A N T I M O N Y : ITS HISTORY, CHEMISTRY, MINERALOGY ...

THE METALLURGY OF ANTIMONY. 121
(a) The suppression of any loss due to charging and to the
activity of reaction.
(b) The protection of the bed and the wall of the furnace.
(c) The elimination of a great proportion of dirt and residues.
(d) An increased yield of metal.
The substances are mixed in the proper proportions, moulded into
briquettes of a convenient size, dried, and charged into a reverberatory
furnace for the production of the metal.
The ingredients forming the briquettes are mixed in the following
proportions by weight:—
(a) Oxide of antimony, powdered . . . . 100
Charcoal, powdered 15
Dried carbonate of soda, powdered . . . 2
Lime, powdered 2
Water 15
(b) Sulphide of antimony, powdered . . . . 100
Iron filings or shavings 10
Charcoal, powdered 20
Dried carbonate of soda, powdered . . . 2
Lime, powdered 2
Water . 15
(c) Sulphide of antimony, powdered, or oxide of antimony,
powdered . . . . . . 35
Anumonate of oxide of antimony . . . . 60
Iron filings or shavings . . . . . . 8
Charcoal 20
Carbonate of soda 3
Lime, powdered 2
Water 15
(8) The process * for the extraction of gold from antimony ore, as
patented by M. Herrenschmidt, is as follows :—
This process is based upon the principle that, when antimony
sulphide and the metal itself are melted together, the gold
contained in the sulphide passes into the metal. The direct
use of the metal can be dispensed with by, for instance, melting
antimony sulphide and antimony oxide together with coal. The
metallic antimony formed in this reaction extracts the gold from
the sulphide.
A mixture is made of the antimony ore or of antimony crude
with the metal or its oxide, in such proportion as will yield one-tenth
of the metal in the ore as charged into a reverberatory furnace, a
rotatory furnace, or a crucible. The auriferous antimony thus
* French patent No. 350,013, June 23, 1904,