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Bismuth: Sweated Out of Native Ore in Inclined Iron Tubes, the Schneeberg Way (Thorpe, 1912)
The old way of getting bismuth from ore that holds it as the metal: heat the lumps just enough in sloping iron tubes and the bismuth, which melts easily, runs out of the rock into pots under charcoal. It takes 30-60 minutes a charge but gets only about two-thirds of the metal.
Not given: the furnace temperature.
Source: E. Thorpe, Dictionary of Applied Chemistry vol. I (1912), Bismuth, p. 458. Picture: Thorpe's Fig. 1, the furnace in plan.
Intermediate
30-60 minutes per charge
Instructions
1
1
Pick and break the ore
Pick and break the ore
Sort the ore (7-12 % bismuth) by hand from the waste rock as far as possible and break it into pieces the size of a hazel nut.
Materials for this step:
Native Bismuth Ore1 12 cwt per tube chargeTools needed:
Hammer
Platform Weighing Scale2
2
Charge the tubes
Charge the tubes
Load about 12 cwt into each inclined iron tube of the furnace, leaving room to stir from the upper end. Close the upper ends with iron plates and the lower ends with plates pierced with round holes. Under each lower end stand an iron pot holding powdered charcoal, kept gently warm by a small charcoal fire.
Materials for this step:
Charcoal1 powdered, in the pots and for the pot fireTools needed:
Bismuth Liquation Furnace
Iron Crucible3
3
Sweat out the bismuth
Sweat out the bismuth
Fire the furnace with wood so that the metal flows easily. In about 10 minutes the bismuth begins to run into the pots, where the charcoal covers it from the air. Stir the ore now and then with an iron rod from the upper end; in 30-60 minutes the charge is done. 20 cwt of ore burns about 63 cubic feet of wood.
Materials for this step:
Firewood1 about 63 cu ft per 20 cwt of oreTools needed:
Bismuth Liquation Furnace
Iron Rod4
4
Rake out and recharge
Rake out and recharge
Rake the spent ore (bismuth barley) out of the upper end into the tank and refill at once with fresh ore.
Tools needed:
Iron RakeBismuth Liquation Furnace5
5
Cast ingots
Cast ingots
Ladle the bismuth from the pots into moulds and cast ingots of 25-50 lb.
Tools needed:
Iron Crucible
Foundry Ladle
Ingot MouldMaterials
3- 1 12 cwt per tube chargePlaceholder
- 1 powdered, in the pots and for the pot firePlaceholder
- 1 about 63 cu ft per 20 cwt of orePlaceholder
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