Improvements in the Amalgamation of Gord али одог Apparatus employed therein.
Year: 1888

page_text: Improvements in the Amalgamation of Gord али одог
Apparatus employed therein.
I, WILLIAM FREDERICK DONKIN, of 142 Sinclair Road, West Kensington Park,
in the County of Middlesex, Lecturer in Chemistry at St George's Hospital Medicaĺ
School, St. George's Terrace, in the said County of Middlesex (a communication to
me from abroad by Reginald Donkin of Thames in the Province of Auckland, Colony
of New Zealand, Mining Engineer) do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows :-
My invention is intended for the production of a constant supply of an amalgam of
sodium and quicksilver, directly in, or in contact with the quicksilver used for the
amalgamation
It is well known that an alloy of quicksilver and sodium has a greater
affinity for gold and silver, and better resists the action of base metallic oxides
or sulphides, and impurities in the ore, than quicksilver alone. When however
this alloy is made by adding sodium to quicksilver, the effect passes away by
the gradual combining of the sodium with hydrogen and oxygen, at those surfaces of
the quicksilver which are in contact with the pulp, or water containing the ground ore,
and then more sodium has to be added.
1 produce a constant supply of such an alloy, by means of the electrolysis of a salt
of sodium, preferably chloride of sodium.
I use an electrolytic cell of some material incapable of conducting electricity, and
which is not àttacked by chlorine or caustic soda, and place in the bottom of it the
cathode; consisting of a layer of quicksilver.
Above the quicksilver I place a saturated solution of chloride of sodium in water
and in this solution I hang the anode of carbon.
The quicksilver and the carbon are connected to the terminals of a dynamo machine
or other source of electricity, so that on causing a current to pass, chlorine is liberated
at the anode, and sodium at, and absorbed by the cathode By making holes and
fixing pipes in the side of the cell, below the upper surface of the quicksilver, I can

page_text: directly connect the main body of it, to the quicksilver in an amalgamator, amalga-
mating pan or settler, or other form of apparatus for the amalgamation of gold or
silver, or for the saving of amalgam or quicksilver. And 1 cause a circulation of the
quicksilver to and from the cell and the amalgamating device, by means of gravity, or
by a suitable pump or otherwise
I provide a cover for the cell, and a suitable pipe or funnel for the removal of the
chlorine produced in the cell
Apparatus Employed therein.
I, ARTHUR EDWARD DONKIN, of Rugby, in the County of Warwick, Administrator
of the late William Frederick Donkin late of 142 Sinclair Road, West Kensington
Park, in the County of Middlesex, Lecturer in Chemistry at St. George's Hospital
Medical School, St. George's Terrace, in the said County of Middlesex, who died on
or about the 30th day of August 1888, (a communication to him from abroad by
Reginald Donkin, of Thames, in the Province of Auckland, Colony of New Zealand,
Mining Engineer,) 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 :-
My invention is intended for the production of a constant supply of an amalgam of
sodium and quicksilver, directly in, or in contact with the quicksilver used for the
amalgamation.
It is well known that an alloy of quicksilver and sodium has a greater affinity for
gold and silver, and better resists the action of base metallic oxides or sulphides and
impurities in the ore, than quicksilver alone. When however this alloy is made by
adding sodium to quicksilver, the effect passes away by the gradual combining of the
sodium with hydrogen and oxygen, at those surfaces of the quicksilver which are in
contact with the pulp, or water containing the ground ore, and then more sodium has
to be added.
I produce a constant supply of such an alloy, by means of the electrolysis of a salt
of sodium, preferably chloride of sodium.
I use an electrolytic cell of some material incapable of conducting electricity, and
which is not attacked by chlorine or caustic soda, and place in the bottom of it the
cathode, consisting of a layer of quicksilver.

page_text: Above the quicksilver I place a saturated solution of chloride of sodium in water and
in this solution I hang the anode of carbon
The quicksilver and the carbon are connected to the terminals of a dynamo machine
or other source of electricity, so that on causing a current to pass, chlorine is liberated
at the anode, and sodium at, and absorbed by the cathode. By making holes and
fixing pipes in the side of the cell, below the upper surface of the quicksilver, I can
directly connect the main body of it, to the quicksilver in an amalgamator, amalga-
mating pan or settler, or other form of apparatus for the amalgamation of gold or
silver, or for the saving of amalgam or quicksilver. And I cause a circulation of the
quicksilver to and from the cell and the amalgamating device, by means of gravity, or
by a suitable pump or otherwise.
I provide a cover for the cell, and a suitable pipe or funnel for the removal of the
chlorine produced in the cell.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
:-
In the amalgamation of gold and other ores the production of an amalgam or alloy
of quicksilver and sodium by the electrolysis of a salt of sodium in contact with the
quicksilver and the circulation of the said amalgam or alloy in such manner that the
quicksilver charged with sodium is brought into contact with the ore substantially as
herein described.
Dated this 2nd day of March 1889