IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONCENTRATION AND TREATMENT_OF Low CLASS AND UNMERCHANTABLE ORES AND MINERALS."
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas John Barnard, of 4, Abbey Mount,
Tavistock, in the County of Devon, Mine Proprietor, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONCENTRATION AND TREATMENT_OF
Low CLASS AND UNMERCHANTABLE ORES AND MINERALS."
Low CLASS AND UNMERCHANTABLE ORES AND MINERALS."
Sealed the 13th March 1874, and dated the 15th November 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas John Barnard
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 15th November 1873.
I, THOMAS JOHN BARNARD, of 4, Abbey Mount, Tavistock, in the
County of Devon, Mine Proprietor, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONCENTRATION AND TREATMENT OF
Low CLASS AND UNMERCHANTABLE ORES AND MINERALS," to be as follows:-
The object of my Invention is the improved concentration and
profitable treatment of ores and minerals, more especially those hitherto
regarded as valueless substances.
Throughout the kingdom, and more particularly Devon and Cornwell

page_text: but which has never been considered sufficient to pay for the cost of
extraction.
It is well known that the average quality of copper ores sold
throughout the land to the smelters is about 7 per cent. and that
repeated washings, dressings, and concentrations are resorted to upon
the mines in order to arrive at this produce, consequently much material
is wasted, and any copper held in solution finds its way only into the
rivers; the miner also gets no benefit whatever for the silver, and as
1 to 2 per cent. copper ore is unmerchantable or unprofitable it is
allowed to accumulate in "burrows or heaps upon the mines as an
unsaleable discarded article.
""
I now proceed to describe my process:-The comparatively unlimited
copper ores containing only 1 to 2 per cent. are equally as rich, or
nearly so for silver, as the very limited higher copper produce material.
I therefore cause an average to be made of 50, 100, or more tons of :
about 2 per cent. copper orc, which is then-roasted with common salt
and chloridized in the ordinary manner; this of course converts the silver
as well as copper into a chloride. It is universally known that by passing
hot water through the chloridized stuff the chloride of copper will be
held in solution, and can be precipitated by metallic iron or zinc, but I
cause strong wooden tanks to be made with false bottoms, and instead of
hot water I pass hot or boiling brine through the chloridized mass,
which holds the silver as well as the copper in solution. This liquid is
then conveyed through a long run of launders containing iron into a
large wooden tank, and is kept hot by a jet of steam, and scrap
iron or
zinc in the tank as well as in the launders throws down a copper
precipitate of about 60 per cent. copper, but containing several hundred
ounces silver to the ton, which is the great secret of success, as both
silver and copper are concentrated from a commercially valueless article
into a product of great wealth, admitting of at once being treated by
any of the ordinary well-known methods for the extraction of the silver
from the copper.
In conclusion I desire protection for my Invention, which I find by
repeated practical experiments to be the only means of profitably
treating the low class ores herein described. I well know that even 10:

page_text: the copper acts as an assistant to concentrate both itself and the silver,
and thus will millions of ounces of silver now disseminated in minute
particles, and scattered broadcast throughout the mineral kingdom, be
concentrated and ultimately converted into pure metal at immense
profits, together with large quantities of copper hitherto regarded as
valueless for the benefit of the mining community, and whereby will be
removed the great sting of speculation that has always been its bane.
In order to prevent any infringement upon my discoveries I would
ask to be allowed to modify the minute details; for instance, some of
the chloride of silver may be precipitated in a purer state by metallic
copper before iron is introduced, but I claim that the only method of
obtaining the low class hitherto valueless silver and copper ores to profit
is by causing (when they are not intimately associated by nature) low
class silver and copper to be mixed together, and the precipitation of the
copper as before described brings down the silver, thus, one per cent.
copper in a ton of ore, and ten ounces of silver in another ton of ore
treated separately end in a commercial failure, since the cost is more
than the return; but one per cent. copper and only 4 ounces of silver in
one ton of stuff can upon a large scale as I have described be worked to
profit. The sequel will be proved by demonstrative facts, as my.
Invention will bring millions upon millions of pounds worth of silver
and copper into commercial value, which have been known for ages to
exist in their present state, but without any applied means for the
profitable extraction of the same.
5 SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas John Barnard in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 15th May 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
JOHN BARNARD, of 4, Abbey Mount, Tavistock, in the County of Devon,.
O Mine Proprietor, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in tho
thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her. heirs and suc-

page_text: cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Thomas John Barnard, Her
special licence that I, the said Thomas John Barnard, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas
John Barnard, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONCENTRATION AND TREATMENT OF Low
CLASS AND
UNMERCHANTABLE ORES AND MINERALS," upon the condition
(amongst others), that I, the said Thomas John Barnard, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or
one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to
be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas John Barnard, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and a
by the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
The object of this Invention is the elimination of metals, such as
copper, silver, and tin from poor copper ores and minerals, and I effect
this by a special treatment or method of operating upon the ores or
minerals, as hereafter described.
2
Copper lodes generally contain an average of 4 to 8 ounces silver per
ton of raw stuff, but this quantity when extracted has never been con-
sidered sufficient to pay for the cost of extraction. The average quality
of copper ores sold to the smelters is about 7 per cent., and repeated
washings, dressings, and concentrations are resorted to upon the mines 3
in order to arrive at this produce, consequently much material is wasted,
and any copper held in solution finds its way into the rivers and becomes
lost, the miners obtaining no benefit whatever for the silver. Thus 1
to 2 per cent. of copper ore is unmerchantable or unprofitable, and is
allowed to remain undisturbed in the bowels of the earth, or when 3
explorations necessitate its being raised to surface it figures only in
accumulated "burrows" or waste heaps upon the mines as an unsaleable
discarded article.

