agitate the latter with an excess of a
solution of an alkali, an alkaline sulphide, or the sulphide of an alkaline earth,
or we add a sufficient quantity of muriatic or other cheap acid, or we carefully
roast the said residue in a reverberatory or other suitable furnace in order that
all traces of sulphur or sulphur compounds may be removed; and the said
auriferous or argentiferous residue will then be available for treatment by any of
the well known methods for extracting Gold and Silver from their ores, such as by
chlorinating and precipitating the Gold by amalgamating it with Mercury; or by
chlorinating the Silver dissolving in hyposulphite of soda and precipitating with an
alkaline sulphide.
In order to obtain the Gold which has passed into solution with the sulphide
of antimony We under the second part of our invention add a small quantity
of muriatic or other acid, or employ a current of atmospheric air or any other

page_text: convenient re-agent which will decompose the alkaline sulphide or sulphide of an
alkaline earth, to an extent sufficient to precipitate a very small quantity of the
antimony sulphide, say 2% of the latter when the greater part of the Gold will
be precipitated along with the said small quantity of antimony sulphide. The
precipitate is then collected and the Gold can be obtained from it by several well
known methods such as by fluxing with lead and cupelling. When sulphide of
ammonium is the reagent employed for dissolving out the sulphide of antimony
from its ore we prefer to precipitate the Gold together with a small quantity of
antimony sulphide by heating the solution till there is a slight precipitate of
antimony sulphide resulting from the evaporation of a portion of the ammonium
sulphide.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, We declare that what
we claim is
First Treating the insoluble auriferous and argentiferous residue produced in
treating sulphide of antimony ores containing Gold and Silver in accordance with
Complete Specifications Nos 11827 and 11828 of the year 1884 with an excess of a
solution of an alkali, or of an alkaline sulphide or the sulphide of an alkaline earth,
or of an acid; or roasting the said residue in the manner and for the purposes
set forth.
Second. Chlorinating and precipitating the Gold contained in residues from
auriferous sulphide of antimony ores treated in accordance with above claim First.
Third. Chlorinating dissolving in hyposulphite of soda and precipitating the
silver contained in residues from argentiterous sulphide of antimony ores treated in
accordance with above claim first.
Fourth. Amalgamating with Mercury the Gold contained in the residues from
auriferous sulphide of antimony ores treated in accordance with above claim first.
Fifth. Precipitating Gold together with a little sulphide of antimony from a
solution containing sulphide of antimony and sulphide of Gold produced by treating
auriferous sulphide of antimony ores in accordance with complete specifications
Nos 11827 and 11828 of the year 1884 in the manner described.
Dated this lot date of Art 1001