IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF NICKEL AND ITS ALLOYS FROM ITS OXIDES OR SILICATES OR OTHER SALTS
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF NICKEL AND ITS ALLOYS FROM ITS
OXIDES OR SILICATES OR OTHER SALTS." A communication from abroad by
Jules Garnier, of Paris, France, Civil Engineer.
Sealed the 9th September 1876, and dated the 20th March 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 20th March 1876.
"
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
NICKEL AND ITS ALLOYS FROM ITS OXIDES OR SILICATES OR OTHER SALTS." A
communication.
"
Since the working on a large scale of ores with a base of oxide of nickel or
garnierite" in New Caledonia experiments have been made with a process of
metallurgical treatment on a large scale of these ores of nickel, as this process is also
applicable to oxides and salts of nickel from any source.
This Invention comprises
the treatment of these divers substances having a base of oxide of nickel.
The said Invention relates, first, to a mode of casting nickel in crucibles. The
substance (either natural or artificial) with a base of oxide of nickel is carefully
pulverized and mixed with a flux calculated according to the known rules of the
dry method in such a manner that foreign particles contained therein are separated
by fusion into a liquid. For the ore of New Caledonia, which is associated chiefly
with silica and magnesia, I may employ as fluxes carbonates of lime or alkali, fluor
spar, borax, white glass, or the like. The mixture of ore and its flux must have
added to it an equal quantity of coal dust, soot, or any other reducing matter in
any desired quantity so that the oxygen must be carried off. This mixture is to be
agglomerated into lumps of the size of a walnut by the addition of oil, tar, pitch, or
other agglomerative reducing matter. The lumps are dried in a stove before being
charged into the crucible. The crucibles wherein the fusion is effected are lined
with charcoal. After the introduction of the desired quantity of the aforesaid small
agglomerations I place these crucibles in furnaces analagous to those employed for
the fusion of steel, that is to say, with fires fed with coke, gas, or oxide of carbon
derived from the "Siemens or the "Ponsard" generators, or the like. After
subjecting the crucibles to the influence of a great heat for a sufficiently long time
[Price Gd.1
"3

page_text: there will be formed a mass of nickel surrounded by scorin. The crucibles are with-
drawn and the contents poured out, the scoria to one side and the molten nickel to
the other side.
The said Invention relates, secondly, to the method of obtaining molten nickel in
a blast furnace. The treatment on a large scale in the blast furnace of nickle ore
garnierite" presents difficulties because of the large quantity of cinder obtained in
relation to a small quantity of metallic substance, and also because of the pulverulent
condition and friability of these ores.
The following is my method of proceeding
First. The ore is taken with great care either from the mine or elsewhere so that
it is divided into portions equally rich, which will produce under treatment in the
blast furnace classes of molten nickel of which each one has a composition uniformly
the same but differing from that of the other. I thus obtain two classes, viz.,
A., meltings with a base nearly all nickel; B., meltings with a base of nickel,
manganese, iron, and cobalt.
Secondly. The ore is subjected to a second sorting which separates or classes it into
pieces sufficiently solid to pass directly to the blast furnace and into ores too
friable to be so treated. In the greater number of cases to obtain a good condition
and great regularity of working it will be advantageous to pulverize the compact
ores.
Thirdly. The friable ores (and even the others) are to be reduced to powder by
means of a crushing machine. This powder is mixed with the agglomerative or
reducing matters or fluxes, as above specified for producing fusion in the crucible.
The paste thus mixed will be transformed into blocks by pressure in moulds or
otherwise, and then subjected to baking or heating either in the moulds or after
removal from the same.
Fourthly. The ore prepared asaforesaid is to be charged into the blast furnace
in alternate layers of fuel and of ores and fluxes. The blast may be hot or cold, but
in either case every means possible must be adopted to concentrate the heat at the
base at the point where the fusion takes place. The tuyeres should be slightly elevated
above the bottom of the crucible so that the molten nickel will remain very hot and
fluid the cleaning and the working in the crucibles and in the tuyeres is
effected by means of a nickel implement; the oxide of nickel being easily reducible,
the charge should rest in the furnace only a short time; it will be useless to have
an elevated apparatus. The gases obtained and collected will be very hot and
charged with oxide of carbon; they may be utilized for heating the blast, and the
ladles, or shanks, and even for the refining of the cast nickel, as herein-after specified.
The lining of the blast furnace because of the high temperature should be formed of
a very silicious material or of "bauxite;" silicious bricks will serve well for
this use.
Fifthly. Certain parts of ores which are very poor cannot be easily collected at
the bottom of the crucible. In this case I mix these ores with others rich in iron,
and even in manganesc, cobalt, and the like; I make the whole as above stated, if
necessary, into a block. The melting which is deposited in the crucible takes with
it the nickel of the ore, the same as molten lead will take gold or silver from ores of
the same.
As to the melting thus formed it is employed as above described. It is
in this manner that I extract from the scoria and cinders resulting from these divers
operations of the dry method of which I speak the nickel that they contain.