page_text: The before-mentioned copper ores comparatively unlimited in quantity
containing only from 1 to 2 per cent. are equally as rich or nearly so
for silver as the very limited higher copper produce material. I therefore
according to my Invention cause an average to be made of 50, 100, or
5 more tons of from 1 to 3 per cent. copper ore (governed entirely by the
general average quality of the mineral about to be operated upon),
which is then roasted (after being finely pulverized) with common salt
and chloridized in the ordinary manner. I then place, say, 5 tons more
or less, of this roasted stuff into a strong wooden tank fitted with a false
bottom, and I pass hot or strong boiling brine through the chloridized
mass to hold the silver as well as the copper in solution. This liquid is
then conveyed through a long run of launders containing scrap iron or.
zinc into another wooden tank also containing scrap iron or zinc, this.
tank being kept hot by a jet of steam, whereby a precipitate of from 60
to 90 per cent. of copper is thrown down, in addition to several hundred.
ounces of silver to the ton, the concentrated precipitate being afterwards
treated by any of the ordinary well-known methods for the extraction of
the silver from the copper.
I desire protection for my Invention, which I find by repeated
practical experiments to be the only means of profitably treating the
low class ores herein described. I well know that even ten ounces
silver contained in a ton of mineral cannot be extracted pure in a direct
manner to afford any advantage or profit for the extraction, but the
copper acts as an assistant to concentrate both itself and the silver, and
thus will millions of ounces of silver now disseminated in minute
particles and scattered broadcast throughout the mineral kingdom be
concentrated and ultimately converted into pure metal at immense
profits, together with large quantities of copper hitherto regarded as
valueless for the benefit of the mining community, and whereby will be
removed the great sting of speculation that has always been its bane..
I am aware that the poorest portions of copper lodes contain hardly a
trace of copper, but the lowest average of the mineralized matter of all
healthy copper lodes is at least 4 ounces of silver per ton, and as rich
deposits of copper yielding 7 per cent. and upwards of that ore rarely
contain more than 10 ounces of silver the higher class copper can be
used to average the whole, and act as a flux or assistant to utilize the
entirety of the lode for silver. The lowest of the low class copper will
thus be saved as well as the silver. Hence, where the miners do not

page_text: themselves erect works for the separation of the two metals, no material
need be offered to the smelters of a lower quality than 60 per cent.
copper and 200 ounces silver per ton, by which the saving of carriage
alone will amount to a very large item.
In some cases a small portion of the chloride of silver may be
precipitated in a little richer state by metallic copper before iron or zinc
is introduced, or copper precipitate may be enriched for silver by passing
or filtering copper and silver liquor through it. Again, cold or boiling
hyposulphite of soda can take the place of boiling brine. The latter
however, gives far better results.
I claim that the only method of obtaining the low class hitherto
valueless silver and copper ores to profit is by causing (where they are
not intimately associated by nature, which is a very rare occurrence) low
class silver and copper to be mixed together, and the precipitation of the
copper as before described brings down the silver, since the same liquor
can be used over and over again, the salt from each charge of ore being
washed out with fresh water after the removal of the copper and silver
by a small addition of salt to every new charge of ore, to about equally
balance the quantity of liquor by the moisture contained in dry chloridized
ores after having passed through the process.
The repeated use of the liquor makes it rank by reason of the chloride
of iron contained in it. To remedy this milk of lime is thrown in,
which precipitates the iron, and this when collected forms a good paint.
Should there still be any copper or silver in the precipitate of iron it
can be extracted by my process, so that nothing is lost. Any oxide of
tin ever existing in the ore still remains, and the above scouring and
washing operation admits of its being dressed for market at much under
the ordinary cost, the value of the tin being greatly enhanced. It will
hence be clearly understood that one per cent. copper in a ton of ore, and
ten ounces of silver in another ton of ore treated separately end in a
commercial failure, for the vital reason that the cost is more than the
return, but as little as one per cent. copper and only four ounces of silver
in one ton of stuff can upon a large scale as I have described be worked
to profit. The sequel cannot fail to be proved by demonstrative facts, as
my Invention will bring millions upon millions of pounds worth of
silver and copper into commercial value, which have been known for
ages to exist in their present state, but without any applied means for
the profitable extraction of the same..

page_text: And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,-
Firstly. The method of treating poor copper ores as described, whereby
the metals can be eliminated therefrom.
Secondly. The employment of hot brine in or upon chloridized copper
ores, whereby the copper and silver may be precipitated together.
Thirdly. The employment of tanks and launders containing iron and
zinc, as and for the purposes set forth.
Fourthly. The employment of steam for heating brine liquor within a
tank, by which metals held in solution in such liquor can be precipitated
as described.
Fifthly. The modified method of treating or operating upon copper
ores as set forth, for the elimination of metals therefrom.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas John Barnard, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of May,
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.
THOMAS JOHN BARNARD. (L.S.)
Witness,
H. GARDNER,
Robertson, Brooman, & Co.,
Patent Agents,
166, Fleet Street,
London.