An ultrasonic method for isolating nonclay components from clay-rich material

Abstract

We present an efficient method for high-volume heavy mineral separation from clay-rich rocks using an ultrasonic probe. The ultrasonic clay separator (UCS) is an easily constructed device that allows for the recovery of high-density minerals, as small as 10 μm, with a minimum of sample preparation. Heavy mineral recovery from clay-rich material with the UCS yields a greater number of small (<100 μm) grains and approximately double the amount of material from that of gravity settling and decanting. Despite development with heavy mineral recovery in mind, the UCS should suitable for recovering small grain size geologic materials from flocculating clay-rich material. ©2014. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.