Mineral beneficiation of a granite from the Gold Butte district, Clark County, Nevada

Abstract

The mineral industry is becoming increasingly cognizant of the fact that to stay in business the individual companies must diversify their products, and that as much and as many elements as possible must be extracted from each ore mined. One such type of rock that could be made into an ore is granite. Previous studies by Neuerburg (1956) and Brown (1956) indicate that all igneous rocks contain some uranium, and that if atomic energy were to develop at a rapid pace and as high-grade deposits are depleted, granites could supply part of the uranium requirements. It was also noted that the major concentrations of uranium and thorium are in the accessory minerals, such as zircon, allanite, sphene and apatite. The major minerals of a granite are feldspar and quartz, which are the ingredients for glass or ceramics, and the third main constituent is mica, which now has a market in roofing materials. Therefore, granite shows promise as being a type of material from which all the constituents could be marketed, assuming that there was a market for each product. This latter point must be emphasized because at current prices and demand, granite cannot be considered even remotely economical. The object of this study is to make a preliminary investigation into the methods of mineral beneficiation that might be suitable in the separation of the mineralogical components of a particular granite. Also it is intended to show whether complete liberation and separation is possible or not and what further work may be required.