Sixthly. It will be seen that it will be sometimes useful to have at command for
the refining of cast nickel a melting of nickel containing a certain proportion of
manganese. This Invention therefore comprises the production of a melting whose
base is principally nickel and manganese, which is obtained either in the crucible or
reverberatory or blast furnace in alloying the ore of nickel with a suitable pro-
portion of oxide of manganese as rich and as pure as possible.
In certain cases as will be seen it is sufficient to have a melting with a base of
nickel and iron or a base of nickel, iron, and manganese. This Invention comprises
this melting with the simple addition (in the condition of blocks or otherwise) of

page_text: the ore of New Caledonia on the hearth of the existing blast furnace for smelting
iron. Moreover these blast furnaces serve for heating the scoria and cinders which
contain nickel.
The said Invention relates, thirdly, to the method of obtaining a melting of
nickel upon the sole of a reverberatory furnace. I obtain the divers varieties of
meltings with a base of nickel which I have above mentioned upon the sole of a
reverberatory furnace either fixed or movable, heated either by a direct flame or by
gas with the regenerative method of Siemens, Ponsard, or the like. In this case the
preliminary preparation of the ore in blocks of ore, its reducing material, and flux
will be indispensable.
It relates, fourthly, to the preparation of metallic nickel in a charcoal furnace.
The ores very rich in oxide of nickel may be treated directly in a furnace in contact
with charcoal because of the facility of reduction of oxide of nickel. The metallic nickel
which is collected at the base of the furnace in granulated pieces more or less large
is more or less mixed with scoria. The latter must be pulverized and after a first
separation of the nickel by hand the very small fragments must be separated by a
powerful magnet or by levigation. These fragments are to be remelted or
agglomerated in small masses by compression.
The said Invention relates, fifthly, to the treatment of matts of poor ores of
New Caledonia, and of scoria and of nickeliferous cinder. I melt these ores and the
nickeliferous scoria and cinder with arsenical pyrites. This fusion being effected in
a reverberatory furnace or the like, I should obtain also a matt of spiess in which
the nickel, iron, copper, and other metals will be concentrated with a composition
similar to that of certain artificial products or nickel ores; and I then treat them
in a similar manner by the wet method.
The said Invention relates, sixthly, to the refining of ingots of cast nickel, and
comprises
First. The decarburation of the nickel casting in a close vessel. The casting of
nickel obtained from very pure raw materials may be decarburated by cementation
in a closed vessel, the ingots of cast metal being of small section and placed in boxes
of fire-brick in the middle of a mass of ore or other oxydized substance. I apply
this treatment to pieces of cast nickel moulded directly on their discharge from the
blast furnace or crucible. This cementation removing the carbon to a greater or
lesser depth in the piece permits by rendering to the metal its malleability to making
in the first instance of various articles such as keys, door handles, divers ornaments,
and the like. In these cases the cast nickel may be first alloyed with a certain pro-
portion of copper, iron, manganese, or other like metal.
Second. The refining by the wet method of the cast nickel. I can refine the cast
nickel by the wet method by dissolving it in acids; the carbon and the silicon
separate first, then the nickel is precipitated in the state of oxide, and I afterwards
proceed as in ordinary works. This process is very advantageous in cases where
the cast nickel is rich in cobalt or too impure to be treated by the dry method for
nickel. I may before attacking the cast metal by acid remove by a preliminary
puddling upon a hearth or in the refining fire its silicon, its carbon, and even oxidize
slightly the material to render it more easily attackable by acids and to simplify
the treatment by the wet method.
Third. Refining the cast nickel by puddling. I apply to the cast nickel the
operation of puddling according to divers methods either with a fixed bearth or
rotating hearth, rotary furnace, or the like, and I may heat by flame, by oxide of
carbon, coal dust, or otherwise. I commence by placing a suitable quantity of cast
nickel in a state of fusion upon the hearth. act by oxidation upon the carbon,
the silicon, the manganese, the iron, the cobalt, and other metals, carrying on the
operation by additions of nitre, chlorate of potash, or other suitable materials; I
also add scoria rich in silica, and also sand containing quartz to accelerate the
getting rid of the oxides other than the nickel. The nickel because of its weak
affinity for the oxygen remains the last at the heart of the bath of fluid scoria, at
the bottom of which it is precipitated in molecules which are united by the aforesaid

page_text: nickel implement, forming thus a bloom easy to bring to the desired form by
hammering or rolling. As to the scoria, especially of the last moments of the
operation, they are collected for the sake of the nickel they contain to be treated as
above described.
Fourth. Refining the cast nickel by the "contoirs" hearth, low hearth, and the
like. The operation of refining may be effected in the "comptois" and analogous
furnaces with wood charcoal. This operation is carried on as above described with
a suitable quantity of cast metal and by using the nickel implements.
