Continuous Ore Roaster Setup & Operating Instructions 0. Unwrap the roaster pallet. (The cross bar has been unattached for shipping purposes. You will need one 120V outlet and one 220 outlet or two 220V, depending on your location. There is also a box of parts containing extra furnace insulation blanket, chain lube, shear pins, nuts/bolts and wheels (if you ordered the optional wheel assembly). 1. (Go to the next step if you did not order the Wheel Assembly.) Attach the wheels. YOU WILL NEED AT LEAST 2 PEOPLE TO DO THIS. Block the wheels before plugging in the unit. Always block the wheels before running any material. Optional Wheel Assembly
Cross bar Furnace chamber frame 2. For shipping purposes, the cross bar is bolted above the furnace chamber frame to hold everything in place. Remove the cross bar and go to the next step on page 4 to put it into position shown above. Insert insulation blanket at both ends of the furnace chamber to hold in heat. And between the 2 black feed pipe & 4 ore bin outlet Air hole - plug, inject air, or vacuum
Feed end view of chain drive mechanism Back view Feed auger - This pulls the ore into the unit and keeps it moving through the furnace.
Sprocket Adjustment collar Cross bar Furnace chamber frame Set the hydraulic jack in place and raise the unit about 4 (10cm) so you can add the cross bar and insert the bolts in the riser frame. Secure bolts with the nuts. Raise and lower the roaster depending on how fast you want to move your material through the roaster. Start in lowest setting (3 rise) and move higher as needed.
START UP PROCEDURE DO NOT ATTEMPT TO RUN ORE THROUGH THE ROASTER IN A LEV- EL POSITION. The steeper the drop, the faster the material will run through the roaster. Generally, you will usually use the first 3 hole settings. 1. Plug the 110/220 VAC temperature control unit cord and speed control into the outlet on the frame leg. This enables you to have one master power switch. Plug the 220 VAC furnace/temperature control unit cord into a 220 VAC 50 amp outlet. If you purchased the Wheel Assembly, block the wheels before plugging in the unit. 2. Turn on the speed control and ensure that it is running smoothly. With no ore in the unit, it will be making noises from the metal auger turning & rubbing on the inside the pipe. This is normal. Once there is ore moving through the unit, it will run quieter. 220 VAC cord Furnace/Temperature control 220 VAC Speed control 110/220 VAC Don t turn on the temperature control unit yet. TESTING PROCEDURE 1. With the feed drive running, fill up the hopper with ore and adjust the speed of the feed. Make any necessary adjustments to the tilt or speed of the roaster. Ore must be feeding through the unit smoothly before turning on the temperature control unit. 2. To determine the correct roasting temperature for your material: Turn on the temperature control unit. (Examine discharging ore after the unit is up to temperature for at least 10 minutes. Grab a sample of the ore coming out of the pipe.) Start at 750 F (399 C). Once it s up to temperature and ore is flowing through, check to see if that s a complete roast. If not, then re-run the material at 1150 F (621 C) and check it. If that s not enough, then re-run at 1350 F (732 C). If the material did not totally roast at 1350 F (732 C), it may have to be run again. Do not roast or dry your material above 1350 F (732 C) or
it s likely to melt to the inside of the pipe!!!. If it melts and clogs up the pipe, the auger will jam and you could seize the machine!!! While the Wheel Assembly makes it easy to move the Roaster around your lab, ALWAYS BLOCK THE WHEELS BEFORE RUNNING MATERIAL. Maintenance: The auger pulls the ore from the hopper and keeps it moving through the furnace. Over time, augers will be eaten up by the fumes coming off the ore. Before running each new batch of ore, check the condition of the auger. The roasting pipe (2 black iron pipe) will eventually need to be replaced as well. It all depends upon the ore you are roasting as to how long these items last. For this reason, we have made the pipe and auger easy to replace. TIP: High sulfide content will corrode the metal faster. Coat the inside of the pipe with a lime slurry to protect the metal pipe & auger. Set the temperature control to around 200 F (93 C) to dry the slurry as a coating on the inside of the pipe. This might help to keep the sulfides from sticking to the inside of the pipe. Or add some 1/4 limestone to your ore feed. This would absorb the sulfur and make calcium sulfate which would decrease the SO 2 gas. Remember, SO 2 gas + H 2 O = H 2 SO 4 (sulfuric acid). Use a heavy duty silicone spray, dry teflon chain lube, or graphite to