Patent ID: 7090080

Claim:
An apparatus for separating metals from nonmetals in a granular stream comprising: (a) a vibratory conveyor including a trough assembly suspended on springs and a motor for causing a vibration of the trough assembly to thereby move material in a predetermined direction of material flow and having: (i) a first conveyor section including at least one perforated deck coupled to the trough assembly, the perforated deck having apertures of a predetermined size, and (ii) a second section including an upper trough having at least two sections substantially horizontally aligned and a lower trough extending substantially parallel to the upper trough sections placed downstream of the first conveyor section, the upper trough having one or more gaps of a predetermined width between said sections so as to permit material to fall onto the lower trough, and (b) a magnetic separator positioned above each of said one or more gaps in said upper trough and comprising each a magnet member and an endless belt moving in said direction of material flow relative to said vibratory conveyor, the endless belt positioned so as to slide over the magnet member, the magnet member being positioned above and spanning the width of each said gap in said upper trough.