Document qanvNBoBK1rgD1Zz50nEDb3QG

cc: Mr. Roelofs -BBH Dot* May 4, 1982 WASTE FINES; DRESSER MINERALS; MALVERN, ARK. On 4/28/82, I spoke with Mr. Cowart at FG to gain some background infor mation on the above material, previously submitted to BBH for evaluation as a filler. The fines, wet ground and probably wet laid, represent nearly 25 years of tailings accumulation from Dresser Minerals's underground barite operation in Malvern (approx. 40 miles east of FG). The operation was discontinued in the early 1970's and a retired Dresser employee, James Starks, has since assumed responsibility for looking after the pile. All records regarding grading and chemical/mineralogical nature, of the fines have long disappeared at Dresser's Houston Office, but Mr. Starks recalls routine gradings of approx. 90$ pass 200 mesh. Additionally Mr. Starks remembers the material to have been approx. 80$ free silica, as^ much as 10$ barite and the remainder, secondary minerals such as Pyrite. My initial investigation reported the following grading. (Dry U.S. sieves). % retained on tl 40 mesh 50 " 1 .7 1 .8 II 70 " (1 80 " 2.0 1 .2 II 100 " 1.3 It 200 " II.* 325 " . II r . PAN 6.1 21.5 64.4 It was noted that the material retained on the coarser screens was largely composed of agglomerates and not actual large individual fregments. This prompted a wet sieve analysis yielding the following results. BIRD 011444 Page 2 Waste Fines; Dresser Minerals; Malvern, Ark. - Cont. (avg. of two trials) retained on (I II II II II 50 mesh 80 II 100 II 200 II 325 PAN II ' 0.1 0.1 0.3 2.8 18.1 78.6 The following additional characteristics were determined via testing of the initial sample submitted. Moisture content (as received): 16 - 20 % Bulk density fluff 72.4 #/cu. ft. tamp 101.8 #/cu. ft. pH 7.95 Mr. Cowart has agreed to obtain 10 gallons of composited sample from the pile for further testing. The availability is reportedly, 2 million tons, a figure that should be verified in the future. Price information is not available at this time. However, I would suggest that the final cost to Bird will depend heavily on our ability (or inability) to utilize the material in its present state, i.e. damp and agglomerated. The necessity of thoroughly drying and milling the material would not only result in drastically increased processing costs but would also result in the institution of extremely tight dust control measures, due to the high free silica content of the material. TDMcS/ac BIRD 011445