Improvements in the Treatment of Ores for the Recovery of Metals and in Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Feb., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 13th Dec., 1889-Accepted, 18th Jan., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Treatment of Ores for the Recovery of Metals
and in Apparatus therefor.
1, ELIZABETH BARNSTON PARNELL, of 148 St. John's Road, St. John's, in the
County of Kent, Metallurgist, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be.
follows:
us
The object of this invention is to cheapen the production of gold and other metals
from ores and to enable rolls and other suitable forms of machines to be used in
place of the heavy stamps and other expensive forms of machinery now generally
used for the purpose. The treatment is a mechanical one and may be described as
follows:-
I take the quartz or other stones or ore and in a suitable furnace I heat it to the
necessary degree usually a fair red heat; I then place the heated material in water
or, apply water to it with the result that immediate disintegration takes place and
the hard blocks of say quartz are at once reduced to a soft consistency so that
they could be crushed with the heel of a person's boot. The efficiency of the
result obtained will of course vary with the different kinds of stone to be treated
but a sufficiently favorable result for practicable purposes I have found to be
obtainable with most sorts of ores without much difficulty.
It will be apparent that to carry this invention into effect many different kinds of
apparatus may be employed and the one that I am about to describe is merely given
as an efficient means and the best known to me at the present time for carrying the
invention into effect. In this apparatus I employ any suitable form of furnace for.
heating the air which is blown or sucked by any suitable means such as a fan or."
blower through the hollow shaft and webs of a worm which revolves inside any
suitable form of casing preferably of such a length that when the ore which is
drawn along by means of the worm has reached the end of the casing remote from
that at which it entered it shall be sufficiently heated for my purpose. At the end
of this cylinder the heated material is brought into contact with water in any
convenient manner say for example by allowing it to fall out of the end of the
casing into a tank or equivalent vessel containing water. From here it is carried
preferably automatically as by a bucket or other conveyor to another casing, drum
or equivalent in which the material is subjected to the action of the heated air
escaping from the first machine. The result of this is that the material is dried
and from this secon.. machine it can be immediately conveyed by shoots, hoppers,
conveyors or other means to any desired form of machine or apparatus for crushing:
I prefer for this purpose to employ rolls but if preferred stamps may be used as it
will be at once apparent that the material being now so soft, stamps of a totally
different construction and speed of operation may be employed to those usually
used for the purpose.
Dated this 19th day of February 1889.
Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Treatment of Ores for the Recovery of Metals
and in Apparatus therefor.
I. ELIZABETH BARNSTON PARNELL, of 148 St. John's Road, St. John's, in the
County of Kent, Metallurgist, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
Price 871

page_text: in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and aseer-
tained in and by the fontowing statement:--
The object of this invention is to cheapen the production of gold and other metals
from ores and to enable rolls and other suitable forms of machines to be used in
place of the heavy stamps and other expensive froms of machinery now generally
used for the purpose. The treatment is a mechanical one and may be described as
follows:--
I take the quartz or other stones or ore and in a suitable furnace 1 heat it to the
necessary degree usually a fair red heat; I then place the heated material in water
or apply water to with the result that immediate disintegration takes place and
the hard blocks of say quartz are at once reduced to a soft consistency so that
they could be crushed with the heel of a person's boot. The efficiency of the
result obtained will of course vary with the different kinds of stone to be treated
but a sufficiently avorable result for practicable purposes I have found to be
obtainable with most sorts of ores without much difficulty.
It will be apparent that to carry this invention into effect many
different kinds of
apparatus may be employed and the one that I am about to describe is merely given
as an efficient means and the best known to me at the present time for carrying the
invention into effect. In this apparatus I employ any suitable form of furnace for
heating the air which is blown or sucked by any suitable means such as a fan or
blower through the hollow shaft and webs of a worm which revolves inside any
suitable form of casing preferably of such a length that when the ore which is
drawn along by means of the worm has reached the end of the casing remote from
that at which it entered it shall be sufficiently heated for my purpose. At the end
of this cylinder the heated material is brought into contact with water in any
convenient manner say for example by allowing it to fall out of the end of the
casing into a tank or equivalent vessel containing water. From here it is carried
preferably automatically as by a bucket or other conveyor to another casing, drum
or equivalent in which the material is subjected to the action of the heated air
escaping from the first machine. The result of this is that the material is dried
and from this second machine it can be immediately conveyed by shoots, hoppers,
conveyors or other means to any desired form of machine or apparatus for crushing;
I prefer for this purpose to employ rolls but if preferred stamps may be used as it
will be at once apparent that the material being now so soft, stamps of a totally
different construction and speed of operation may be employed to those usually
used for the purpose.
In the accompanying drawings I have by way of example represented in figure 1
a section in diagram of one arrangement of apparatus for carrying this invention
into practice and in figure 2 a section of a modified form of a detached portion of
the same; Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view of another arrangement of the apparatus.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
Referring to fig. 1. A is the furnace or heating chamber in which is heated the ore
and which may be constructed of iron lined with suitable refractory material. B is
the hollow shaft through which is blown or sucked by a suitable fan or other means
air heated up to the required temperature say for instance 1600 degrees Fahrenheit.
