Improved Method and Machinery or Apparatus for Extracting Gold .or other Valuable Metal from Crushed Ore or Material contain- ing it.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Jan., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 8th Nov., 1897-Accepted, 11th Dec.,
1897
Improved Method and Machinery or Apparatus for Extracting Gold
.or other Valuable Metal from Crushed Ore or Material contain-
ing it.
I, ARTHUR SAMUEL FRANCIS ROBINSON, of the Vale of White Horse Iron
Works, Wantage, in the County of Berks, Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention has reference to an improved method and machinery or
apparatus for extracting gold or other valuable metal from crushed ore
material containing it.
or
+
According to one arrangement for this purpose an endless amalgamated-
surface such as that of a drum or cylinder is mounted to rotate with its lower-
portion within a trough or tank containing water. As the wetted amalgamated;
surface rises from the water there is projected against it a blast of air that can
be regulated in a manner to enable the surface to be more or less dried that is
to say, the amount of water thereon to be regulated to an extent suitable for:
the material to be treated. As the damped amalgamated surface proceeds there
is fed onto it. in a finely divided stream or streams the finely divided material
(hereinafter referred to as crushed ore) to be treated, and after the amalgamated..
surface so sprinkled has travelled a further distance there is or are projected
against it a strong current or currents of air free from solid matter. Within
the trough below the drum there are mounted upon endless travelling chains a
series of amalgamated paddles or amalgamated paddles alternating with amal-
gamated plain or other rollers; the paddles may extend above and below the
chains and they (also the rollers when such are used) are caused to travel through
the water in the trough, the direction preferably being such that the paddles
or paddles and rollers which for the time being are uppermost travel towards
that end of the trough from which the amalgamated surface of the drum rises.
The other end of the trough is furnished with an amalgamated inclined shute,
plane, stepped or corrugated, against whose surface a powerful blast or blasts
of air free from solid matter is or are directed.
Such a blast may be provided by a blower having a divided or duplex delivery,
adapted to project air both against the amalgamated surface of the drum and
against the amalgamated surface of the shute.
The arrangement of the apparatus is such that (assuming paddles and no
rollers to be used) floating particles are carried to that end of the trough from
which the surface of the drum rises and are completely immersed by and kept in
contact with the amalgamated surface of the paddles which carry the solid
contents of the trough to the other end thereof whence overflow takes place down
the amalgamated shute already mentioned. The upper paddles having taken
the floating particles up to that end of the trough whence the amalgamated
surface of the drum rises as aforesaid each of the said paddles in turn, as the
chains travel, descends face downward onto floating particles, carrying them
underneath. Before descent, each paddle may be passed through a powerful
blast which both assists to drive the floating particles into the mercury and also

page_text: removes
a considerable amount of the surplus moisture from each paddle
previous to its again descending on to the floating particles. I have found such
an arrangement extremely efficient in practice. The form of the paddles may
be varied. According to one modification they are of L shape in section; they
may be corrugated.
If amalgamated rollers be used in conjunction with the amalgamated paddles,
they may be made to revolve on round bars passed through them, or the rollers
might be fast on the bars or be constructed with pivots the bar ends or pivots
then revolving in bearings carried by the chain links. In some cases the rollers
might be hollow their rims being connected to their centres by arms
or per-
forated plates, and in such cases the interior surfaces as well as the outer
surfaces of the rollers might be amalgamated.
I sometimes provide in conjunction with an apparatus comprising, an
amalgamated drum with blast arrangements, tank, chains, and amalgamated
paddles, with or without amalgamated rollers, a second tank with chains and
amalgamated paddles, and an intervening amalgamated plain corrugated or other
shute with or without air blast, the first trough discharging over the amal-
gamated shute into the second trough.
