IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF AND APPARATUS FOR CRUSHING ORES AND OTHER MINERAL SUBSTANCES AND SEPARATING THEREPROM THE METALS WHICH THEY CONTAIN, PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS IS APPLICABLE то THE BEARINGS OF MACHINERY GENERALLY
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Leonard Wray, of Ramsgate, in the County of
Kent, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS
OF AND APPARATUS FOR CRUSHING ORES AND OTHER MINERAL SUBSTANCES
AND SEPARATING THEREPROM THE METALS WHICH THEY CONTAIN, PART OF
WHICH IMPROVEMENTS IS APPLICABLE то THE BEARINGS OF MACHINERY
GENERALLY."
Scaled the 21st October 1870, and dated the 25th April 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Leonard Wray at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on tho
25th April 1870.
I, LEONARD WRAY, of Ramsgate, in the County of Kent, Gentleman,
5 do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MEANS OF AND APPARATUS FOR CRUSHING ORES AND OTHER MINERAL SUBSTANCES
AND SEPARATING THERE FROM THE METALS WHICH THEY CONTAIN, PART OF WHICH

page_text: as follows:
This Invention relates,-
Firstly. To improvements on the crushing machine for which I
obtained Letters Patent dated 11th May 1869, No. 1416. In order to
increase the crushing capacity of the machine I now propose to make
the lower part of the fixed crushing surfaces or jaws wider than the
upper part, and to give the rocking or oscillating crushing block a taper
form corresponding thereto. This arrangement, while it affords an
extended surface for acting on the smaller portions of the crushed ore,
will present an increased area of delivery for the pulverized material, and
thereby increase the acting capacity of the machine by giving it a much
quicker delivery. For the fixed jaws between which the rocking crushing
block works I propose to substitute detachable or adjustable end pieces
instead of casting them in one with the frame of the machine. These
jaws will be held together by tie rods which will take the strain of the
rocking crushing block. Where portability is an object, and the means of
transport are limited, I propose to divide the apparatus into several picces
of a weight suitable for the means of transport available. To avoid the
cutting of the bearings and journals by the working of grit or dust
between their surfaces I form recesses in the bearings near their ends for
the reception of any fibrous or other suitable material which will prevent
the entrance of the grit to the bearings. To avoid the weakening of the
side frames, instead of piercing them through for the reception of the
screws used to adjust the position of the axle of the rocking crusher I
cast a recess in these frames below the opening for the axle box and
insert the adjusting screws therein.
As an improvement in the roasting or calcining of ores I employ a
furnace consisting of a vertical fire chamber or shaft connected at bottom
with a fire-place from which the flame and heated gases pass to the
vertical chamber. In this chamber I mount a series of fire-clay rollers
which are so placed across the chamber as to form stages or screens one
above another at suitable distances apart, there being narrow spaces
between the rollers of each group for the passage upwards of the flame
and heated gases and downwards of the material to be calcined. These
groups may form horizontal or inclined stages or screens as desired.
These stages or screens are intended to receive in succession the crushed

page_text: ore which is discharged into the furnace from the top and to allow it
to fall by steps to the bottom, during which progress it will be submitted
to the action of the ascending flames. To prevent the ore from accumu-
lating on the screens an axial motion is given to each roller, and for this
purpose I fit the fire-clay rollers with axles which turn in bearings in
the outer sides of the furnace, and by means of gearing external of the
chamber an axial motion is simultaneously given to all the rollers. The
gearing may be driven by an engine supplied with steam from a boiler
heated by the calcining furnace fire.
The amalgamator which I employ consists of a scries of revolving
copper discs or plates set at equal distances apart, as described in the
Specification of my Patent dated July 25 1868, No. 2343, and mounted,
as described in my Patent of July 25th 1868, in a suitable vessel, so as to
allow of their being withdrawn therefrom for clearing out the vessel.
These discs, instead of being strung on a central shaft, I string on to,
say, four rods equidistant from the centre of motion, and I connect the
rods together at their ends by trunnion plates. This arrangement avoids
the accumulation of material that occurs when a central shaft is used
around that shaft, the bars used in substitution of that shaft acting as
beaters, and therefore clearing themselves by their motion through the
liquid in the vessel.
As an improvement in the treatment of the amalgam for the recovery
of the gold or other metal I place it in an iron retort constructed with a
steam jacket and connect the same with a receiver. By the application
of steam heat to the retort the mercury is driven over into the receiver.
The gold thus freed is ready for the usual treatment for preparing it for
the market.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Leonard Wray in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 25th October 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, LEONARD
WRAY, of Ramsgate, in the County of Kent, Gentleman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
5 Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of April, in the year of

