Ores Containing them.
Year: 1885

page_text: · Ores Containing them.
"
I LORENTZ ALBERT GROTH K.G.V.. Civil Engineer and Proprietor of the Patent
Industrial and Financial Agency 30 Finsbury Pavement London E.C. do hereby
declare the nature of said invention for "A METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR
EXTRACTING NICKEL AND COBALT FROM ORES CONTAINING THEM a communication
to me from abroad by Demetry Mindeleff, Chemist, of San Francisco, California,
in the United States of America and in what manner the same is to be performed
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to the extraction of Nickel and Cobalt either or both
from the ores containing them, and it consists in the method of extraction below
described as well as in certain improved apparatus employed in carrying the
method into practice as hereinbefore described.
In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification Figure: 1. is a
sectional elevation showing the apparatus used in carrying out my process.
Figure 2 being a plan of the same.
In both figures the same letters of reference are used to indicate the same parts.
According to the said invention the ore after being taken from the mine in its
lump state is placed in the retort A of any suitable size and shape, and therein
heated to a red heat.
There is then passed into the retort a quantity of hydro carbon gas sufficient to
disintegrate or reduce all the metals named which may be contained in the ore, the
quantity of gas varying according to the richness of the ore. B is the furnace for
retort.
The retort has an induction pipe C, at one end and an eduction D at the other;
this latter pipe dips into the condenser E, a wooden tub, covered, and partly filled
with water, and à testing pipe F, with stop cock F', is led from it to be used
periodically in testing for the presence of arsenical or sulphuretted hydrogen gas,
for as long as either of these gasses is evolved the hydro-carbon gas will continue
to be passed into the retort.

page_text: In testing, the end of the pipe F is immersed in a solution of copper or lead in
the test tube G and the cock F being opened the gaseous vapors are detected by
a black precipitation following their mixing with the solution-as soon as the
precipitation ceases the gases being no longer evolved, the reduction is known to
be complete and the hydro carbon gas may be then shut off from the retort and its 5
contents left to cool, still enveloped in an atmosphere of the gas.
In cooling, the fire may be withdrawn from the furnace, or the retort withdrawn
from the fire as preferred.
The overflow pipe H, takes back to the gas holder any hydrocarbon gas which
may have escaped unconsumed from the retort and bubbled up through the water
in the condenser. The cock I, near the bottom of the condenser, is used to draw
off the precipitations which will accumulate from the condensing of the evolved
gasses.
When the ore is cooled it is taken from the retort and finely crushed in the
machine J, which I show in the drawing to be a set of ordinary crushing rolls,
though any suitable pulverizer will do.
From this machine the ore is taken to the agitator and separator K, which may
be thus described :-
L is a wooden tub; M is an upright spindle standing in the middle of it, and
resting in the step N.
From this spindle there radiates a number of stirring arms O; the upper end of
the spindle is supported in a bearing P, on the frame Q, and bevel gear wheels R,
transmit motion from a horizontal shaft S, itself revolved by any suitable means.
T, is an electro-magnet formed of a soft iron core T', enveloped, above its
submerged portion, with an insulated electric coil. This coil is connected with
the conducting wires U, through the swinging bar V, having a roller V₁ at its
lower end.
W, is a metal track resting on the wooden frame to which the conducting wires
are connected so that as long as the roller V₁ rests on this track, the electric
current continues through the coil and magnetizes the core, but as soon as the
'roller V¹, is raised from this track, the current ceases and the core is no longer
magnetized. X, is a wooden frame in which the magnet is supported, it has a
'projection, X¹; Y, is a horizontal shaft with a cam or arm Y¹ secured to it which
arm has a roller Y", on its end as shown.
Z is a counter balance weight connected by a cord passing over the pulleys a, a,
to the frame of the magnet to which it is fastened.
i
b, b, figure 2 show two frame timbers between which the frame of the magnet
slides back and forth, these timbers are also shown in Fig. 1.
There is a small roller c, on each side of the magnet frame which rollers, rolling
on the upper side of the timbers bb, when the magnet, having been raised to its
highest elevation, is being forced back by the action of the cam Y', support the
magnet from falling when no longer supported by the cam.
The timbers bb, will have a slot cut out at 'd,' to allow the rollers c, to pass by
in the act of raising the magnet between them.
The hydro carbon gas with which the ore is treated may be obtained from the
dry distillation of wood, naptha, coal or other substance yielding it, without
cleansing or puryfying it or separating the other gases generally accompanying
such distillation.
The operation of my separator or concentrator K, is as follows:-
The stirring arms O, being revolved in the mass of pulp placed in the tub L,
and the cam Y¹ being also put in motion through a belt connecting the two
pulleys and f, the pulpy mass is continually agitated and the magnet is
alternately dipped into and withdrawn from the mass to the effect of collecting
upon its surface all the metallic particles coming in contact with it and afterwards
depositing them in the receiver g.
The different positions of both magnet and cam are shown in dotted lines Fig. 1.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1st The method of extracting Nickel and Cobalt from the ores containing them,
which consists in treating the ore with hydro carbon gas in a heated chamber then
finely pulverizing it and finally extracting the metallic particles by the application
of a magnetic current in the manner substantially as herein described. .
2nd The separating apparatus consisting of the agitating tub with its revolving
arms and the electro magnet alternately dropped into and withdrawn from the
tub substantially as and for the purpose described.
Dated this 5th day of September 1885.