The pipe B may be coated both internally and externally with a suitable refractory
material and may be perforated with holes B as shown in fig. 1, or not, as shown
in figure 2 and as hereinafter described. The ends of this shaft may be supported
in any convenient manner in the ends of the furnace or heating chamber A and
one end is closed the other being open and connected in any convenient manner with
the source from which the supply of heated air is derived. At the ends of the
furnace are formed openings A1 and A2 the former for the introduction and the
latter for the discharge of the ore. To the opening A' is fitted the shoot or hopper
A into which is charged the ore previously broken into lumps of suitable size and
from which the said ore will automatically or otherwise be caused to enter the
furnace or chamber A. B2 is a helix formed around the hollow shaft B and

page_text: preferably touching or nearly touching the lower part of the chamber A which may
advantageously be of irregular circular form in cross section so that the helix or
screw conveyor ፡፡ as it is hereinafter termed may be some few inches removed
out of contact with the upper part of the chamber.
This arrangement together with perforations B³ which may be formed in the web
or blade of the screw conveyor would provide for a free circulation of air throughout
the chamber. A is a hood or casing wholly or partly surrounding the hollow
shaft B at the part where it passes through the hopper A³.
To the discharge opening A² may be fitted a shoot C₁ the opposite end of which
is connected to the quenching tank C constantly kept filled with hot or cold water.
By the immersion of the heated ore in the liquid in the tank C a considerable
amount of steam will be generated and for this purpose the tank is preferably
closed-in and provided with an uptake C for causing the escape into the atmosphere
of the steam thus generated at an elevation so as to avoid nuisance. The tank C
need not however be closed in.
D is an elevator which at its lower part works down into the quenching tank C
as shown and at its upper part is preferably enclosed in a suitable casing D¹ which
is provided with an outlet or shoot 12 which connects with the drying chamber E.
This chamber E may be of precisely similar construction to the furnace A. with the
waste heat from which it is supplied through the pipe E which conducts the said
waste heat into the hollow shaft E2 which is provided with a screw conveyor E3 and
either has its periphery perforated as at E or in some other way is adapted so that
the heat may escape from the shaft E2 and commingle with the surrounding
partially-treated ore so as to dry it. But instead of passing the drying medium into
the drying chamber E by way of the hollow shaft it can be introduced directly
into the chamber itself and the hollow shaft dispensed with and other convenient
means if desired be employed for moving the ore through the chamber. At
the end of the chamber E opposite that at which the ore is admitted is provided
the outlet shoot E which may conduct the ore discharged from the said chamber E
into a hopper or shoot F by which it may be delivered to the crushing rolls G. E
is the uptake from the chamber E.
י.
Instead of perforating the wall of the hollow shaft B or E3 in the manner before
described I may in the manner shown in figure 2 form the web or blade of the screw
conveyor hollow as at B and place the helical hollow space in communication with
the interior of the shaft. One or both of the walls of this hollow blade, but
preferably the rearmost one which does not act against the ore to move it forward
is perforated as at 13 so that the highly heated air will be blown directly into the
ore. If desired these as also the perforations B¹ or Et may be tapered towards their
discharging ends and they may also be inclined in any desired manner to the face
of the material through which they are formed so as to minimize the risk of their
choking up.
In the operation of the apparatus before described the shafts B and E² in any
convenient manner are rotated at a suitable speed and the quartz or other stones or
ore are charged into the hopper A3 from which they will pass into the furnace A
where they will be continuously moved forward by the screw conveyor 12 to the
discharge opening A2. The relative rates of admission and discharge of the ore in
the chambers A and E is such that the said chambers will remain always preferably
about three-quarters full or up to say the line X X in each of the chambers. The
highly heated air then escapes from the hollow shaft B and commingles with the
ore surrounding it the said ore being thereby raised to a preferably fair red heat.
The ore at this ueat when discharged through the opening A falls directly into the
liquid contained in ne tank C with the result that immediate disintegration takes
place and the hard blocks of say quartz are at once reduced to a soft consistency so
that they can then very easily be crushed.
From this tank C the ore is conveyed by the elevator D into the drying chamber
E wherein by the waste heat conducted from the heating chamber A through the
pipe E the moisture is evaporated from the ore which is thereafter discharged

page_text: through the shoot E into the hopper F which delivers it to the crushing rolls G.
stamps or other crushing machinery employed.