"
Fifth. Refining of cast nickel and obtaining pure molten nickel upon either fixed
or rotating hearths. I employ fixed or rotating hearths made of very refractory
bricks. The hearth is heated by a flame obtained by an ordinary fire or by gas
with "Siemens or "Ponsard" generators, or the like, or by the combustion of
charcoal dust. I place on the hearth a charge of cast nickel. When the fusion of
this cast metal is thoroughly effected I cause to act on it a strong oxydising flame.
The mass is agitated to renew the surfaces by nickel implements. The foreign
matters more oxydizable than the nickel pass off in their order of oxydability and I
thus get rid of the silicon, carbon, manganese, iron, cobalt, and other metals in tho
casting. To accelerate the oxydation of these bodies I add from time to time
oxygenated materials such as nitre, chlorate of potash, and the like.
Finally. To accelerate the departure of the oxydes which form, I add also quartz,
sand, and a small quantity of lime, fluor, spalt or other strong flux that determines
the formation of a very fluid scoria, which is caused to flow through discharging holes
made in suitable numbers so that by its presence it shall not interfere with the
oxyzdation of the bath.
Towards the close of the operation the attendant by means of a scoop or ladle of
nickel draws out of the bath small samples of metal which must be forged im-
mediately, broken and hammered, and stamped, in other words subjected rapidly to
manipulations which will permit a skilled person to ascertain if the process or
operation is nearly finished or has been too long continued. In the first case the
oxydizing is still continued, in the second I add a small quantity of cast nickel, very
pure, whose carbon and silicon seize upon the excess of oxygen in the bath. I may
add at this moment a melting with a base of nickel and manganese. The latter
metal oxydizes easily and forming a powerful base draws into the cinders the silicon
in suspension and the bases which may remain in the bath of molten nickel. As to
the metallic nickel it is poured into a ladle or into ingot moulds of refractory matter.
Sixth. Refining of cast nickel by the reaction upon it of oxydes of copper or
of zinc, or the like. When it is a question of producing alloys of nickel, copper, and
other metal, may require the very pure meltings of nickel directly by adding to
thein oxide of zinc. For this purpose I first place the cast nickel in a state of
fusion upon the hearth of a reveboratory furnace; then I pour in the first bath by
means of a ladle or scoop the oxides of copper obtained in an adjacent furnace.
I may even simply add to the bath of cast nickel ingots of oxydized copper or
zinc, or the like. Samples taken from the alloy will show when it is of the desired
quality, and if it is necessary to add metallic oxydes if the decarburation of the
nickel is not complete or of carbureted nickel if the oxygen predominates.
Seventh. Refining of cast nickel in the Bessemer retort. I effect the refining of
nickel castings in the Bessemer retort, that is to say, by intermolecular combustion
under the action of a blast of air of the carbon, silicon, and iron in the cast nickel.
Eighth. The preparation on a large scale of alloys of nickel upon the fixed or
rotary hearth of reverberatory furnaces. Upon the hearth of the above furnaces
wherein the operation of refining the cast nickel is carried on, I effect the direct
preparation of the alloys of nickel used in the arts. For this purpose I employ a
hearth whose capacity is suffioient for receiving besides the bath of metallic nickel
the addition of copper, zinc, and the like, which will be necessary. At the end of
the operation of refining by nickel I add to this metal either in the condition of
solid ingots cold or hot or in a liquid condition in ladles the metals to serve for the
alloying. I may use for this operation a furnace which will receive and melt in

page_text: succession the various ingots of nickel, iron, copper, zinc, and the like, that is to
say, the metals to form the alloy.
Ninth. The introduction of the nickel alloyed with iron in the metallurgy of iron.
Pure nickel imparts to iron hardness, renders it inoxidable, and does not impair its
malleability when used in small quantities. I therefore employ wrought-iron, cast-
iron, and steel alloyed with a small proportion of nickel. I have herein above
mentioned the preparation in the blast furnace of castings of nickeliferous iron.
I may employ them for the moulding of railings, fancy articles, cast monumental work;
I may also employ them in divers operation for the refining of wrought-iron cast-
ings, puddled steel, cast steel either alone or combined in such a manner as to
obtain these materials with a certain quantity of nickel. This iron or steel will
serve for the manufacture of bouches, for touch-holes, and gun barrels, being but
slightly oxidable and very tenacious, for the manufacture of park railings, railing
bars, boilers, ships' chains and nails, boiler plates, and the like.
With regard to boiler plates I would remark that the plates of iron or steel
invariably employed for this purpose deteriorate rapidly inside the boilers. They
oxidize under the influence of the heat and contact with the water, especially when
they contain manganese; but with the nickel iron which is but slightly oxidable
this deterioration will be much less rapid.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 20th
September 1876.
OF
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
NICKEL AND ITS ALLOYS FROM ITS OXIDES OR SILICATES OR OTHER SALTS." A
communication from abroad by Jules Garnier, of Paris, France, Civil Engineer.
Since the working on a large scale of ores with a base of oxide of nickel, or
'garnierites" as they are now commonly termed in New Caledonia, experiments
have been made for the purpose of discovering a process of metallurgical treatment
of these ores.
