US899146A - Extraction of metals from their ores. - Google Patents

Description

ca t- 1 "ta UNITED ST; TES PATENT OFFICE.

JABEZ TURTON, OF JOHANXESBURG, TRAXSYAAL.

EXTRACTION OF ZYIETALS FBOIlI THEIR GEES.

Application filed December 20, 1905.

T0 (17 wit m1 it may concern:

Be it known that l, Jxmiz Tt'n'rox, a subject of the. liing of Great Britain, residing at Jrihannesbnrg. 'lransvaal, have invented certain new and usel'ul improvements iltelating to the l'ixtraction of Metals from Their ()res, of which the fol owing is a specilicz'ltion.

This invention has reference to the extraction of metals lioln ores.

ltlthmzgh primarily designed for the treat' plicable. for the treatment of pyritie or nonpvritic ores.

The invention relates particularly to the process of extracting the precious or ba e metals from the crushed or reduced ore by means ol a solvent s lution.

As comparul with certain pro esses heretol'ore proposed for the purposes specified, the presemimprovements give, among others, the lollowing advantages, namelyz- They cnabie the xtraction of the metal to be ell'ected much m re expeditiously; a higher extraction is ohtaiaed, and the loss of line gold in slimes etcetera is entirely obviated. The. process is extr mely simple and pos- Sesses decided advantages both as regards handling and working, over the processt s at present in vogue. The ore, alter being crushed, goes direct into the vats [or treatment with the solution; practically all the gold is extracted before the ore. leaves the vats; no slimcs are formed, and no further treatment of the tailings in any way is required. The gold extracted is much purer, and finally, the. initial cost of the installation of the plant is very considerably reduced.

The essence of the present invention lies in the employment of a solvent solution eonsist-ing of sulfuric acid, salt (ehlorid of sodium), nitrate of an alkali metal (nitrate of soda or nit-rate of potash), permanganate of sodav or permanganate of potash, and water, with or without the addition of saecharin (C II O all in suitable quantities or proportions. The function of the saeeharin is that of an oxidizing agent.

In carrying out the invention in the ease of ordinary conglomerate and non-pyritie ores, the ore as it comes from the mine is crushed or conn'ninut-ed, as for example by passing it through stone erushers or crushing rollers, or

Specification of Letters Patent.

1 nature of the. ore. placed in a vat or tank (or vats or tanks) of Patented Sept. 22. 1908.

Serial No. 292,632.

by any other suitable means, to reduce itto a suitable size to render it amenable to treatment by the. chemical solvent. The degree of eomminution will vary according to the The crushed ore is then any suitable Ctmstruction. As the s'vlvent solution 1s very penetrative, it is desirable that the vats or tanks shall be so constructed as to withstand the action of the solution; for example, the vats ma; be. made of pitchpine, and. with the. object of counteracting any action of the solvent which might cause shrinkage of the wood, the vats may be bound with iron bands which are anapte l to nmke thevats liquidtight to prevent leakages. if preferred the vats may be built of bricks on a foundation of concrete and be lined with a suitable inm-perishable cement. [t is also desirable that all the utensils. pipes, pumps, ctcctera employed in the process, either for the cireulation or manipulation of the solvent, should be of vuleanite. glass. or other suitable anti-cm-rosive or acid resisting material. After a sulii -ient quanlit of the ore has been placed in the tank, the solvent solution is then pumped on to the contents and allowed to pereolate through, and sutli cicnt time given for the ell'ective working of the solvent, after which it is treated as hereinafter explained for the purpose of extractin; the. metal.

I prefer to treat the re wit h the. solvent by IUlitliflll, that is to say the vats are preferably so arranged that the solution can he drawn on from the first into the next vat n! tank, and so on through the whole series, the solution being brought up to its original strength as it passes on from vat to vat. In this manner the solution can be so manipulated as to reduce the cost, in rotation, to one quarter that of the original solution. After the original solution has passed through the ore in a vat it will be understood that a certain quantity remains in the ore. This is preferably leached off with water, which. percolating or passing through the ore, carries with it all the auriferous fluid. This washing is preferably continued until the liquid passing from the vat is colorless. When this condition is reached the vatcan be discharged and re-cliargr-l with the ore for treatment.

Although the solution extracts all metals from ores, it has the power of holding all these metals in solution as long as the standard strenglji is maintained. he ore may be treated with the solvent solution in any other suitable and convenient manner. i or each ton of ore treated I employ the several ingredients in the following quantities or proportions, namely:water 40 gallons or 400 pounds, sull'uric acid 80 pounds, salt (chlorid of sodium) 40 pounds, nitrate of an alkali metal (nitrate ol soda or nitrate of potash) 2 pounds, permanganate of soda or permanganate of potash 2 pounds. in addition to the permanganate of soda or permanganate of potash, saccharin mayoe employed and two pounds (more or less) be used in the production of the above quantity of the solvent. The quantities of the several ingredients may be varied as may be found necessary or desirable to suit the nature of the ore to be treated. The solvent solution maybe produced by mixing the several ingredients enumerated in any suitable and preferred manner.

in the process of treating highly pyritic ores it is necessary to roast the ore in kilns. The ore -ed not be tincly comminuted as pieces ranging from one ounce to tour or live pounds in weight would be suitable for the roasting process. dead mast is preferable although not absolutely necessary; the ore must he rendered highly porous by calcination so that it is amenable to the penetrative action of the solvent solution. After the calcination oi the ore is completed, it. is crushed or comminuted' (more or less coarse and treated as before described with the solvent solution.