If preferred for crushing the ores there may be used stamps but the ores treated
in the before described manner are so soft when submitted to the crushing process
that the stamps so employed might both in construction and speed of operation be
quite different from those generally employed for crushing purposes.
cheap, and convenient way of carrying out the invention is that shown in fig. 8
wherein A is a furnace or heating chamber which may be of construction similar
to the corresponding chamber shown in fig. 1. H is a travelling band passing over
rollers H¹ H² and which may if desired be supported at intermediate points in any
convenient manner. Jis a tank which may have a perforated bottom to distribute
water or other quenching liquid over the heated ore being carried along on. the
band H. Instead of a tank with a perforated bottom an arrangement of perforated
pipes or the open end of a flume or other means may be provided for delivering the
quenching liquid upon the heated ore; or in place of either of these arrangements,
the band itself may pass through a trough or the like in which the quenching liquid
is contained or a constant stream of water may be poured upon the heated ore.
The drying chamber E in this example is merely a hollow casing provided at its
ends with openings Es through which passes the band with the ore, supported
thereon, these openings being preferably provided with doors or flaps E which
while yielding sufficiently to allow of the uninterrupted movement of the ore
nevertheless prevent any serious escape of heat through the openings ES.
The operation of the last described apparatus is as follows-The ore to be treated
is charged into the hopper A³ from, which it enters the heating, chamber A by way
of the opening A. While being, moved through the chamber A the ore as before
described is heated, up to preferably a fair red heat at which it is discharged
through the shoot Con to the band H. On this band the ore is moved below the
tank and subjected to the action of the liquid falling therefrom or in any other
way is subjected to a quenching medium after which it is conveyed into the
chamber E in its passage through which it is dried by the heat passing from the
chamber A through the pipe E'. After leaving the chamber E the band H
discharges the ore into the hopper or shoot F which delivers it to the crushing
rolls Gas before described. Forced draught may be employed if required.
.
.f.
If desired the screw conveyor B2 may be dispensed with and the band H effect
the necessary movement of the ore through the heating chamber A; or a revolving
table or other means may be employed for the purpose. If a revolving table be
used the heating, quenching and drying apparatus may be arranged circularly so
that the ore will be subjected to the heating, quenching and drying processes in
proper order.
It will be obvious that apparatus different from that before described could be
employed for carrying this invention into practice and even that the apparatus
before described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings can in many ways
he greatly modified; for, example instead of forming the heating and drying
chambers with internally revolving screw conveyors these screw conveyors could
be stationary and the chambers themselves be made to rotate or other means be
employed for moving the ore through them; or the furnace might be heated by
fire in the usual manner."
If desired the before mentioned screw conveyors B and E³ may be provided with
blades or shelves which will turn over the ore under treatment in the heating and
drying chambers A and E so that all parts of the ore may be subjected to the action
of the heated air, but this provision might not be necessary if the furnace itself
were made to revolve as before described.
The before described apparatus may be made as it were self contained one large
chamber being divided by floors into three separate compartments for the distinct
stages of the process; one continuous conveyor, series of conveyors or the like
could be used for moving the ore through the different compartments in proper
succession.

page_text: The heating and drying chambers may be constructed of suitably coated iron, or
built up of brick, stone, or mud or they may be formed of any other suitable
material.
In cold countries like Canada, Siberia, and Russia where frost generally stops gold
and other metal-extracting operations as ordinarily practised snow or ice may be
used for the quenching or disintegration of the ore and thus admit of the operations
being carried out uninterruptedly throughout the year and the snow melted during
the process would provide an ample supply of water for the subsequent amal-
gamating process if a wet process were employed.
Although water is the liquid which I prefer to use for disintegrating the ore on
account of its cheapness and general suitability, I may use any other fluid which
will have the same effect upon the ore. In some cases saturated steam under
pressure may be used instead of water and this would be especially applicable where
it was desired to conduct the quenching or disintegrating process in close proximity
to or even within the drying chamber itself.
If a dry amalgamating process is employed the drying chamber E is required,
but it need not necessarily be employed with a wet amalgamating process.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
1. The disintegration of quartz or other metalliferous ores by quenching the
heated ore, substantially as herein described.
2. In apparatus for the treatment of metalliferous ores the combination of a
furnace or heating chamber a quenching tank and a drying chamber the latter
heated by the waste heat from the heating chamber substantially as herein described.
3. In apparatus for the treatment of metalliferous ore the combination of a
furnace for heating the ore a drying chamber for drying it after quenching, a
conveyor or series of conveyors and means for quenching the ore the whole arranged
and operating substantially as described.
4. In apparatus for the treatment of metalliferous ore the combination with a
furnace for heating the ore of means for quenching the ore the whole arranged and
operating substantially as described.
5. In a furnace or chamber for heating or drying ore a hollow perforated helix
or screw conveyor such as 13 for the purpose of introducing into the furnace the
heating or drying medium substantially as herein described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
6. In a furnace or chamber for heating or drying ore a helix or screw conveyor
such as 12 the shaft of which is hollow and perforated for the purpose of introducing
into the furnace the heating or drying medium substantially as herein described
and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
to this 19h Jo of Decembar 1900
E B. PARNELL.
ELIZABETH BARNSTON PARNELL.
W. P. Thompson & Boult,
Agents for the Applicant.
E B. PARNELL.
ELIZABETH BARNSTON PARNELL.
W. P. Thompson & Boult,
Agents for the Applicant.