A text-book of assaying

by C. Beringer; J. J. Beringer

As a general rule, it may be stated that when a scorification is unsatisfactory, what is wanted is more heat, more lead, or more borax.

It is a safe plan when work has to be done on a strange ore, to make three or four assays with varying quantities of lead. The proportion of lead is right when a further addition does not yield a higher result. The proper proportion having been found, a note of it should be made for future use.

POT ASSAYS.

The object of the fusion in a crucible, like that of scorification, is to concentrate the silver in a button of lead which is to be subsequently cupelled; and to retain the earthy and waste matters in the slag. It is necessary to consider the quality of the slag and the weight and quality of the lead. The slag when fused should be liquid and homogeneous, and not too corrosive on the crucible. The button of lead should be soft, malleable, and free from a coating of regulus.[10] In weight it should not differ much from the ore taken. With 20 grams of ore, for example, a button of lead weighing from 18 to 25 grams will be satisfactory: less than this would leave an undue proportion of silver in the slag; and more would be unnecessarily large for cupelling, and would increase the loss in that operation.

With average ores, take 20 grams of the powdered ore and mix with 30 grams of "soda," 40 grams of red-lead or litharge, 5 grams of borax, and from 2 to 2.5 grams of flour, and place in an E crucible (Battersea round). Put these in the furnace at a red heat, cover the crucible, and gradually raise the temperature until the whole charge has melted down and is in a state of tranquil fusion. Pour into a mould, and replace the crucible in the furnace. As soon as the lead is solid, detach the slag and put it back into the crucible; and when it is again fluid, charge on to it with a copper scoop a mixture of 20 grams of oxide of lead, and 1 gram of charcoal: when fusion has again become tranquil, pour and detach the button of lead. The lead buttons should be hammered into discs with rounded edges, and be freed from slag; if too big for a cupel they may be scorified together in a small scorifier, but it is better to cupel them separately.

Ores containing Metallic Oxides.—Peroxides of iron, manganese, and copper interfere by counteracting the effect of the charcoal or flour, and thus reducing the size of the lead button. Peroxide of iron will reduce the weight of lead by a little more than its own weight; and peroxide of manganese has about twice this effect. When these oxides are present an additional quantity of flour must be used, and precautions must be taken to prevent reoxidation of the slag by the furnace gases. This may best be prevented by using a layer of common salt as a cover to the charge. When the ores contain a good deal of quartz or stony matter, the fluxes just given (for average ores) will do; but the proportion of soda should be diminished, and that of the borax, oxide of lead, and flour increased as the quantity of metallic oxides become greater. If the ore contains practically no quartz, the soda may be altogether omitted, and some glass or powdered quartz added. The following charge may be taken as an example: weigh up 20 grams of the powdered ore, 15 grams each of "soda" and borax, 60 grams of oxide of lead, and 5 grams of flour. Mix and place them in an E crucible, and cover with a layer of from a quarter to half an inch of common salt. Place in the furnace as before. The salt will give off a considerable amount of fume, which will, to a certain extent, conceal the state of the charge: when the crucible has been in the furnace for about 25 minutes remove it and pour out the contents immediately. With ores that produce a thick slag the addition of 5 grams of fluor spar will be an advantage. It may happen that with an unknown ore the first assay will be more or less unsatisfactory: but from it the necessity for adding more or less flour will be learnt, and a second assay, with the necessary modification of the charge, should give a good result.

Ores containing much Sulphides.—Ores of this class may be easily recognized, either by the appearance of the minerals they contain or by the odour of sulphurous oxide (SO₂) which they evolve when roasted on a spatula. The sulphides most commonly present, in addition to the sulphurized minerals of silver, are pyrites, galena, blende, and mispickel. When they are present in only a moderate amount, their effect is simply to increase the weight of the button of lead; and this is easily counteracted by reducing the amount of flour, or by omitting it. When in larger amounts, they not only yield large buttons, but also render the metal sulphury, sometimes even giving a button of regulus instead of lead. This last evil may be remedied (1) by putting in a rod of iron as soon as the charge has fused, or (2) it may be counteracted by a proper addition of nitre, or (3) when the sulphides present are only those of iron or copper the sulphur may be removed by calcining, and the ore converted into one of the class containing metallic oxides. The calcination is effected as follows:—Weigh up 20 grams of the powdered ore and place it in a wide-mouthed crucible sufficiently large to perform the subsequent melting down in. The roasting must be done at a gentle heat at first, so as to avoid clotting: the mouth of the crucible should project considerably above the coke, and should slope forward towards the worker. The charge must be occasionally stirred with the stirrer (fig. 10) so as to expose fresh surfaces to the action of the air, and to prevent adhesion to the sides of the crucible. The stirrer should not be removed till the calcination is finished. The temperature should be raised at the end to a good red heat; and (to ensure the decomposition of any sulphate that may be formed) the roasted ore should be rubbed up in a mortar with a pinch of anthracite, and again calcined. It is then mixed with fluxes as described, and fused in the same crucible.

The calcination of an ore is a work occupying a good deal of time, and, in most cases, it is better to take advantage of the desulphurizing power of red lead or nitre. Red lead by itself will do, but a large quantity of it will be required; 1 part of a metallic sulphide needs from 20 to 50 parts of red lead to yield a button free from sulphur; whereas at most from 2 to 2-1/2 parts of nitre are sufficient. There is sometimes an advantage in having a considerable excess of oxide of lead in the slag, but where there is no such reason, 2 parts of red lead to 1 of ore is enough. A charge which will do for most sulphides is the following: 20 grams of ore, 40 to 100 grams of red lead, 20 grams of "soda," 5 of borax, and sufficient nitre (or perhaps flour) to give a button of about 25 grams of lead. How much this must be (if not already known) may be approximately determined by fusing 3 grams of the ore and 3 grams of "soda" in a small crucible (C) with 50 grams of litharge (not red lead) under a cover of salt, and weighing the resulting button of lead. Subtract 3 from the weight of lead obtained, and the difference multiplied by 1.3 will give the quantity in grams of nitre required. If the button of lead weighs less than 3 grams flour must be added. If this is not satisfactory repeat the assay, adding an extra gram of nitre for each 4 grams of lead in excess of that required, or 1 gram of flour for a 12-gram deficiency.

In the method in which iron is used as a de-sulphurising agent, only as much oxide of lead should be added as will give a button of lead of the required size. Rather a large button of lead should be got, and the slag should be strongly alkaline; if the ore does not already carry a large amount of sulphur some should be added. The fusion should be performed at a low temperature (similar to that for a galena assay), and should be continued for some time after it has become tranquil. Take 20 grams of the ore, 40 grams of "soda," 40 grams of oxide of lead, and 5 or 10 grams of borax; place this mixture in a crucible (with a rod of iron, as in the galena assay), cover, and fuse for about half an hour. Take out the rod, washing it in the slag, and, in a minute or two, pour. Clean and cupel the button of lead.

General Remarks on the Fusion.—Other things being equal, the smaller the quantity of the slag the better, provided there is sufficient to cover the metal. The presence of peroxides of the heavy metals is prejudicial, since they tend to increase the quantity of silver retained in the slag. It may be given as a general rule that when iron, copper, manganese, &c., are present, there is a more than ordinary need for cleaning the slags, and care must be taken to keep these metals in the state of lower oxide.