NEPHELINE SYENITE ORE APPLICATIONS 1

Flux agent.
Nepheline syenites are used as a flux in Glass Making, ceramics and flatware with advantages over feldspar as they lower the melting temperature. The high iron content produces a dirty-brown discoloration in glass. Beneficiation tests by the Bureau of mines (Harris, 1962) reportedly did not remove the iron contained in a sample from Table Mountain. Nevertheless, the details of this information are not available and further laboratory testing is necessary to investigate the possibility of the iron content removal with standard metallurgical as well as biological means applying Biological technology. The laboratory results in the current 17 samples range between F2O3 2.86-4.45%, FeO 1.33-2.37%, with a total of F2O3T between 5.34%-5.96%. Commercially, deposits containing 2% to 5% F2O3 can be used in the manufacture of colored glass and some ceramics. The fines are used as a colorizing and fluxing agent in the manufacture of brick and as compaction fill.

Roofing-granule.
Weather-resistant application. The nepheline syenite’s high strength and resistance to erosion allows its use in roofing. Its neutral gray color, UV attenuation, blocking of sunlight and anti-weathering protect and prevent deterioration of the asphalt in the roof shingles.

Abrasives.
Its lack of quartz, and relative hardness enables nepheline syenites to be used as a silica free abrasive. This is advantageous since it presents no harm to the lungs, as do silica-based abrasives.

Jettystone.
The nepheline syenite at Table Mountain was used in the construction of the jetty at Yaquina Bay in Newport seaport. The wide jointing in some areas at Table Mountain allows for the production of large size stones with minimal excess. For jettystone, 2.56 density is required. Classification by weight is as follows: select class A minimum weight 27.8 tons; class A, minimum 15.2 tons; class B minimum 7.6 ton, and class C, minimum 0.23 tons.