It is chiefly when dealing with slimes and float gold that I contemplate using
the amalgamated rollers to make sure of securing all the particles contained in
the pulp. The rollers will roll on the pulp at the bottom of the tank, (the con-
sistency of which can be arranged entirely by the amount of water used and the
speed at which the paddles, which may be serrated, are run) thus rolling the
pulp into contact with the trough bottom (this being amalgamated) on the one
side, and with their amalgamated peripheries on the other side. The ribs of
the rollers (when ribbed) might be longitudinal or might run round them like
rings or the surfaces might have a diamond or star shaped formation. In this
way and with the before described amalgamator in combination, a very large
amalgamated area could be brought to bear in an efficient manner on the ore
pulp so that in the hands of a good mill-man the whole or a very high percentage
of recovery might be ensured with a moderate expenditure of power. The
troughs may have amalgamated false bottoms, or may be made entirely of copper
and be amalgamated (on the inside) on both sides and bottom. The arrange-
ment is or may be such that the paddle chain or spindles can be easily removed
so that the trough may be rendered perfectly easy of access for cleaning the
plates and adding fresh mercury. Free mercury might be added to the tank
bottom if desirable, so that the rollers and paddles might pass through and being
in contact with it take up more mercury as required while any remained free and
not in the amalgam state.
Dry ground ore may be fed from a hopper or otherwise direct into the dead
end of the trough, that is to say the end towards which the paddles or paddles
and rollers that are for the time being uppermost, travel.
Where stamps are employed for crushing ores I combine therewith a series of
amalgamated troughs with travelling amalgamated paddles with or without
rollers and amalgamated shutes such as above described, the stamp mill
delivering over an inclined amalgamated shute (against which an air blast or
blasts is or are directed) into the first trough which in turn delivers over a
similar inclined amalgamated shute (with air blast) into a second trough which
may deliver in like manner to a third trough or tank, the tailings being delivered
from the final trough into a settling tank, whence the water may be returned
to the stamps.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Method and Machinery or Apparatus for Extracting Gold
or other Valuable Metal from Crushed Ore or Material contain-
ing it.
I, ARTHUR SAMUEL FRANCIS ROBINSON, of the Vale of White Horse Iron
Works, Wantage, in the County of Berks, Engineer, do hereby declare the
mature 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:-
or
My invention has reference to an improved method and machinery or
apparatus for extracting gold or other valuable metal from crushed ore
material containing it, as I shall now proceed to explain with reference to the
accompanying illustrative drawings wherein Fig. 1 shows diagrammatically and
in side elevation, one arrangement of apparatus according to this invention.
Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section and Fig. an end elevation, showing to a larger
scale than Fig. 1, the trough or tank (hereinafter called the trough), endless
travelling chains and other parts of the apparatus, the trough however being
shown in these figures provided with a feed hopper instead of with a drum or
cylinder. Figs. 4 to 7 are detail views. Figs. 8 and 9 are diagrammatic views
illustrating modified arrangements hereinafter more particularly referred to.
According
shown in
amalgamated
that of
hereinafter
to
the
surface
called
arrangement
as
such
drum) is mounted
21
ore may
be
fed
a
to
Fig.
drum or
with
rotate
cylinder
its
an endless
1
ог
lower
shoot 7.
portion within a trough 2 containing water 3. As the wetted amalgamated
surface rises from the water there is projected against it a blast of air which
proceeds from a blower 4 and which can be regulated in a manner to enable the
surface to be more or less died, that is to say, the amount of water thereon to
As the damped
be regulated to an extent suitable for the material to be treated.
amalgamated surface of the drum proceeds onward there is fed onto it in a finely
divided stream or streams the finely divided material 5 (hereinafter referred to
as crushed ore) to be treated, and after the amalgamated surface so sprinkled has
travelled a further distance there is or are projected against it, as from a blower
or blowers 6 or 6, 6ª, a strong current or currents of air free from solid matter.
