Time for some questions that have been asked of the lab lately.
Q1: If I want to get the silica percentage (SiO2) tested, how should I do that?
A1: If that’s all you need, then I recommend doing x-ray fluorescence testing (XRF testing). It gives silica percentage to a tenth of a percent (ie 99.9%) and is relatively inexpensive. You also get various other oxides (aluminum oxide, iron oxide, etc.) as well as some interesting metals (copper, arsenic, lead, uranium, etc.). If you need sand evaluated for all its uses, you might ask for a Sand Evaluation Package, where the XRF silica percentage is determined, along with other tests that show how your sand is positioned on the quality scale.
Q2: How do we know if we have enough metal of interest in this ore sample (ie is there enough gold, silver, copper, etc. in this sample to get interesting)?
A2: I recommend doing scanning electron microscope testing (SEM testing) for this type of question. You send us a sample, we will powderize it and check for all the various ores of interest that might be present. Our knowledgeable professional for SEM testing is Dr. Paul Miranda, and since he is an extractive metallurgist, he knows from his experience in various mining projects whether or not you might have concentrated ore. His report includes analysis on whether or not it might be feasible to mine your ore.
Q3: Where are the prices of oil, gold, silver headed? Where is the stock market going?
A3: I don’t know. Anyone that “knows” where these markets are headed is guessing! I do know that there is a trend in energy that is affecting mining — that is the trend towards energy storage and the vast amount of graphite, cobalt, and other elements needed for batteries. So I’m keeping an eye on that segment of the mining industry that focuses on mining for storage battery metals and minerals. One company and stock I’m watching currently is Leading Edge Materials (stock ticker LEM). They seem to have some legit resources tied up and are actively going after mining them. I find their Woxna Graphite mine of particular interest, because there are so few working graphite mines (outside of China)!
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