Improving Efficiency and Safety of Mineral Separation Methods for the Minerals Apatite and Zircon
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Campus where you would like to present
SURC Ballroom A
Start Date
17-5-2012
End Date
17-5-2012
Abstract
Mineral separations concentrate the heavy minerals apatite and zircon necessary to accurately date rock samples, but current methods are time-consuming, toxic, expensive, and have unknown yield efficiencies. To evaluate and improve separation methods, we processed test samples with a new procedure using a spiral panning table (panner) to wash and pre-concentrate heavy minerals before magnetic and lithium polytungstate (LST) heavy liquid separations. Our control sample was hand washed, separated magnetically, and processed with LST. Panner trial #1 used a fast sample feed rate and slow rotation speed, resulting in 11 mg heavy minerals. Our yield was approximately doubled in trial #2 using a slow sample feed rate. Jet Dry® was used in trial #3 to cut surface tension, but yielded less than trial #2. Last, trial #4 used a fast rotation speed and a fast feed rate, which produced the highest yield of 38 mg heavy minerals. Compared with our expected yield (~5000 mg), yields from control (~800 mg) and panner (11-38 mg) were much less. However, the panner yielded 10x the concentration of the denser zircon than the control, so toxic methylene iodide was not needed to separate apatite from zircon, which makes our protocol safer than current methods. Our experimental process took ~2.5 hours per sample, compared to ~47 hours in the control, to complete. The greater speed, improved zircon concentration, and avoidance of toxic liquids are significant advantages of the new method, and further development should improve recovery efficiency.
Recommended Citation
Fagin, Brittany and Edwards, Ashley, "Improving Efficiency and Safety of Mineral Separation Methods for the Minerals Apatite and Zircon" (2012). Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 39.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2012/posters/39
Poster Number
5
Additional Mentoring Department
Geological Sciences
Improving Efficiency and Safety of Mineral Separation Methods for the Minerals Apatite and Zircon
SURC Ballroom A
Mineral separations concentrate the heavy minerals apatite and zircon necessary to accurately date rock samples, but current methods are time-consuming, toxic, expensive, and have unknown yield efficiencies. To evaluate and improve separation methods, we processed test samples with a new procedure using a spiral panning table (panner) to wash and pre-concentrate heavy minerals before magnetic and lithium polytungstate (LST) heavy liquid separations. Our control sample was hand washed, separated magnetically, and processed with LST. Panner trial #1 used a fast sample feed rate and slow rotation speed, resulting in 11 mg heavy minerals. Our yield was approximately doubled in trial #2 using a slow sample feed rate. Jet Dry® was used in trial #3 to cut surface tension, but yielded less than trial #2. Last, trial #4 used a fast rotation speed and a fast feed rate, which produced the highest yield of 38 mg heavy minerals. Compared with our expected yield (~5000 mg), yields from control (~800 mg) and panner (11-38 mg) were much less. However, the panner yielded 10x the concentration of the denser zircon than the control, so toxic methylene iodide was not needed to separate apatite from zircon, which makes our protocol safer than current methods. Our experimental process took ~2.5 hours per sample, compared to ~47 hours in the control, to complete. The greater speed, improved zircon concentration, and avoidance of toxic liquids are significant advantages of the new method, and further development should improve recovery efficiency.
Faculty Mentor(s)
Chris Mattinson