The crushed
hopper
a
through
Within the trough 2 below the drum 1 there are mounted upon endless travelling
chains 8 of which there are two, arranged near the respective sides of the
trough, a series of amalgamated paddles 9 or amalgamated paddles 9 alternating
with amalgamated plain or other rollers 10, as shown more clearly in Figs. 2 to 7
inclusive. The paddles 9 may extend above and below the chains as shown,
and they (also the rollers 10 when such are used) are caused to travel through
the water in the trough, the direction preferably being such that the paddles,
or paddles and rollers, which for the time being are uppermost travel towards
that end A of the trough from which the amalgamated surface of the drum 1
rises. The other end of the trough is furnished with an amalgamated inclined
shute 11 the bottom of which may be plane, stepped or corrugated and against
whose surface a powerful blast or blasts of air free from solid matter is or are
directed from a blower 12.
. Such á. blast may be provided by a blower having a divided or duplex delivery,
adapted to project air both against the amalgamated surface of the drum 1 and
against the amalgamated surface of the shute 11.
.
The endless chains 8 are carried by pairs of chain wheels 12 12ª fixed
respectively upon shafts 13 13 upon which are also fixed chain wheels 14 14ª
that are connected together by an endless chain 15, one of the shafts viz. 13,

page_text: being provided with a driving pulley 16 by which it and the other shaft 13" and
endless chains 8 with paddles 9 or paddles 9 and rollers 10 can be driven at the
required speed.
As will be seen the arrangement of the apparatus is such that floating particles
are carried to that end A of the trough from which the surface of the drum 1
rises and are completely immersed by and kept in contact with the amalgamated
surface of the paddles which carry the solid contents at the bottom of the trough
to the other end B thereof whence overflow takes place down the amalgamated
shute 11 already mentioned. The paddles that are uppermost for the time being
having taken the floating particles up to that end of the trough whence the
amalgamated surface of the drum rises as aforesaid, each of the said paddles in
turn, as the endless chains 8 travel, descends face downward onto floating
particles, carrying them underneath the surface of the water. Before descent,
each paddle may be passed through a powerful blast which both assists to drive
the floating particles into the mercury and also removes a considerable amount
of the surplus moisture from each, paddle previous to its again descending on to
the floating particles. I have found such an arrangement extremely efficient
in practice. A blower for this purpose is shown at 17 (Fig. 1). The form of
the paddles 9 may be varied. They may be of L shape in section but in the
example shown are each in the form of a bar which may be flat as shown, or
corrugated, notched at one edge and secured by angle brackets 9" and rivets to a
cross bar 9b the projecting ends of which are simply inserted into two oppositely
arranged links 8 of the two pairs of chains 8 so that the paddle can be quickly
and easily put in place and removed.
If amalgamated rollers 10 be used in conjunction with the amalgamated
paddles 9 as in the arrangement shown, they may be made to revolve on round
bars 18 passed through them, or the rollers might be fast on the bars or be con-
structed with pivots, the bar ends or pivots then revolving in bearings 8b carried
by the chain links 8" (Figs. 4 & 5). in some cases the rollers 10 might be hollow
their rims being connected to their centres by arms or perforated plates, and in
such cases the interior surfaces as well as the outer surfaces of the rollers might
be amalgamated.
I sometimes provide in conjunction with an apparatus comprising an
amalgamated drum 1 with blast arrangements, tank 2, chains 8, and amal-
gamated paddles 9, with or without amalgamated rollers 10, a second tank 2ª
with chains 8 and amalgamated paddles, or paddles and rollers, and an inter-
vening amalgamated plain corrugated or other shute 11" with or without air
blast, the first trough discharging over the amalgamated shute into the second
trough, and thus if desired discharging over another amalgamated shute 11 into
a third trough 2b and so on as shown in Fig. 1, the endless chains 8 8 etc. being
driven if desired from the shaft 13" of the first pair of chains S as shown.
