APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING PELLETIZED LEAD OR THE LIKE FROM GRANULAR COMPOSITIONS SUCH AS SOIL

An apparatus for separating pelletized material or relatively high specific gravity from a heterogeneous granular material of relatively low specific gravity which includes a blower having inlet and outlet, a duct communicating with the outlet of the blower and having the opposite end thereof extending upwardly from the blower, a plurality of spaced parallel bars extending across the duct and secured thereto, a conduit communicating with the duct at a point above the bars for conveying a mixture of the pelletized material and the heterogeneous granular material into the duct, a receptacle communicating with the duct at a point below the bars for receiving and holding the pelletized material which has been separated from the granular material and a motor connected to the blower for driving the blower and causing air to be blown thereby through the duct and over the bars. There is further disclosed a frame upon which the previously described apparatus is supported and which further carries a scoop for engaging the surface of the ground, a conveyor for conveying the mixture of granular material and pelletized material scooped from the ground in an upward direction, and a sifting apparatus for separating excessively large and excessively small pieces or particles of the granular material from the mixture of the granular material and the pelletized material as the mixture passes therethrough from the conveyor to the conduit.