As this process is also applicable to oxides and salts of nickel,
natural or artificial, from any source, this Invention comprises the treatment of these
divers substances having a base of oxide of nickel.
"
First. With regard to the nature of the ores, that which distinguishes the ores of
New Caledonia is that they are chiefly composed of silica, oxide of nickel, and
magnesia. Their impurities are clay with a base of silica, magnesia, and iron, black
oxide of cobalt, manganese, copper, and the like. According as these ores are more
or less hydrated they have different appearances and properties, and they may be
generally classified in two groups as follows, that is to say -
First. Ores of nickel slightly hydrated, compact, of a beautiful green colour, and
very difficult to attack with acids.
Second. Ores of nickel, but largely hydrated (with as much as 23 per cent. of
water), of a yellow, green, or bluish colour, friable, and easily attackable by acids.
The following is the official analysis of samples remitted to the School of Mines
of Paris, in 1874, namely,-

page_text: The quantity of foreign matter, iron, cobalt, sulphur, copper, chromium, and the
like, is greater in these ores than indicated by the analysis; it is often as much as
50 per cent of the proportion of nickel in them.
Second. With regard to the preparation of the oro before the metallurgical treat-
These ores present the following differences, that is to say:-
ment.
1st. As to friability.
2nd. As to facility of being attacked by acids.
3rd. As to being more or less tenacious of divers mixed elements.
4th. As to richness in nickel.
The preparation of these ores before fusion will therefore have relation to these
differences, and will vary accordingly, but the following are the preliminary
operations to which recourse must usually be had :-
First. The ore is sorted with great care in such manner as to divide it into parts
of equal richness and quality, in order that it may produce in fusion classes of
castings or matts, each of which will have a uniform quality, but each of which
differs from the others. I obtain thus meltings or matts with a base nearly all
nickel and meltings or matts with a base of nickel, iron, manganese, cobalt,
copper, and the like.
Secondly. Ores classed as aforesaid will be subjected to a second operation. The
solid fragments of nickel ore have sometimes no other impurity than ferruginous
clay, in which case agitation in running water will be sufficient to remove a great
portion of this gangue. Sometimes compact nickel ore is mixed with pebbles
(serpentine and silicious) all stuck together. A sorting by hand is sufficient to
separate the useless parts from those which are rich in nickel. A variety of this
It is
ore, which is but little hydrated, is almost impregnable to the action of acids.
one of the richest in nickel, and this fact alone has speedily caused a change of
method with those manufactures designed at first to treat exclusively by the wet
method the ores of New Caledonia. This property in these ores of being almost
impregnable to the action of acids permits the ferruginous and magnesian impurities
to be attacked by means of acidulated water, in such a manner that the ore can be
greatly enriched by a simple and inexpensive process. The ore may be subjected to
the aforesaid operations either in a solid or pulverized state.
Thirdly. In most cases it will be necessary for the ores to be ground very fine,
their friable and variable nature not otherwise allowing them to sustain the
operations of fusion, herein-after described, without considerable waste.
Fourthly. As aforesaid, the pulverized ores will be mixed with a flux calculated
according to the laws of the dry method, so that the foreign particles which it
contains will be separated by fusion and form a very liquid glass. For "garnierite,"
which is always mixed with silica and magnesia, I use as a flux carbonate of lime
or alkalines, fluor spar, borax, white glass, and the like, according to which is
cheapest at the spot where it is to be used. To the mixture of the ore and its flux
I add a quantity of coal dust, lampblack, or other reducing substance sufficient to
effect the removal of the oxygen of the nickel. Other precautions are to be taken
for this important operation, according to the method of reducing fusion which I
employ.
Third. With regard to the method of manufacturing castings with a base of
nickel, iron, manganese, copper, chromium, titanium, and the like. This feature of
my metallurgical process is the obtaining of a melting or casting in which are con-
centrated all the metals contained in the ore. The castings may be obtained as
follows, varying according to the places where the operation is to be carried on.
First. For the production of castings of nickel in crucibles the ore prepared as
above described is formed into lumps, balls, or bullets of the size of a walnut by
the addition of oil, tar, resin, or some other agglomerating roducing substance.
The lumps or balls thus formed are dried in a stove before being put into the
crucible. If the ore is free from iron there may be added thereto pure copper,
either oxidized or carbonated, natural or artificial, which will facilitate the
formation of the residuum, and will give at once an alloy of nickel and copper.