It is chiefly when dealing with slimes and float gold that prefer to use the
amalgamated rollers 10 to make sure of securing all the particles contained in
the pulp. The rollers will roll on the pulp at the bottom of the tank, (the con-
sistency of which can be arranged entirely by the amount of water used and the
speed at which the paddles, which may be serrated or notched as shown, are run)
thus rolling the pulp into contact with the trough bottom (this being amal-
gamated) on the one side, and with their amalgamated peripheries on
the other side. The ribs of the rollers (when ribbed) might be
longitudinal or might run round them like rings as shown in Fig. 4 or the
surfaces might have a diamond or star shaped formation. In this way and with
the before described amalgamator 1 in combination, a very large amalgamated
area can be brought to bear in an efficient manner on the ore pulp so that in the
hands of a good mill-man the whole or a very high percentage of recovery might
be ensured with a moderate expenditure of power. The troughs 2, 2^ etc. may
have amalgamated false bottoms, or may be made entirely of copper and be
amalgamated (on the inside) on both sides and bottom. The arrangement is or

page_text: may be such, that the paddle chains 8 or spindles 13 13 with chains can be
easily removed so that the trough may be rendered perfectly easy of access for
cleaning the plates and adding fresh mercury. Free mercury might be added
to the tank bottom if desirable, so that the rollers and paddles might pass
through and being in contact with it take up more mercury as required while
any remained free and not in the amalgam state.
Dry ground,ore may be fed from a hopper such as 19 in Figs. 2 and 3 or
otherwise direct into the dead end of the trough, that is to say the end A towards
which the paddles 9 or paddles 9 and rollers 10 that are for the time being
uppermost travel. Figs. 2 and 3 show an arrangement of this kind in which
19 is a hopper provided with a steering device 20 driven from the shaft 13" for
feeding crushed ore to the dead end of the tank 2. Fig. 8 shows diagram-
matically a similar arrangement in which several troughs 2, 2ª, 2b etc with
interposed inclined shutes 11, 11", 11 etc. are arranged in series, each trough
being provided with endless travelling chains with amalgamated paddles or
amalgamated paddles and rollers as hereinbefore described. 21 is a pump for
returning water from a settling tank 22 back through a pipe 23 to the first
trough.
Where stamps are employed for crushing ores I combine therewith as shown
in Fig. 9 a series of amalgamated troughs 2, 2 with travelling amalgamated
paddles with or without rollers and amalgamated shutes 11, 11" etc such as
above described, the stamp mill shown at 24, delivering over' an inclined amal-
gamated shute 25 (against which an air blast or blasts is or are directed as from
a blower 26) into the first trough 2, which in turn delivers over a similar
inclined amalgamated shute 11 (with air blast) into a second trough 2" which
may deliver in like manner to a third trough, the tailings being delivered from
the final trough into a settling tank such as 22 (Fig. 8) whence the water may
be returned to the stamps.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. The hereinabove described improved method of extracting gold or other
valuable metal from crushed ore or material containing it according to which
a drum having an amalgamated surface and endless chains carrying amal-
gamated paddles, with or without amalgamated rollers, are mounted to rotate
within a trough containing water in such a manner that the wetted amalgamated
surface of the drum rises from the closed or dead end of the trough towards
which the uppermost paddles for the time being are travelling, the wetted
amalgamated surface of the drum having successively projected against it at
different parts of its rotation air for more or less drying the wetted surface, a
stream or streams of crushed ore, and a current or currents of air, and the
paddles that are for the time being uppermost acting to carry floating particles
towards the end of the trough from which the surface of the drum rises and
afterwards completely immersing them as the blades turn over substantially as
herein described.
2. For carrying out the improved method of extracting gold or other valuable
metal referred to in the preceding claim, apparatus constructed, combined and
operating substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and shown in
Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings.
3. In machnery or apparatus for extracting gold or other valuable metal from
crushed ore or material containing it, a trough adapted to contain water and
fitted with endless travelling chains provided with amalgamated paddles,
alternating with amalgamated rollers, the trough being closed or dead at one
end and provided at the other end with an inclined shute having an amal-
gamated bottom substantially as hereinbefore described for the purpose specified.
4. Apparatus for extracting gold or other valuable metal from crushed ore

page_text: or material containing it, constructed, arranged and operating substantially as
herein before described with reference respectively to and shown in Figs. 2 to 7
inclusive; in Fig. 8; and in Fig. 9 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 8th day of November 1897