THE CONTINUOUS METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR RECOVERING SULFUR FROM ORES BY FEEDING SURFACE SULFUR ORE INTO A CLOSED CONVEYOR AND SIMULTANEOUSLY HEATING THE ORE WITH HEATED PEBBLES WHILE SLOWLY MIXING AND CONVEYING THE MIXTURE THROUGH THE CONVEYOR AND HEATING THE ORE ABOVE THE BOILING POINT OF SULFUR TO VAPORIZE THE SULFUR IN WHICH THE VAPORIZED SULFUR IS PASSED THROUGH A CONDENSER FOR RECOVERY. THE DEPLETED ORE AND PEBBLES ARE DISCHARGED FROM THE CONVEYOR AND SEPARATED WITH THE PEBBLES BEING CONVEYED TO A HEATER FOR REHEATING AND REUSE. FOR GREATER EFFICIENCY THE HOT EXHAUST GASES FROM THE PEBBLE HEATER ARE FLOWED IN A COUNTERFLOW HEAT EXCHANGE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CONTAINER TO HEAT THE MIXTURE. THE CONVEYOR HAVING AN ELONGATE POWER SHAFT POSITIONED LONGITUDINALLY IN THE CONTAINER FOR ROTATIVE MOVEMENT WITH A PLURALITY OF PADDLES POSITIONED ADJACENT THE INTERIOR WALLS OF THE CONTAINER AND CONNECTED BY THE SHAFT FOR ROTATIVE MOVEMENT TO MIX THE ORE AND PEBBLES, MOVE THE MIXTURE ALONG THE CONVEYOR, AND KEEP THE INTERIOR WALLS OF THE CONTAINER CLEANED FOR GREATER HEAT TRANSFER. THE VOLUME OF PEBBLES BEING GREATER THAN THE VOLUME OF ORE IN THE CONTAINER TO MORE EASILY CONVEY THE MIXTURE THROUGH THE CONVEYOR.

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