page_text: In the same manner any other metallic oxide may be added to the ore with which
it is desired to make an alloy. When the ore with the oxide of nickel derived
from precipitate by the wet method is too poor in nickel to give casily a residuum
of well united metal, because of the too great abundance of slag formed, instead of
adding copper, as aforesaid, there should be added rich and pure iron ores to the
nickel ores, the whole agglomerated, and the casting then deposited at the bottom
of the crucible will form a compact residuum, owing to the presence of the iron,
which will have attracted all the nickel in the same way that melted lead attracts
gold or silver from poor ores. The crucibles in which the fusion takes place are
cemented over, and placed either on the hearths of reverberatory furnaces, or in
furnaces similar to those employed for the fusion of steel, with a fire of either coke,
gas, or oxide of carbon proceeding from generators, such as Siemen's, Ponsard's, or
the like. After a sufficient heat has been maintained for the requisite time and a
residuum is formed, on the top of which is its dross, the crucibles are withdrawn,
and the melted metal poured out with the usual precautions.
Secondly. In the production of meltings or castings of nickel with the blast
furnace or muffle furnace, the previous formation of the ores and their reducing
fluxes into blocks or bricks is of great importance, and great precautions are
necessary both because of the great quantity of slag compared with the quantity
of metallic substance and of the carthy condition and habitual friability of the
ore "garnierite." In certain cases, in order to secure perfect cohesion in the bricks,
they are submitted to mechanical pressure and afterwards baked, and the baking
may take place in the moulds into which the mixture has been pressed, so as to
avoid malformations and breakings of the bricks arising from the liberation of
gases. In a process of agglomeration which I employ I mix the pulverized sub-
stance with hydraulic milk of lime which gives to the bricks a certain cohesion;
then they are submitted to a temperature high enough to ensure the commencement
of the combination between the lime which serves as a binding element and the
substance which it binds. In certain cases this baking process may be effected in
the same furnace as the melting and at the commencement of the operation. As
above stated, for the fusion in a crucible and in similar cases, I may add to the ore
to be melted oxides of iron (iron ore or scales or crust of iron), or oxides of nickel
and copper in divers conditions.
Finally. The bricks, properly prepared, are charged into the blast furnace or
muffle furnace in alternate layers of fuel and ore. The blast may be cold or hot
with the ordinary apparatus used in inetallurgy, but in both cases every effort must
be made to concentrate the heat in the base where the fusion takes place. The
tuyeres will be slightly elevated above the bottom of the crucible, so that the cast
nickel remains well heated and in a very fluid condition. The cleaning and the
working in the crucible and in the tuyeres are performed by the aid of an
implement of nickel and iron or nickel and copper, according to circumstances. The
oxide of nickel being very reducible the charge should remain in the fire but a
very short time, and it is useless to use an elevated shaft.
The gases produced will be collected by the ordinary method; they will serve
for drying the bricks or blocks because of their high temperature, and the oxide of
carbon that they contain will in a state of combustion heat the air and the boilers,
and may even be employed in the final treatment of the cast nickel.
The exterior lining of the apparatus should be of brick of the kind called silicious
ΟΙ "dinah" bricks; this is important because of the refractory qualities of these
bricks and their freedom from metal.
The discharge of cast metal may be in channels lined with good charcoal, or the
like, to prevent deperdition, or in basins containing water to form grains, or in
metal moulds. The discharge orifice is at the lower part of the crucible. The
vitreous matters can escape only after the discharge if the furnace breast is closed.
In any case, they should be carefully collected to be separated from the nickel they
may still retain. The scoria will be finally treated as poor ores, and will servo
for the manufacture of casting of iron and nickel or of copper and nickel.

page_text: It will be advantageous sometimes to have at command, for refining the casting
of nickel and for the production of the alloys with a base of nickel, a casting of
manganesian nickel; this Invention therefore comprises the manufacture of
castings with a base principally of nickel and manganese which may be obtained
either by the crucible, the reverberatory furnace, or blast furnace, in mixing the
nickel ore with a suitable proportion of oxide of manganese. Castings with a base
of nickel and iron will also be necessary for my various alloys with a base
principally of nickel and iron, and the said Invention comprises the manufacture
of this casting or melting by a simple addition, either in blocks or otherwise, of
New Caledonian nickel ore in the fusion bed of blast furnaces such as now used.
Through these blast furnaces also the scoria and dross may be passed.
The said Invention also comprises the obtaining of different varieties of castings
or meltings with a nickel base after the preparation of the ores, as described, on
the hearth of a reverberatory furnace, whether stationary or movable, heated
either by a direct flame, or by gases, by the Siemens, Ponsard, or similar furnace.
Fourth. The preparation of metallic nickel by a preliminary reduction in the ore.