page_text: our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-third year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Leonard Wray, Her special licence that I, the
said Leonard Wray, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Leonard Wray, my exccutors, adminis-
trators, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF AND
APPARATUS FOR CRUSHING ORES AND OTHER MINERAL SUBSTANCES AND SEPARATING
THEREFROM THE METALS WHICH THEY CONTAIN, PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS IS
APPLICABLE TO THE BEARINGS OF MACHINERY GENERALLY," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Leonard Wray, my executors or admin-
istrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and scals, 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 I, the said Leonard Wray, do hereby declare
the nature of my 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 hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say) :-
This Invention relates, firstly, to "improvements on the crushing
machines for which I obtained Letters Patent, dated Eleventh May One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, No. 1446. My first improvement
has for its object to increase the crushing capacity of the machine by
causing it to deliver the crushed material more freely than heretofore.
In Sheet I. of the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1 is an end view
of a crushing machine constructed according to my improvements;
Fig. 2 is a side view of the same. In both these Figures one half the
machine is shewn in elevation and the other half in section; Fig. 3 is a
face view of the rocking or reciprocating crushing block detached. The
lower parts of the stationary crushing surfaces or jaws a, a, are made
wider than the upper part, and the rocking or reciprocating crushing

page_text: block is made of taper form corresponding thereto as shewn in the
detached view Fig. 3. This arrangement, while it affords an extended
surface for acting on the smaller portions of the crushed ore, will present
an increased area of delivery for the pulverized material and will thereby
increase the acting compacity of the machine by giving it a much
quicker delivery.
It will be obvious that this improvement is also applicable to other
crushing and grinding machines of an analogous kind.
Instead of fixed jaws between which the rocking crushing block works
detachable or adjustable end pieces are employed. Heretofore these
fixed jaws were cast in one piece with the frame of the machine, and
consequently were neither adjustable nor removeable. The stationary
jaws a, a, will be held in place by bars or rods c, c, which will take the
strain of the rocking crushing block b. As a modification of the
arrangement shewn at Fig. 2, fixed end pieces a¹, a', may be employed
as shewn at Fig. 4, but the working surfaces a are made removeable
and adjustable by employing intermediate or lining pieces d, which when
removed allow of the stationary jaws a being withdrawn and replaced
with great facility. The three parts a, a¹, and d, are held in place by
means of the screw bolt e, Fig. 4; the working faces of the movablo
jaws or central oscillating block b are made detachable and removeable
and are held in place by wedge pieces f, secured by screw bolts and nuts
f as shewn at Fig. 1.
In order to avoid the weakening of the side frames of the machine by
piercing them through for the reception of the screws used to adjust
the position of the axle of the rocking crushing block b a recess is formed
in these frames below the opening for the axle box as shewn at i,, Fig. 2,
to admit of the insertion of the adjusting screws i¹ therein..
When it is important to increase the portability of the machine (in
consequence of the means of transport being limited) the apparatus
may be divided into several pieces of a weight suitable for the means of
transport available.
The next improvement relates to the bearings of the machine, and
has for its object to prevent the cutting and wearing away of the bearings
and journals which would be occasioned by the admission of grit or dust
between the rubbing surfaces. This improvement is shewn at Figures
5, 6, 7, and 8 of the Drawings; Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section, and
Tig: 6 an cnd view of one of my improved bearings. It will be seen

