New Gold Amalgamator.

Cromwell Argus, Volume III, Issue 118, 13 February 1872, Page 6

New Gold Amalgamator.

(Daihi Southern Cross.) Messrs Plunder and Cornforth, of Auckland, have recently secured jointly a patent for a new amalgamating process, which they have called the Mercurial Percolation Gold'am alga mating Process. The method is very simple and is likelv, we should think, to prove very.clfcotive. The design the inventor has had in view is to pass the crushed quartz completely through the mercury, and so bring every grain of it in close contact with the quicksilver. This object has been gained by a simple adaptation of the greatest of all natural principles, that of gravitation. A circular quicksilver bath of any desired size is prepared, but for convenience of illustration we will suppose it is fixed at 8 inch deep, which is a good size for practical purposes. The diameter, of course, must be regulated by circumstances. Now, quicksilver is 13 times heavier than water, and it. therefore follows that in order to make water and quartz How freely through the quicksilver by gravitation, a column of water 13.\ or 14 times the size of the quicksilver must bo obtained. Based on these first principles, in the percolation process an iron pipe of the required proportion is made. Following out the supposition of an 8 inch bath, a pipe 9 feet or 9 feet 4 inches would bo required. This is filled with iron guards at such a distance up as to bring the bottom of the pipe, when placed in the hath, nearly to the bottom of the quicksilver. Now if water and quartz were poured down this pipe, it is quite evident that the force of gravity would send it completely out of the bottom of the pipe, and the great density of the quicksilver would force it to the surface of the hath and over the sides. In its passage the quicksilver would amalgamate with the gold, the tailings only being driven to the surface and passing away over the side. This is actually the process which Messrs Plunder and Cornforth’s machine develops. There are, however, additions made to render the process more per-

feet and thorough. These are in the i,a of a sieve at the top of the pipe, which pi*' vents quartz of too large a size for ainalo ii tion from passing through, and round;-a bottom end of the pipe there are five tofjS' plates perforated with similar holes to t® in the sieve. These plates fit close to, M sides of the quicksilver bath, and as tlm. Jj inserted into the bath and covered bj/W quicksilver, it is impossible for the watet 'IS quartz-tailings to come tq the surface p w || out passing through them. Their obje n J to make the process of amalgamation 1 3' perfect by interrupting the progress oi "j* tailings in their way to the surface, aj bring every particle in contact with P^ a quicksilver. The sieve at the top regqdjr the size of the crushed quartz passed thro, a so that no stoppage can be caused at*|F bottom. The process appears to supp jr great want, which has been felt in treaiw fine alluvial gold sand, as every particle:.® come in contact with the quicksilver. \Y ® it is desired to use a bath of such weigh to render working by gravity inconveniei IS| impossible, a force-pump can be employs drive the quartz through the quicks! ® The same inventors have also devisee amalgamating machine for alluvial rod; which the water is passed down a pipe . ' the bottom of a quicksilver bath, and :IP rises to the surface by gravitation is pun-ff* out by a suction pump. We are info: W that the percolation process was tried Tookey’s battery for 48 hours as an exp !; ment with most satisfactory results, i well worthy of the attention of those ir$ l ested in mining. V/g 61