Patent ID: 7438190

Claim:
A separation apparatus for separating a target material from a source material, the apparatus comprising: a carrier for transporting the source material along a predetermined path, the carrier comprising: a frame; a flow channel mounted to the frame; retaining members mounted within the flow channel for retaining the target material; and a fluid transport channel configured to receive the source material and a fluid substance at one end of the flow channel to mix the source material with the fluid substance and to guide the mixture to the flow channel so that the source material is transported by the fluid substance along the flow channel over the retaining member; and a magnetic field generator including a plurality of magnets for forming alternating areas of presence and absence of a magnetic field along the predetermined path so that the magnetic fields intermittently act on the source material transported by the carrier to progressively separate the target material from the source material, the strength of the magnetic fields being such that not only magnetic materials in the source material are affected as being attracted, but also conductive non-magnetic materials in the source material are affected by virtue of induction, causing repulsion of the conductive non-magnetic materials away from the magnetic field.