Home Tour Physics Chemistry Earth Science Environment Scams Lesson Plans
Introduction Ore Processing Fire Assaying

Previous The Activity: Procedure (cont'd) Next
  1. Tilt the whole apparatus by lifting one side up on an overturned bowl.
    The model heap is shown tilted with some leach solution (water) shown collected at the pregnant pond in the edge of the large clam shell container and transferred to the processing plant (the other half of the small clamshell container).
  2. Leach the heap by squirting water gently all over the heap until at least 10 mL of water with dissolved cupric sulfate have collected at the bottom of the Styrofoam plate.
    The model heap is being leached by squirts of water from the squirtbottle.
  3. Take the solution (pregnant solution) to the processing plant by using a pipette to withdraw about 10 mL from the bottom of the leach heap plate. Place the 10 mL in a clear 9 oz cup.
    Using the model heap and plastic pipettes, students are moving the pregnant solution (solution that contains the metal) from the pregnant pond (collected at the bottom of the large clamshell container) to the processing plant, the other half of the small clamshell container. The picture shows a close-up of the pregnant solution so the color of the water containing the copper sulfate can be seen.
  4. Recover the copper from solution by adding a paper clip. Record the observations after the paper clip is added to the solution.
    The processing plant (the second half of the small clamshell container) with solution being processed is shown. The paper clips are used to change (reduce) the copper in solution to copper metal coating the paper clips. The coated paper clips initially turn black from the finely powdered copper metal deposited onto the paper clip.
Previous The Activity: Procedure (cont'd) Next


Home Tour Physics Chemistry Earth Science lEnvironment Scams Lesson Plans