Magnesin is a base somewhat refractory; it would therefore be advantageous in
certain cases to effect without fusion a reduction of the oxides of nickel aud of iron
of the ores, then to bring the whole by acids to such a degree of temperature and
concentration that the nickel and the iron shall be principally dissolved, while the
gangues calcined by this baking will be almost untouched. To effect this reduction
the ore or the mixture of reducing matters is pulverized and placed either in
crucibles, cemented over and closed, or in closed cases made of refractory earth, and
similar to those used for the concentration of iron and for the annealing of malleable
castings. After having heated the ore thus prepared to a sufficient temperature
and for a sufficiently long time, the whole is withdrawn, pulverized again, and
attacked by rather weak acids to dissolve only the reduced metals. As regards the
ore thus freed economically from the greater portion of its nickel, the portions of
nickel undissolved can be extracted therefrom by treating it in the same manner as
practised for poor scoria. Or, instead of treating the reduced ore by means of acids
it may be placed in tubes heated on their exterior, and over which may be caused
to pass a current of chlorine which will draw away in chlorides and vapour the
nickel, iron, and the like; the vapour is condensed, and by the wet method the
nickel is separated from the other substances. The oxide of nickel may be reduced
from the ore in a shaft furnace by contact with the fuel itself, in such a manner
that at the base of the shaft furnace the reduction takes place. The metallic nickel
will be separated as aforesaid, and if necessary a powerful magnet may be used.
In the various operations above described the reduced nickel may be separated
by fusion alone, sorting or sifting, or by the action of an electro-magnet, or by
fusion with the addition of metals, such as copper, which alloys easily with nickel.
The alloys will be separated from the gangues, which will be scorified.
Fifth. The treatment for matts and speiss of the ores of New Caledonia and
nickeliferous scoria and slag. I treat the ores of New Caledonia or similar ores by the
fusion of these substances in the blast furnace, muffle furnace, reverberatory furnace,
and the like, after having mixed or agglomerated them with an arsenical pyrite or a
surphur and sulphate of some kind and a small proportion of native arsenic with a
suitable flux. When it is a question of scorifying, the granulated metal which they
contain will have been separated from the ores, either by pounding or grinding,
washing, sifting, or by magnetic action. The muffle furnaco, which is very suitable
for this operation, is too high for the iron of tho ore to scorify and not to become
reduced. The blast pipes will be a short distance from the hearth, to concentrate
the heat at the bottom. A nose will be formed on the blast pipe. The fusion bed
will be arranged in such a manner that the scoria may not be too silicious, which
would ronder it too doughy, nor too fluid by reason of the silicates of iron which
would induce the reduction of the iron. While the matt is concentrating at the
bottom of the crucible the scoria flows in a continuous manner. The scoria
containing always a certain quantity of matt is passed through the same furnace.

page_text: As to the matt, it is roasted to oxidize the sulphurs and to transform them into
metallic sulphates and then into oxides.
I think it desirable to reiterate that all the operations relative to the ores with a
base of oxide of nickel, as aforesaid, apply also to the oxides of artificial nickel ;
that is to say, such as come from precipitates by the wet method; and this Invention
comprises the making with these oxides castings or carburets of nickel, pure or
alloyed, and which I treat as herein-after specified.
Sixth. Refining castings or carburets of nickel.
First. The decarburation of cast nickel in a close furnace. The casting or melting
having a nickel base when produced under suitable conditions is already very
malleable, but if by annealing the greater part of its carbon is removed a strong
and fine metal is produced. I therefore effect the casting direct into ingots
or various pieces in moulds with a base of nickel, iron, and the like, and remove the
carburets by heating in closed vessels in the midst of an oxidized cement, as is now
practised in the manufacture of malleable castings.
Secondly. The operation of separating nickel on a large scale by the wet method
from other metals, such as iron, cobalt, chromium, and copper is known, and there-
fore forms no part of this Invention; but I subject the nickel melting to a sort of
refining process, which removes therefrom the carbon and the silicium, and even
oxidizes partly the substance, so that the action of the hydrochloric acid is more
prompt and employs less material; this action takes place under heat, so as to be
more rapid, and according to the usual conditions. I employ basins made specically
in several parts united and jointed by strips of caoutchouc. I separate the iron
from the nickel of the meltings, dissolving only the first in weak acids, which have
little effect upon the nickel, in which manner an almost complete separation will be
effected at one operation of the iron and of the nickel.
Thirdly. I apply to the castings with a nickel baso the operation of puddling in
its various methods. To facilitate this operation oxidizing substances, such as nitre,
oxides and silicates of nickel, and the like, will be added; the scoria, which may
be united with the other dross of various kinds, is carefully collected, to be pounded
and washed and taken again for nickel. The puddling is effected by means of a
nickel implement; in this operation the greater part of the iron can be removed by
continuing the oxidization sufficiently and adding quartz sand to form scoria, but
the latter will have a large quantity of nickel and must be treated again.
Fourthly. Refining of the cast nickel in the "comtois" furnace, low furnace
crucibles, and the like. The operation of refining may also be effected in the said
" comtois " or similar furnace, or in crucibles, or the like; this refining will be
facilitated, as above specified, by the addition of nitre, chlorate of potash, oxide of
nickel, the scoria resulting from former operations, or the like. The puddling is
effected with bars of nickel.
