skip all navigation
skip banner links
skip primary navigation

Extractive Metallurgy

Lab Manager-Dr. Ibrahim (Abe) Gundiler (now retired)

The metallurgy laboratory provided bench scale and pilot-plant scale ore-testing capabilities to aid the minerals industry of the state. This facility was particularly instrumental in initial evaluation of small prospects and new discoveries, as well as in conducting preliminary test work for process modifications in operating mills.

Service work included mineral beneficiation tests using flotation, magnetic, electrostatic, and gravity concentration methods. In addition to various-sized crushers, pulverizers, screens, rod and ball mills, and separation equipment, provisions for standard bottle-roll and column-leach tests, and autoclaves for pressure-oxidation tests were also available. With the exception of a few commercial laboratories, the Bureau of Geology was perhaps the only organization in the country that provided these services to the public.

The metallurgy laboratory also provided training for mining and metallurgy students, and it was available to other faculty and staff members at New Mexico Tech for sample preparation and minerals-related research.