QUARTZ-CRUSHING MACHINERY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 3244, 29 June 1872, Page 2

QUARTZ-CRUSHING MACHINERY.

A large quantity of crashing machinery is now being made at the foundry of Messrs Kincaid, M'Queen, and Co., Oreafc King street. The chief is a ten-head quartz crushing battery, for the Gabriel's Cully Quartz Mining Co., Tuapeka. The battery consists of two cast-iron stamper boxes, containing five heads each, each head Aveighing scwt-., 3qrs. The stamper boxes aye ou the front and back delivery principle; thafc is, the stuff crushed is discharged both from the front and back. The stampers are lifted Avith cams, which are made on Avhafc is considered to be an improved principle. They arc of iron, and are steeled on the fa«e to insure. thoir Avearing longer. The discs ou the stamp rods are of wrought iron, faced Avith steel, ami can be screwed up and down to regulate the fall of the stampers. The machine is fitted with a hopper sufficiently large to hold 40 tons of quartz. The bottom, of the hopper being placed on an incline causes a quantity of str.it' to escape frnm it into the feed siioots. The latter, of which there is one to every five heads, rest on a fixed stand at one end, and on a strong spring on the other. When the stuff under the stampers gets too low, the spring supporting tlie delivering end of the feed shoot is shaken, causing some of the quartz in tlio s'.ioots to be discharged into fche stamper b:>x, to Avhich Aye have already referred. The ripple table is 13 feet long by 5 feet wido, and has 40 superficial feet of quioksib vered copper-plate, six quicksilver ripper and two quicksilver Avells. A practjp** gentleman lately arriA red from the T)i**" es > considers this table an improA'epv"™ ul,on those in use these. The ovdh>*<f r}Vi Aa c table has three ripples, son^o-" 3™* or ljve feet apart,

while this, it may be observed, has six. Aft the end of the ripple table on which the tailings are received, there is a slope of about a foot, and on this slope there are three ripples at regular intervals from each other. They are each about two inches deep, and contam quicksilver. The pulverised quarts entering with the water into the first ripple, mixes with the quicksilver in it. The tailings escape from the ripple through a row of small holes, half an inch in diameter, in the ripple board, pass through the second ripple, then through #5r third, on to the more gradual incline of the remaining twelve feet of the ripple table. Tliere are three ripples iS this parfc of the table, about two feet aparfc from eatih other, as in the ordinary table—but it is in those through which the tailings first pass that most of the gold is saved. At the end, tat which the tailings run off the table, there are two cavities called quicksilver wells, wliich are meant to catch any quicksilver that may be washed out of the ripples. The ripple table has between the ripples a copper surface, coated witk. quicksilver. It may be mentioned that^at the Cromwell Company's claim, au ordihary table, and one of the type here described, were in operation at the same time somo time, ago ; but as this table was fouiffd T ..to be superior to the ordinary one in gold-savin «- qualities, the ordinary one had to give place to one of the new description. The blanket table on which the tailings are discharged from the ripple table, is six feet wide, and sixteen feet long, and has four compartments. Instead of a shaking table, as is used in some machines, a concentrator is used in this. The concentrator is circular, about two feet in diameter aud eighteen inches deep. The tailings enter at the level of the bottom of the concentrator on one side. A. number of rakes revolving in it round an upright spindle, churn the contents ; the light tailings, being thrown upward, escape tlirough an opening some inches above the bottom, while the quicksilver and gold beingl too heavy to escape, are retained. The amalgam barrel, which is generally of wood, is made of iron, to last longer. All the timber to be used on the foundation is to be black pine from the Tapanui bush. The machinery is to be driven by a reaction turbine wheel three feet in diameter, which is to have two jets. The wheel is to work up to 30 horse-power, and is to be supplied with water conveyed in pipes down a slope having a fall of 150 feet perpendicular. The piping conducting the water to the wheel is to be of wrought iron, and guaranteed to bear a pressure of SOlhs to the square inch. Messrs Kincaid, M'Queen, and Co., have now other quartz batteries of five stampers; each, and somewhat similar in principle to the Gabriel's Gully machine, and also fitted with the improved ripple tables, in course of construction, or which have been just constructed. One of these batteries is for Mr Thomas Logan, of the Carrick reefs. It iff receiving a great deal of extra finish, and. special pains are being taken to make ifc complete in every respect. It is to be driven bysteam power, and the boiler, a horizontal tubular one, made in the establishment, has** a furnace specially designed to burn lignite. A battery is now complete in the yard for Mr Dyer, of Tokomairiro. A battery has beea. made, and has just been erected for the Perseverance Co., Shag River. A battery is being added to the Saddle Hill Co.'s machinery, and the present machinery of that Com-, pany brought from Melbourne is beingalfcered. This ought to be sufficient to show there is no necessity for importing mining machinery. It may also be mentioned that this firm has supplied quartz-crushing machinerycomplete to the Canada Bush Company, to the Cromwell Aurora and Colclough reefs, and the Iversen reef, besides furnishing partsof machinery for the Nugget and Cornish. Company, the Great Scandinavian Company^ and Southberg's.