"
"
Fifthly. Refining cast nickel and obtaining pure cast nickel upon fixed or turning
hearths. I employ hearths either fixed or turning, built of so called silicious bricks
which have been freed from impurities and aro very rofractory. The hearth is
heated by flame obtained either from an ordinary fire or by the gas of a Siemens
or "Ponsard" generator or similar apparatus, or by the combustion of charcoal
dust. I charge the furnace hearth with a suitable quantity of cast nickel; when
the fusion of this cast metal has been effected I act upon the same with an
oxidizing flame, and particularly by the addition of natural or artifical oxides of
nickel, which will give up their oxigen to the carbon and silica. I puddle with
nickel implements to renew the surface; bodies foreign to and more oxidable than
the nickel are driven off, according to their order of oxidability, and thus are carried
off the manganese, the silica, the carbon, the cobalt, a portion of the iron, and other
inatters.
To accelerate the oxidation I may add oxygenated materials such as nitre, chlorate
of potash, or the like. As to the oxides which are formed, they are reunited in the
scoria by the addition, according to circumstances, of quartz sand, lime, fluor spar,
soda, or other energetic base which determines the formation of a very fluid scoria,

page_text: which flows through runners formed for this purpose in such a manner that this
scoria by its presence shall not impede the oxidation of the bath.
Towards the end of the operation I take from the bath by means of a ladle of
nickel small samples of the metal, which will be immediately forged, broken, and
otherwise manipulated with a hammer, that is to say, subjected rapidly to such
operations which will enable an experienced person to ascertain if the process is
nearly finished, or if it has been too long continued. In the first case the oxidation
is continued; in the second case I add a small quantity of very pure cast nickel,
whose carbon and silica take up the excess of oxygen in the bath; and there may
be added at this moment a melting of nickel and manganese, the latter metal being
oxidized easily and forming a powerful base, which carries off in the dross the silica
in suspension and the bases which may remain in the bath of melted nickel. The
scoria from these operations should be carefully collected and treated in the manner
the most favorable for extracting any nickel it may contain. The nickel will be
poured into a ladle or into ingot moulds, unless it is desired first to alloy it with
other metals, as herein-after described.
Sixthly. The castings of nickel may be freed from their carbon and silicium by
being simply melted in a crucible, a reverberatory furnace, or the like, with oxide
of nickel. The oxygen of the latter reacts upon the carbon, silicium, or iron of the
mass, while the nickel remains attached to the mass of material. It is the same
when desired to produce an alloy of nickel and copper, and it is sufficient to melt
together the cast nickel and the oxidized or oxydulated copper in the required
quantity. If the operation takes place in a reverberatory furnace testing in the
bath will prove the condition at any moment, and indicate whether it is necessary
to add cast nickel or oxide of copper.
Seventhly. I also refine castings of nickel in a Bessemer retort, that is to say, by
inter-molecular combustion under the action of a forced current of air, carbon,
silicium, manganesc, iron, and the like.
Eighthly. When it is a question of producing commercial alloys of nickel and
copper with castings obtained from ores poor in nickel, that is to say, containing
much iron, this ore will be melted with pyrites of copper or simply copper, and a
certain proportion of sulphur and arsenic. The alloy thus obtained and composed
principally of nickel, iron, copper, sulphur, and arsenic, will be melted on the hearth
of a reverberatory furnace, or in a muffle furnace, then roasted to oxidize the iron,
and by a last scorifying fusion of the iron the substance will be still further
enriched in copper and nickel, and so forth. In fact I obtain an alloy of copper and
nickel by taking as a base my variety of casting, and in transforming this casting
into an alloy of sulphurous and arsenical copper, that is to say, into a veritable speiss
which will then only have to be treated in the usual way.
Seventh. The preparation on a large scale of alloys of nickel. For the preparation
of alloys of nickel by direct reduction of the ores having a base of oxide of nickel
mixed with the oxides of metals with which it is desired to alloy the nickel, the
ore "garnierite" is agglomerated as aforesaid with the oxides of copper, manganese,
and the like, and suitable fluxes. The blocks thus formed are melted in a
muffle furnace, reverberatory furnace, crucible, or the like. In this manner is
obtained an alloy which separates from the scoria, and if it does not at once reach
the composition desired it is melted again with "garnierite." Scoria with nickel
therein resulting from previous operations may be advantageously used in this
process. For the preparation of alloys of nickel in large quantities in the same
furnaces when the cast nickel is refined I prepare directly on the hearth of the
furnaces previously described, where the refining of the cast nickel takes place,
the alloys of nickel. For this purpose I have a hearth, the capacity of which is
sufficient to receive in addition to the bath of metallic nickel, copper, pewter, zinc,
and the like, which will be necessary. I add these matters either in the conditions
of solid ingots, cold or heated, or in a liquid state in ladles; this latter method is
preferable in certain cases as it quickens the formation of the alloy.
