NEW PATENT FOR THE EXTRACTION OF GOLD FROM QUARTZ TAILINGS.

Inangahua Times, Volume VII, Issue 1180, 15 September 1882, Page 2

NEW PATENT FOR THE EXTRACTION OF GOLD FROM QUARTZ TAILINGS.

At the invitation of Mr "W. R. Buchan a number of gentleman interested in quartz mining in the Inangahun, met at Mr M. Levy's office, Broadway, on Wednesday afternoon last f tir the purpose of witnessing an experimental trial of a new process for the extraction , of gold from *q«« I t2-Talirnpr r *■ - •^~^^r--«*r^ Amongst those present were Messrs P. . Butler, P. Murphy, P. Slattery (diroctorg Welcome Company), Messrs J. B. Beeche and M. Byrne (directors Specimen Hill Company), Mr J. Butler" (director Hopeful Extended Company]}, Mr C. V acquarrie (director Golden Treasure Company), and Messrs Pickering, Brennan, Faler, and Potts. In order to clearly convey the exact nature of the process, we can do no better than narrate what took place on the occasion. Mr Buchan exhibited drawings resembling ordinary t rotary amalgamating barrels each of the size of, say, a hogshead. H,e explained that these are lined internally with a complete'coating.of porcelain, earthenware,: or other acid-resisting substance. The inside of the barrels instead of being smooth is corrugated from end to end, for reasons' which will presently be explained. Supposing one of theso barrels to be placed upon a stand, and resting upon spindles at each end, one of ....which is hollow, it i 3 now ready for operations. One ton of -quartz tailings is placed in the barrel, wltfch quantity ahau^, half ii]2s it

and sufficient of the chlorine solution is then injected to cover the tailings to a depth of three or four inches. .The door of the barrel is then hermetically closed, and the barrel is made to revolve at the rate of 4 revolutions per minute, and as ■ it slowly turns, the sand is raised by the I corrugations on the inside, and drops into the solution. Tin's process is continued for two hours, ;it the. end of which time the whole of the sand has been brought

thoroughly into contact with the liquid. The door is then opened, and the solution, which now carries in suspension the whole of the gold, silver, iron and other nictate, is drained off into a receiver or vat, and the sand is thrown away. The treatment of the solution for the recovery of the gold only, or all the metals it contains, is now all that remains, and 4iiia is accomplished almost instantaneously t^ chemical aid, to be presently expjajned. W[v Buchan next proceeded to practically illustrate the principle. He produced* an ordinary glass retort, and in this placed about an ounce of the black oxide of manganese, which had been powdered for the occasion. Placing the pipe of the retort in a bottle of clean water, he next poured into the retort about a wine-glass of hydrpchlrie acid. 5 fflittTWn* ■Jihiiiitheny doßed/and -a spirit lamp being held under the mixture, bj' the action of -»the acid on the powder, the chlorine gas was given off, and seen to immediately rise and slowly work down the pipe to the water — water having the property of absorbing double its bulk of chlorine gas, and^ in the course of a minjute or so, the water became surcharged with the gas, and in this condition is one of the most powerful dissolvents known to chemistry. The solution (water and chlorine gas) was next poured ■into two glass bottles, and into each of these a cork, coated with gold leaf, was immersed, and presently the gold was seen to disappear, having been completely dissolved by the action of the solution. All that now remained, as in the former case, was to recover the gold from the solution, and this was performed as follows : A small quantity of the liquid was poured into a tumbler, and into this was dropped a teaspoonful of sulphate of copper dissolved in water, and instantaneously the gold was thrown down as a black precipitate,' and the solution being poured off, the gold is ready for the melting pot. This explains the process, and its simplicity and the easiness and despatch with which it can be performed, leaves nothing to be desired. As we have already shown, the only chemicals required in the process are muriatic acid, and sulphate of copper, the quantity of which required is very small, and the cost inconsiderable. The manganese exists in large quantities and may be landed in Reefton for for about £8 per ton, and this quantity would last for a long time. However, it p^s-tpiite possible that manganese exists in sour very "midst, and should this be the | case.. the cost of .vthq process would be j £250, would treafthe whole of the tailings for a 10-head battery, and there is •nothing in tho process but what an ordinary workman could master without the least difficulty. The illustrations and explanations afforded by the operator fully explained the process, in every stage, to those present, who one and all appeared fully satisfied with the results produced, and a general desire was expressed that the invention should receive an immediate trial at one of the local batteries. Should the anticipations raised by this trial be borne out on the application of the process upon a larger scale, an immense revolution will bo caused in the economy of quartz mining.