lubricate the chains. Do NOT use a wet (oil) lubricant as sand/gravel will stick to it. Take the pipe and auger out (or at least verify no material is stuck to the sides) and clean thoroughly between runs. Caked material inside the pipe will cause damage to the unit by seizing up, bending the auger or pipe & eventually burning up the motor! As a safety feature if the unit does start to seize, the shear pin will break. Check every time before the next cycle: Before each start up of the roaster, check the auger & pipe for material stuck to the sides and clear it out. Refer to the Start Up & Testing Procedures on page 5. The unit should sound the same as when new. It should run smooth. With no ore in the unit, it will be making noises from the metal auger turning & rubbing on the inside the pipe. Again, if there is any sticking, take the auger and pipe out and clean thoroughly. Recommended temperatures for roasting sulfide ores are 750 F (399 C), 1150 F (621 C) and 1350 F (732 C)
Running the Roaster Always run the roaster under a fume hood while exhausting fumes through a scrubber. Wear a protective mask (we recommend using the acid gas cartridges) at all times. Recommended maximum feed size of material is -20 mesh (do not feed anything larger) Don t turn off the feed drive until the whole unit is down to under 100 F (38 C). If you turn off the feed speed control before the unit is cool, the pipe & auger can bend or sag. Do not turn off the feed speed control with material still in the hopper and/or pipe! Run until empty before turning off the feed speed control. The Air Hole - you can inject air (preferable), or attach a vacuum to the air hole to draw off the fumes, or plug (provided). Lubricate the chains as needed with graphite, dry teflon chain lube, or silicone spray. As a safety feature, a shear pin has been installed on the jackshaft drive sprocket. If the roaster gets jammed, the pin will break, keeping the motor from continuing to rotate the auger and pipe. Turn everything off! Once the unit has been cooled and cleared out, make sure everything is hooked back up (see Assembly & Disassembly section) and install a new shear pin (extras provided with your parts box).
Disassembly of Feed Pipe & Auger M 1. Remove nut, washers, and spring from motor plate tension bolt 2. Loosen both pipe sprocket set screw bolts 3. Loosen shaft collar on pipe 4. Remove pipe sprocket chain from sprocket on jack shaft 5. Remove the expanded metal chain guard over the auger drive chain and sprockets 6. Loosen both set screws on both the top and bottom auger drive sprockets
7. Once loose, remove sprockets together with chain 8. Loosen both set screws on the auger bearing 9. The auger and pipe should now both slide out together 10. Don t forget to catch the pipe sprocket and collar during removal 11. Installation should be the reverse of removal, just make sure all sprockets are parallel before tightening their set screws so that the chain tracks correctly
Quick Set Up & Running of Roaster 0. Attach the wheels. Using the jack to raise the feed bin, set the level of the roaster in the 1 st hole. Add the cross bar & insert the bolts. Tighten down with nuts provided. 1. Make sure the insulation blanket in in place. Position the roaster under a fume hood with scrubber which has a good exhaust. Lock the wheels. WEAR A PROTECTIVE FACE MASK (FOR FUMES) AT ALL TIMES WHILE RUNNING THE ROASTER. 2. Set up a metal bucket or metal collection tank for the discharged material. TIP: we use a piece of metal channel to act as a chute into a metal pail. 3. Plug in the temperature control unit/furnace and the speed control unit. 4. Turn on the speed control unit to high initially. 5. Fill up the hopper with ore and adjust the speed of the feed to ensure it s feeding smoothly. 6. Turn on the temperature control unit to 750 F (399 C) 7. Watch your discharged roasted ore. If it hasn t changed to the good color that you want, raise the temperature and give it some time before adjusting higher. DO NOT GO ABOVE 1350 F (732 C). You can also slow down the feed speed. 8. Assay your roasted samples to determine if you re getting the best recovery. Recommended temperatures for roasting sulfide ores are 750 F (399 C), 1150 F (621 C) and 1350 F (732 C) Production Volume: This roaster will run approximately 340 lbs/154.5 kg an hour at maximum speed. This is calculated on the amount of ore that will feed through the unit, NOT how well it roasts the material. Roasting speed and volume will depend upon the percentage of sulfides present.
BEFORE & AFTER PHOTOS SAMPLE 1 BEFORE SAMPLE 1 AT 750 F (399 C) SAMPLE 1 AT 1350 F (732 C) SAMPLE 2 BEFORE SAMPLE 2 AT 750 F (399 C) SAMPLE 2 AT 1350 F (732 C)