Annual report for ELs 5689 and 5801 Kulgera, March 1989 to March 1990.

Abstract

NT evaporites are investigating the possibilities of harvesting evaporite minerals and other useful products from playa salt lake sediments or from the evaporation of the brines. Large reserves of micritic calcite are available in the calcrete deposits of the area. The low magnesium calcite may be useful as a flux to precipitate epsomite from brine. Silica content in the duricrust ranges 65-95%, it is however of little economic value. Industrial grade clays in the playas belong to the a) magnesio-aluminium silicates and b) bentonitic smectite clays. Assessment of the quality the of resource has had to be delayed due to unseasonably wet weather that flooded the lakes. Similarly, determination of the nature and extent of the evaporite deposits has been delayed. Winter brines range from 75g-t to 370g-t TDS which represented a 1-3 x dilution factor. Primarily experiments have shown that there is a possibility of producing 3 distinct industrial salt groups by a combination of solar heating and cooling.