IMPROVEMENTS IN SMELTING COPPER AND OTHER ORES
Year: 1847

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
NAPIER, of Shacklewell Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Operative
Chemist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Second day of
March (One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven) in the tenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said James Napier, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said James Napier,
my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James Napier,
my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein.
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in the Islands
of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and in all Her Colonies and
Plantations abroad, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SMELTING COPPER AND
OTHER ORES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I,
the said James Napier, should cause a particular description of the nature of
my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her said
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in

page_text: and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
James Napier, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
One part of my Invention consists of improvements in smelting copper ores
by treating them with fluxes such as common salt and lime and carbonaceous
matters; and I also find, that when treating copper ores which contain little or
no sulphur, the process of calcination and disintegration described in the
Specification of my former Patent of the Twentieth of July, One thousand
eight hundred and forty-six, may be dispensed with; and some ores I find
contain a sufficient quantity of iron, thus rendering the addition of iron, as
described in my said Specification, unnecessary.
Another part of my Invention consists in the treatment of ores containing
silver or gold, or both, by the addition of alkaline substances, coal, iron,
and galena. But in order that my Invention may be more fully understood,
I will proceed to describe the several processes for carrying it out.
My first object is to facilitate the separating of the earths from the copper.
To effect this, when I have several ores of different descriptions to operate upon,
mix them together, in relation to the earths or gangue they contain, in such
proportions as will cause these earths to unite in the furnace and form glass,
which is easily effected by any practical copper smelter. I find a suitable
proportion to be when the silica in the ore ranges from fifty to seventy-five
per cent. in relation to the other earthy matters or gangue, which matters
generally are mixture of alumina, lime, baryta, fluor spar, &c. (the presence
of oxide of iron greatly facilitates the fusibility of the ores). Should I have
occasion to operate upon only one description of ore, and should this or the
mixture of the ores, when I operate upon a mixture, not contain silica in the
above proportions, sand should be added until that proper proportion is arrived
at. Should I have occasion to operate upon an ore or ores containing more
silica than the above proportions, I add lime or fluor spar to obtain these
proportions. Having thus prepared the ore or ores, I proceed as follows:
Should the ore or ores contain not less than one part of iron and one part
of sulphur to two parts of copper, I add to every ton weight of the ore fifty-six
pounds common salt, and forty pounds slaked lime, with one hundred pounds
coal, and put the whole into a melting furnace and fuse it. The slag or
scoria is skimmed off, and the furnace tapped into sand moulds. The ingots
or-pigs are proceeded with as herein-after described. If the ore or ores

page_text: contain less than one part of iron to two parts of copper, I add sulphuret of
iron to make up this proportion, or I proceed as before described until the
mass is fused and skimmed, and I then add thirty pounds of scrap iron (in
which case I omit the coal) and disperse the iron over the surface of the
melted mass as equably as possible, closing the door of the furnace until the
whole is melted, as described in my Patent of Twentieth of July, One thousand
eight hundred and forty-six. I then tap the furnace into sand moulds.
When the ingots or pigs are set I throw them into water, when they will
become disintegrated, and fall into a fine powder. This powder I throw out
into a heap, where I prefer it to remain for forty-eight hours, after which I
remove it to a calcining furnace, and proceed with it in the manner described
in my former Patent of Twentieth of July One thousand eight hundred and
forty-six. I have found that the addition of black oxide of manganese,
instead of iron, effects a similar purpose, but, so far as my experience. goes,
not with the same advantage when compared with the use of iron. When I
operate upon ores containing little or no sulphur I omit the two processes
of disintegration and calcination above described. In this case I commence
by preparing the ore or ores in relation to their earthy matters or gangue, so as
to form glass as before described. Should the ore or ores contain no iron
I find it advantageous to add a little oxide or carbonate of iron; I then add
eighty pounds common salt, fifty pounds slaked lime, and one hundred pounds
anthracite coal, finely ground, to each ton of ore containing ten per cent. of
copper. Should the ore be richer in copper a less proportion of salt and
lime will suffice, and a greater proportion of anthracite coal will be required.
I have found with a twenty-five per cent. ore, fifty-six pounds common salt,
forty pounds slaked lime, and one hundred and fifty pounds anthracite coal
to do well. The whole is fused in a melting furnace, and when melted I tap
the furnace into sand moulds, and the metal thus obtained I have generally
found to be copper ready for the refining operation.. The fusing of each
charge of twenty-five hundredweight ore I have generally found to take from
five to six hours. Should a small portion of the produce be regulus this
regulus I roast and afterwards refine. It may be mentioned that soda, with
several of its salts, will serve a similar purpose to common salt, also potash,
with several of its salts, or mixtures of these free of sulphur. When
operating upon sulphuretted ores of copper containing silver or gold, or both,
my method is as follows:-I first calcine the ore and fuse it, as is done in the
ordinary operations of smelting, so as to produce a regulus of about fifty
per cent. To every ton weight of this I add fifty-six pounds soda ash, forty
pounds slaked lime, one hundred and twelve pounds coal, one and a half

page_text: hundredweight of iron, in scraps, and four hundredweight of galena (sulphuret
of lead) the whole are well mixed, and put into a fusing furnace and fused
until the iron disappears; the whole is then well rabbled and tapped into
sand moulds, when the lead will be found reduced at the bottom of the first
and second ingots, and will contain all or the greater part of the silver or
gold, or both, which the ore. had contained. These are afterwards separated
from the lead by the usual operations of separating silver and gold from lead.
The regulus of copper is proceeded with in the ordinary manner, or as
described in my Patent of Twentieth of July,, One thousand eight hundred and
forty-six. Instead of using galena the oxide of lead may be used, in which
case the iron is dispensed with, but I prefer the sulphuret of lead. When
operating upon ores of silver or gold, or both, and which do not contain
copper, or which contain copper not in the state of a sulphuret, I add thereto
copper pyrites in the proportion of four hundredweight to sixteen hundred-
weight of the ore, and then proceed with them in the same manner as herein
described, namely, bringing the metal into the state of a regulus, and fusing
with galena, iron, coal, and soda, as herein-before described.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would remark, that I do not confine myself to the
precise details or proportions of the ingredients used, so long as the peculiar
character of my Invention is retained.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Napier, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Second day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.