now, folks, these are just some theoretical questions…;-))
METAL: if one were to set their minds to cleaning up a huge old
tailings pile from an old mine, containing various metals that
werent able to be processed at the time the mine was active, would it be feasible to grind the rock up into powder, filter out a lot of the rock particles, throw the rest into a crucible, melt it, and then pour the liquid into a cone shaped sand mold. would the various metals settle out by their weight? I know, it would be the snail paced way of processing it, but I
m wondering, if it would work for
a start? How would one go about seperating the metal layers and from
there on to making sheet and wire (ingot molds and a rolling mill?).
does anybody know how to build a sulfur scrub on a low budget (duct
tape and bailing wire type stuff)
ROCKS: how can you tell, whether a raw piece of turqoise is going to
survive the cutting process…how do you stabilize it?
how do you tell whether something is serpentine or Jade? Im looking at stones that are serpentine in coloring and texture, except that they seem to come in a wider range of colors, lots of greens, some browns and oranges, some lavender, some bluish. unlike serpentine, the material is very hard, shiny and brittle on the outside of the boulders. now, when my ex went jade hunting on the monterrey coast, he
d pick the shiny ones with some outside shattering, very similar
to what Im finding, but I
m not sure enough…
please bear in mind, that actually mining that hill is NOT an
option. the purpose is to clean up several thousand tons of
unprocessed and half processed ore and replant and restore the
mountain while making a little bit of money for everybody involved.
The main person involved is willing to spend the rest of his life
doing that, but we do need to get started somehow.
anyways, I’ve got to go…
Sparrow