Show thi b ault gold Amak amator eugene E of B carl street san francisco is the inventor patentee and manufacturer of the gold amalgamates mates this invention has a number of points that should commend themselves to the placer miner and to those using stamps or rolls in free gold and silver recovery and the machine will undoubtedly find favor in mining circles because of its utility compactness pact ness simplicity of design low purchase and operating costs and the dign saving claimed for it in describing this machine the inventor says this amalgamator is built entirely of cast iron and copper mainly composed of only four parts this insures strength wear ing qualities and simplicity the new principle used brings the material treated firmly against amalgamated surfaces which are constantly cleaned by the light scouring action set up by the sands as they pass between the plate and quicksilver it requires no mechanical power and but very little attention to keep it in operation and the gold amalgam can be kept under lock and key the parts are named as follows the spout an iron casting with an elongated opening for the passage of gold bear ing material mixed with water receiving at the upper or hopper shaped end anade livering to the underside of an inverted amalgamated plate the spout collects the stream of moving material and delivers it to the surface of a shallow pool of quick silver until the volume within the spout reaches a height sufficient to force the quicksilver away and permit the stream to flow between the quicksilver and the am alga mated palte then up through the tortu ous passage and over the spillway descending within the spout this volume of gold bearing material and water expels the air which very often surrounds the fine grains of gold this eliminates one of the detriments to amalgamation it delivers the material subjected to a slight pressure directly against the amalgamated surfaces thus forcing amalgamation upon the gold A scouring action is also created by the sands being forced between the plate and the quicksilver this has proven essential in keeping the surfaces clean and bright gold and platinum being heavier than the quicksilver gravitate to the bottom while the lighter materials are kept afloat of the quicksilver and washed out with the exception of the lightest gold which has been forced into amala amalgamation garnation and is firmly held into the plate and the fine grains of quartz which contain small specks of gold attached this gold amalgamates with the quicksilver and this added weight retains the quartz floating upon the surface of the quicksilver the current of the stream not being strong enough to lift it out the ba basin sin an iron casting shaped to receive the discharge end of the spout and provided with lugs and bolts to hold the spout rigid the bottom of this basin is shaped to contain the pool of quicksilver into which the ribs of the inverted plate extend a drainage is placed at the lowest point and means for locking the drain cock is provided the front wall of this basin is made somewhat in the shape of the letter S partly lined with a piece of amalga mated sheet copper this is to catch and collect all the little particles of gold or quicksilver coming in contact with it as well as to deflect the stream to aid the heavy particles to gravitate and to bring the flaky gold against these amalgamated surfaces the partition which is also amalgamated is next to deflect the stream in the direction of the spillway the plate as the cut shows is somewhat improved over the ordinary mill plate P the amalgamation takes place on its under side and in this position it is not susceptible to catching or holding any foreign matter which would be detrimental to amalgamation at one edge the plate is pivots pivotally aly connected with the lower end of the t section their adjoining surfaces are planet planed smooth and true the other edge is free to be held either up or down ribs placed a little over an inch apart and parallel with the stream extend aroln the under surface of this plate do down W n in into hit t the pool of quicksilver these ribs f fulfill fulfil alfil ifil three functions ast 1st they increase the amalgamating area ad through the aid of the chemical affinity quicksilver has for itself ty they draw sufficient quicksilver up to the plate to keep it wet at all times regardless gard less of the scouring action going on by the sands which pass it under pressure ad they prevent any diagonal currents beneath the plate the partition or baffle plate is affixed to the free end of the plate to hold it down against the stream while working it is made from sheet copper and amalgamated to catch what gold may come in contact with it this partition prevents any great accumulation of sands on top of the plate the elevated position or if an overcharge be placed in the basin and the feed opened too wide to install and operate the main thing to eff effect act a maximum tonnage through the amalgamator is to maintain a constant and regular feed although it will handle a variable feed equally as well providing the flow of water be nearly constant this can be accomplished by providing a feed box the feed from it to be regulated by the size of the opening or the number of plugs drawn from the feed holes the feed drawn from wet sands or in this manner is usually too thick to flow through the amalgamator but it can the screen and made watertight water tight with the sluice on a dredge a cylindrical screen is preferable fe it can be set outside of and around the coarse screen of the revolving with it the fine sands and water to be caught in a feed box so arranged that the excess water can overflow into the sluice where the coarse material is to be treated in this way the fine is treated in the amalgamator and the coarse material treated in the sluices for use in stamp mills to install the amalgamator in a quartz mill it is only necessary to set it up in the place of the amalgam plates it does not M 55 lo 10 size amalgamator ready for action V 17 1 01 LIM AA IA LM M aa A XI 7 0 R 0 A T r also serves to direct the moving stream toward iward the spillway lock pins one at each end of the partition I 1 pass through holes in the sides of the basin and serve to hold the plate down they also can be used to hold the plate up to fo permit inspection of the the under side these pins are provided with a hole in the point for the insertion of a padlock to present vent the opening of the basin by unauthorized iced persons the riffle a section made of cast iron is placed just below the spillway as a precaution cioll against the loss of quicksilver or am j alga albam quicksilver is sometimes splashed out ut if the plate be suddenly dropped from be thinned by providing a supply of water to mix with it as it enters the hopper the illustration in the center page represents a sectional view of an amalgamator working with a teed feed box and water supply as could be arranged in connection with a miners sluice water may be drawn from any source or any device can be used to separate the fine sand from the gravel however if a flat perforated sheet or screen be used it should have a quantity of water passing over it to material and should carry away the coarse be braced with strips of iron placed edgewise under it to prevent it from sagging the feed box to be placed directly under require as much room nor as much attention as an ordinary mill plate does the scouring action keeps the plate and surface of the quicksilver clean and in a perfect condition for amalgamating and when it is found necessary to remove the accumulated gold amalgam from the plate it is only necessary to have an extra plate on hand to replace the one taken out ie we loaded plate can be lifted from the basin and the clean plate put in its place this will only take a minute to make the change as the hinges are so constructed in the large size machines that the plate is free to be lifted out when open in many ways the am amalgamator alg amator is su to the ordinary mill plate the values in the slimes are easily caught for they are brought in firm contact with the underside of this improved plate the excess quicksilver which comes from the mill battery can be drained off by connecting a pipe between the bottom of the basin and the drain cock and extending it up to the working height of the quicksilver A bend in the pipe at this point and a receptacle to collect it as it comes from the amalgamator or a glass gauge can be so connected that the excess quicksilver can be drawn off from time to come to aid amalgamation in cold climates or in winter weather the temperature of the quicksilver can be raised by applying heat to the under side of the basin there is no reason why the finest and most flaky gold cannot be amalgamated as readily as coarse gold if it is brought into firm contact with clean amalgamated surfaces this amalgamator insures this contact and yet does not agitate the quicksilver for the stream passes over its surface this amalgamator requiring no power to operate and very little attention and care makes it practical and economical it has a locking device to prevent it being tampered with or the gold amalgam being taken by others than those authorized the value of this feature can only be estimated by the purchaser |