As a precipitant for recovering the gold from the aurit'erous lluid I prefer to employ charcoal, although any other suitable reagent may be used. By employing charcoal as the precipitant the gold is obtained in the metallic state, and all the baser metals are left in the lluid.

In course of time the original solution becomes so highly charged or saturated with the gold and other metals that it can no longer be used for ell'ecting the extraction. When this stage is reached it is finally drawn oil and very ireely diluted with water (say three to live parts of water to one of solution) and then passed through the charcoal. The dilution of the solution absolutely esseni ial. other wise, the solution, being too strong, would have a tendency to destroy the )recipitating power of the charcoal. The charcoal may be iuclosed in bags or covers made of muslin or other similar suitable material. I or ell'ecting the recovery of the gold from the charcoal the latter is burned in a suitable vessel, the ashes containing the gold being subsequently mixed with suitable fluxes and reduced in the ordinary manner.

What I claim as my invention and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. The process of extracting metals from ore which consists in subjecting the ore to the action of a solvent solution of sulfuric acid, sodium chlorid a nitrate of an alkali metal, a permanganate of an alkali metal, saccharin and water, and subsequently precipitating the metal from said solution.

2. The process of extracting metals from ores which consists in crushing the ore, then treating the crushed ore with a solvent solution of sulfuric acid, salt, nitrate of an alkali metal, and permanganate ol' an alkali metal, with the addition oi saccharin and water, and subsequently precipitating the gold from said solution, substantially as described.

The process of extracting metals from ores which consisis in crushing the ore then treating the crushed ore with a solvent solution of sulfuric acid, salt, nitrate of an alkali metal and permanganate of an alkali metal, and water, with the addition of sacchurin, and subsequently precipitating the gold from the solvent solution on chart-mil, and then burning the charcoal and adding llux to the ashes and reducing same to recover the gold, substantially as described.

4. The process of treating pyritic ores for extracting metals therefrom, which consists in reducing the, ore to a suitable size, then roasting the same to render it porous, crushing it after calcination is completed, then treating the same with a solvent solution of sulfuric acid, salt, nitrate of an alkali metal and permanganate of an alkali metal, and water, with the addition of saceharin and subsequently precipitating the gold from the solvent solution, substantially as described.

5. The process of treating pyriticores for extracting metals therefrom, which consists in reducing the ore to a suitable size, then roasting the same to render it. porous, crushing it after calcination is completed, then treating the same with a solvent solution of sulfuric acid, salt, nitrate of an alkali metal, and permanganate of an alkali metal, and water, with the addition of saceharin, and subsequently precipitating the. gold from the solvent solution on charcoal, substan tially as described.

6. The process of treating pyritic ores for extracting metals therefrom, which consists in reducing the ore to a suitable size, then roasting the same to render it porous, crushing it after calcination is completed, then treating the same with a solvent solution of sulfuric acid, salt, nitrate of an alkali metal, and permanganate of an alkali metal, and water, with the addition of saccharin, and subsequently precipitating tht gold from the solvent solution on charcoal, and then burning the eharccal and adding ttux to the ashes and redu ing same to recover the gold, sobst antially as described.

7. The process of extracting metals from ores which consists in crushing the ore, then treating the crushed ore with a solvent solution of sulfuric a d, salt, nitrate of an alkali metal, and permanganate of an alkali metal, and water, with the addition of saceharin, and subsequently diluting the solvent solution with water preparatory to precipitating the gold therefrom and finally precipitating the gold, substantially as described.

T he process of extracting metals from ores which consists in crushing the ore, then treating the crushed ore with a solvent solution of sulfuric acid, salt, nitrate of an alkali metal, and permanganate of an alkali metal, and water with the addition of sacr-harin, the ore being treated with the solvent by rotation, or so that thesolution can be drawn oil from the first vat into the next rat and so on through the whole series, the solution being brought up to its original strength as it passes on from vat to vat, and subsequently diluting the solvent solution with water reparatory to precipitating the gold there ii'om and finally precipitating the gold, substantially as described.

The process of extracting metals from ores which consists in crushing the ore, then treating the crushed ore with a solvent solution consisting of eight Y pounds of sulfuric acid, forty pounds of salt, twenty two and a half pounds of nitrate of an alkali metal, two ounds permanganate of an alkali met: al, and tour hundred pounds of water, with two pounds of saccharin per ton of ore to be treated, the ore being treated with the solvent by rotation, then washing the ore in the vat until the liquid passing from the vat is colorless, then diluting the solvent solution with water, then precipitating the gold from the diluted solution on charcoal, then burning the charcoal, and then adding flux to the charcoal ashes and reducing the same to recover the gold, substantialtv as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set in hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JABEZ TURTON.

WVitnesses:

CHAS. OvExnaLE, It. OVENDALE.