page_text: that recesses g, g, are formed in the bearings near their ends, and in
these recesses I place rings of felt or other suitable material which
are made to encircle the journals and prevent dust or grit from passing
into the bearings.
In order to adapt this improvement to existing bearings I attach to
the ends of the axle boxes angle rings g', g', as shewn in the sectional
and end views Figures 7 and S. These angle rings g', g', havé recesses
for the reception of any fibrous or other suitable material, such as felt
or henip, which, as in the former instance, will prevent the entrance of
any grit or dust to the bearings, and at the same time will render the
lubrication of the journals more perfect, as this packing will prevent
the escape of the oil or lubricating material. For the convenience of
adapting the angle rings to existing bearings and removing them when
required, these rings are made in two pieces which are connected
together by bolts and nuts as shewn in the Drawings.
My improvements in the roasting or calcining of ores are shewn in
Sheet II. of the Drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical
section of the furnace, and Fig. 2 a transverse vertical section of the
same on the line 1, 2, of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3, a front view of the lower
portion of the furnace shewing the gearing for actuating certain of the
working parts. It will be seen that the furnace consists of a vertical
fire chamber or shaft a, a, a, a, connected at bottom with a fire-place
b, b, Fig. 2, from which the flame and heated gases pass to the vertical
chamber or shaft a, a. In this shaft are mounted sets of fire-clay rollers
c, c, c, c, which are so placed across the shaft as to form stages or screens
one above another at suitable distances apart, there being narrow spaces
between the rollers of cach group for the passage upwards of the flame
and heated gases, and downwards of the material to be calcined. These
groups of rollers c, c, may form horizontal or inclined stages or screens
as desired. These stages or screens are intended to receive in succession
the crushed ore which is discharged into the furnace from an inclined
channel d at the upper part of the vertical shaft a, and is allowed to fall
between the rollers c, c, from stage to stage until the pulverized orc
reaches the bottom. During its downward progress the pulverized ore
will be subjected to the action of the ascending heated gases which will
drive off the sulphur.
To prevent the orc from accumulating on the rollers c, c, of the
screens, an axial motion is given to each roller, and for this purpose I fit

page_text: the fire-clay rollers with axles which turn in bearings in the sides of the
furnace as seen at Fig. 2, and by means of the gearing e, e, e, c, outside
the shaft a, a, an axial motion is simultaneously given to all the rollers
The gearing may be driven by an engine supplied with steam
from a boiler fheated by the calcining furnace fire as shown at Fig. 2.
C, c.
To provide against the possibility of any accumulation of the powdered
ore by its adhering or sticking to the revolving rollers, I affix to these
(in certain parts of the shaft) thin scrapers made of fire-clay which act
against the revolving rollers underneath and scrape off anything which
may adhere to them.
The operation of the apparatus is as follows:-The pulverized orc is
thrown into any suitable receptacle or chamber communicating with the
horizontal channel g, Fig. 1, in which an Archimedian screw is kept
in constant rotation for the purpose of carrying forward the pulverized
ore to the Jacob's ladder or endless chain of buckets i, i, whereby it is
carried up to the upper part of the apparatus and is delivered to another
Archimedian screw j, which carries the ore forward to the inclined
channel d, from whence it is delivered by a rotating feeder on to the
second stage or series of rollers c, c. It is preferred that the pulverized
ore should be fed on to the second stage from the top rather than on to
the uppermost, so as to prevent as far as possible any dust that might be
raised from being carried over into the exit flues. As the pulverized
ore falls on to the rollers c, c, the latter by their rotation will cause it to
pass down between them without lodging on to the stage immediately
below, and from thence to the next stage and so on until the pulverized
ore reaches the bottom of the shaft. In its downward passage the ore
will be met by the ascending heat and gases which will drive off the
sulphur. This desulphurizing operation is facilitated by jets of steam
supplied by the boiler f, Fig. 2, through the pipes f¹, f¹, to a chamber q
beneath the floor, which is perforated so as to allow the steam to escape
in fine jets which will pass up through the heap or mass of orc that has
fallen down to the bottom of the shaft. The steam in passing up the
shaft will commingle with the heated vapors or gases from the fire and
will be decomposed, the resultant gases passing off at the top of the
shaft into the serpentine flues r, r, r, r, and in so doing will carry over
some of the dust from the ore. Jets of steam and air are admitted to
the shaft a, a, at various parts as may be desired and found necessary to
facilitate the desulphurization of the ore. Owing to the serpentine form

