jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,154
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Post by jamesp on Feb 19, 2019 16:02:11 GMT -5
This conversation reminds me of my oil field days on the drilling rigs. We used bentonite clay to pump down the pipe and it would pick up the drilling debris in suspension and bring it to the top of the hole where it would be run over a shaker screen and return down the pipe. Perfect comparison. Bentonite was absolutely necessary for drilling water wells in 100% Florida sand. Not only for lifting the drilling debris but for 'plasticizing' the drill hole to prevent the sand walls from caving in in seconds. Kaolin clay is mixed with water and crushed ores to form a slurry to separate the heavier metal bearing particles using a separating machine. Millions of tons of kaolin clay is mined in Georgia for this purpose. Of all clays bentonite has to be the slickest and stickiest. One obnoxious clay but the ultimate carrier.
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,173
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Post by RWA3006 on Feb 19, 2019 18:13:47 GMT -5
That gives me an idea... The badlands of Southwest Wyoming are full of bentonite. It's quite the stuff to drive through after a little rain storm. It's easy to find pure super fine deposits of it, in fact I know exactly where to get it. Right now it's covered with snow, but when the weather breaks and I get over there it would be easy to scoop some up. I'd be willing to ship some flat rate boxes to RTH members for just shipping expenses.
James, would you like to give it a try and let us know what you think?
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