The manufacture of ferro-nickel or the introduction of nickel in the condition of

page_text: an alloy of iron in the metallurgy of iron. There have been several reasons up to
the present time against employing alloys of iron and nickel, the principal one
being that nickel was too rare and too costly to enter into commerical metallurgy
of iron; moreover the nickel of commerce being always mixed with copper, sulphur,
arsenic, and like matters, which it is well known when in the presence of iron
render the latter brittle, and the alloy also of which it forms a part. This difficulty
explains the divergence of opinions held and the rare attempts which have been
made to alloy nickel with iron for manufacturing purposes. But with "garnierite"
these inconveniences no longer exist, the abundance of the ore and its purity
certainly remove the obstacles which I have pointed out as regards the production
of alloys of iron and nickel. Moreover instead of trying to remove the iron from
the nickel ores as heretofore, I allow it to remain in these ores, and I add some as
above described, but only in cases where I have not to produce an alloy containing
metals which mix badly with iron, such as copper.
The employment of cast iron, melted iron, and steel alloyed to a proportion of
nickel variable according to circumstances forms an important feature of this
Invention. The nickel which I add improves the qualities of the iron, whether
with regard to resistance, malleability, or inoxidability. To obtain these alloys of
iron and nickel it is sufficient to combine the cast nickel and iron in suitable
proportions in the various operations of transformation of the cast iron and wrought
iron, cast malleable iron, and steel. I employ this cast iron and nickel for art
castings. The wrought iron, malleable cast iron, and steel with nickel, which I call
ferro-nickel, serve advantageously for the manufacture of barrels of fire-arms,
ordnance, knife blades, swords, and the like, chain cables, cables but slightly
subject to oxidization, for coal mines, nails for ships, and like purposes, it being
understood that in these various cases the yield in nickel of the ferro-nickel will
vary according to the desirability of more or less high degree of tenacity, malleability,
and inoxidability.
With regard to plates for boilers I would remark that the plates which are now
used of cast iron or steel, and even those of puddled iron, deteriorate rapidly;
inside of the boiler they become oxidized under the influence of the pressure of
heat and of contact with water, especially when they contain manganese. With
the ferro-nickels these deteriorations will be much less rapid.
This Invention furnishes a metal superior to the best metallurgic products, and
effects the object so much sought after, namely, a metal possessing at the same
time great tenacity, great malleability, and but slight liability to oxidization.
Having thus fully described the said Invention, as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim,―
"
First. The preparation, sorting, washing with water or weak acids of the orc
'garnierite" of New Caledonia to produce ores forming pure cast nickel and other
castings with a base of nickel, iron, cobalt, chromium, manganese, and the like, as
above specified.
Second. The means for agglomerating the ores of nickel or "garnierite" previous
to their treatment for cast nickel, as above specified.
Third. The new application of crucibles, blast furnaces, or muffle furnaces, and
of reverberatory furnaces for the manufacture of castings or carburets of nickel.
Fourth. The manufacture of carburets with a base of nickel and iron by the
addition to ores which are poor in nickel, such as scoria and dross having a little
nickel in them, of rich and pure iron ores, as above specified.
Fifth. The preparation of metallic nickel by the preliminary reduction of its
oxide within the ore itself, whether in a crucible, or in cases or vessels, of refractory
bricks, or in the shaft furnace, as above specified.
Sixth. The immediate transformation of the ores with a base of oxide of nickel
into matts or speiss by simple fusion with sulphurs, arseniruts, sulphates, or
arseniates, so as to give to the ore garnierite a composition analogous to that of
ores now known with regard to the presence in these ores of sulphur and arsenic.

page_text: Sevonth. The decarburation of the cast nickel in a closed vessel, and the direct
production by cementation of a nickel pure or alloyed with iron, as above
specified.
Eighth. The refining by the wet method of the cast nickel by the refining
process previous to the said melting under oxidizing action, as above specified.
Ninth. The application of puddling for the refining of cast nickel, as above
described.
Tenth. The application of the comtois furnace, low furnace crucibles, and
similar apparatus for refining cast nickel, as above specified.
Eleventh. The application of reverberatory furnaces for refining cast nickel and
obtaining melted nickel, as above specified.
Twelfth. The refining of carburets of nickel by the reaction upon them of the
oxides of copper, nickel, and the like.
Thirteenth. The application of the Bessemer converter for refining the castings
or carburets of nickel, as above specified.
Fourteenth. The refining of the carburets of nickel by their preliminary trans-
formation into an alloy impregnated with sulphur or arsenio-sulphur, as above
specified.
Fifteenth. The employment of implements of nickel in the various operations by
the dry method of the metallurgy of the nickel, as above specified.
Sixteenth. The employment of the carburets of nickel and manganese in the
manufacture of cast or puddled nickel, the manganese serving here to disoxydate, as
in the ordinary manufactories of steel.
Seventeenth. The preparation of the alloys of nickel by the direct reduction of
the "garnierite" mixed with the oxides, natural or artificial, of the metals with
which it is desired to alloy the nickel, as above specified.
Eighteenth. The preparation on a large scale of the alloys of nickel in the same
furnaces in which the cast nickel is refined.
Nineteenth. The new production which I name "ferro-nickel," or alloy of iron
and nickel, and the means for the manufacture of the same, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
DAD
T
W. ROD. LAKE, (L,S.)