page_text: of the flues r, r, a portion of the dust will be deposited in the pocket,
from whence it may be drawn out through an opening in the side of the
shaft as shown in Fig. 1. Other deposits of ore dust may be made in
the pockets formed in the downward flues by the inclined "catches" s¹, s¹,
and may be removed from time to time by scrapers.
The heated
gases will ultimately pass under the inclined catches to the long
horizontal flue t, in which there are arranged a series of vertical
"catches", t, which will cause the heated gases to impinge on the
under side of the horizontal chamber g, and thereby heat the pulverized
ore as it is carried forward by the Archimedian screw h. By this
arrangement the pulverized ore will be delivered to the shaft a, a, in a
heated state which will greatly facilitate the desulphurizing operation.
The mode of communicating rotary motion to the rollers c, c, will be
best understood by referring to Figures 2 and 3. It has been already
stated that the axles or shafts of the rollers project through the sides of
the vertical desulphurizing shaft, it only remains to be said that on each
of these axles is mounted a worm wheel into which gear worms on the
shaft t*, Fig. 3. On one end of this shaft is mounted a bevil pinion
which gears into and is driven by a similar pinion or wheel on the
vertical shaft, which is driven by bevil gearing actuated by the engine
below or any other suitable motive power. All the rollers of the
different stages are actuated in the same manner from the common
shaft and consequently the pulverized ore is kept in constant motion.
The acid gases which escape from the flue may be conducted to a
condenser and suitable chambers for making sulphuric acid in the
ordinary manner. Any dust that may from time to time accumulate in
the flue must be removed and be again passed through the apparatus.
The next part of the Invention relates to the amalgamator, which
consists of a series of revolving copper or other metal discs or metallized
surfaces or plates / set at equal distances apart as described in the
Specification of my Patent dated July Twenty-fifth, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-eight, (No. 2343), and mounted in a suitable vessel so
as to allow of their being withdrawn therefrom or taken out with facility
for the purpose of clearing out the vessel. These discs k instead of
being strung on a central shaft are mounted on two, three, or more
rods 1, 1, equidistant from the centre of motion sec Figures 9 and 10
Sheet I., and are kept at. proper distances apart by short tubes or
washers n, n. These rods are connected together at their ends by

page_text: trunnion plates m, m, and the trunnions m¹ are let into suitable bearings
provided for them. This arrangement avoids the accumulation of
.
material round the shaft which occurs when a central shaft is used.
The bars or rods used in substitution of that shaft have a better hold
on the amalgamating plates and also act as beaters or stirrers, and
therefore clear themselves by their motion through the liquid in the
vessel.
As an improvement in the treatment of the amalgam for the recovery
of the gold or other metal, I place it in an iron retort constructed with a
steam jacket and connect the retort with a condenser; Fig. 11 is a
longitudinal section of the retort, and Fig. 12 a transverse section of the
same. By the application of superheated steam or any other suitable
heating medium, such as water or paraffine, to the retort, the mercury
will be driven over into the condenser. When the gold or other metal
has been freed from the mercury it is removed from the retort and is
ready for the usual treatment for preparing it for the market.
Having now described my Invention of improvements in the means
of and apparatus for crushing ores and other mineral substances, and
separating therefrom the metals which they contain, and having
explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I claim as the
Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid,-
First. Constructing and adapting the working surfaces of machines
for crushing ores and other mineral substances as herein set forth.
·Second. I claim constructing the bearings of the shafts with recesses
for the reception of a ring of felt or other suitable fibrous or elastic
substance to surround and clasp the journals or axles, so as to exclude
dust or grit from the bearings and prevent the escape of the oil or other
lubricating material as herein set forth; I claim the use of this improve-
ment whether applied to the machinery above shewn and described or to
the bearings of machinery generally.
Third. I claim the improvements herein set forth in the furnaces or
apparatus for roasting or calcining and desulphurizing ores; I claim
particularly the use of rollers arranged in several stages one above
another, and made to rotate so as to cause the pulverized ore to fall
down through an atmosphere of heated gases and steam as and for the
purpose set forth.

page_text: Fourth. I claim mounting the amalgamating dises, plates, or surfaces
on several rods and having short tubes or washers between them, as and
for the purpose herein set forth.
Lastly. I claim the mode of and apparatus herein set forth for driving
off or separating the mercury from the gold or precious metals.
In witness whereof, I, the said Leonard Wray, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Twenty-second day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
LP. WRAY. (L.S.)