C.-3

190

the gold-saving plates and scouring or rubbing off the amalgam or other gold-saving preparation or material, or choking, blocking, or damaging the plates. In combination with the screen last described of a fixed or pivoted comb or series of combs or weights, used either together or separately, of any suitable substance, but preferably of silvered copper, which may be used at any angle in the tail-race, sluice-box, or on the tables for the purpose of reducing or breaking the velocity of the wash and allowing it to settle through the screen to the gold-saving plates. These combs or brushes may be suspended above the current in such a way that its velocity is checked by their weight, or maybe fixed either above or below in such a manner that their members or long fingers may partly obstruct the flow for the purpose described. Eeferring to the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 is a diagram of a number of boxes arranged in different ways and at different angles for treating gold-saving wash. For convenience these boxes are shown as arranged under a race the bottom of which is perforated or has bars where the boxes are attached, though obviously the boxes may receive the wash in any manner so that the wash passes through it or them. Fig. 2 is a cross-section of one of the boxes, showing the spreading or fan-shaped widening to counteract the narrowing sideways and maintain the same area throughout, or approximately so. A is a taper box shown containing straight converging plates marked a. B is a parallel box shown with parallel straight plates, but corrugated or fluted plates could be used in it ; the straight plates are marked b, and plan of fluted plates A l . C and the plates c are similar arrangements placed at an angle. Dis a box similar to Bor C, with plates broken as to their continuity. E and plates c are similar to A and a, but curved. It is obvious that the shapes are capable of large variety for the same purpose. When parallel boxes are adopted they would generally be parallel in the cross section, not as in Fig. 2, or fan-shaped. F shows one place where screening may be used—namely, at the inlet to the boxes. To prevent the rush of the wash over the screen-plates combs would be placed so as to arrest and turn the body of wash, and cause a swirl in the box, or weights, preferably balls, would be suspended from a convenient place. These are marked G and H respectively, and any suitable partial obstruction would be used, and in cases the obstruction would be of a gold-saving character. Any suitable materials or sizes may be adopted in this invention, and any description of surface for catching, arresting, or saving gold mechanically or chemically. Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is,— 1. In an apparatus for saving gold consisting of a box, chamber, or flume (such as A, B, C, D, E) lined with gold-saving plates or material, and with or without intermediate plates (such as A l , a, b, c, d, c) for splitting up the stream of auriferous wash that passes through the apparatus, the combination of such box, and the lining or plates, with any description of screen or screens (such as F) and current deflectors (such as G, H), substantially as described and explained, and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing. 2. In an apparatus for saving gold the combination of special taper one way and fan-shaped the cross way, for forming boxes for passing through the auriferous wash so as to get substantially the same area throughout the box or divisions, with screening apparatus (such as F) and deflectors for breaking a straight or rushing current when required (such as G, H), substantially as described and explained, and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing. Dated this 9th day of December, 1897. Geo. H. Oatway.

An Improved Method and Apparatus for treating Eefractory Ores containing Gold, Silver, Nickel, and the like. I, John Edward Preston, of 8, Burton Road, Brixton, London, S.W., England, engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for " An improved Method and Apparatus for treating Eefractory Ores containing Gold, Silver, Nickel, and the like," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement: — My invention relates to a specially constructed furnace or apparatus for the treatment of refractory ores, for the purpose of extracting or separating therefrom such precious or other metal or metals as they may contain, the object of my said invention being to provide an apparatus and system that may attain the ends stated more rapidly, effectively, and at less cost than has been possible by the methods and means hitherto employed for the same purpose. My invention consists of a suitably shaped furnace built of firebricks or other fire-resisting material, or an outer casing of iron lined with fire-bricks or other suitable material, and so constructed and arranged that the base or bottom is provided with a central opening surrounded by a fixed or integral conical perforated chamber extending upwardly into the said furnace, the finely pulverised ore being fed by the force of a blast from a suitable blower through conduits terminating in a nozzle fixed within the said chamber, from which the said pulverised ore is caused to exude with great force out of the top of the said chamber, and to impinge against the under-surface of a block or diaphragm of fireclay or other suitable substance, fixed in such a position within the furnace as to become incandescent by the heat, and by impinging against this the said pulverised ore would become atomized, and the metallic portions be deflected thereby in a downward direction into the body of the furnace, suitable exhausts being provided through which the recovered metal may be led or drained from the furnace, while the fumes and dust would be conveyed by convection in an upward direction through suitable apertures in the said diaphragms into the atmosphere or caused to traverse a conduit leading past a water-curtain or and into a suitable condenser, when such fumes or dust may be impregnated with such volatile metallic particles as may be worthy of recovery.