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IMN  56 

c.3 


G>tA    6un>uix^ 


ILLINOIS  STATE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 

John  C.  Fry*,  Chi«f 


ILLINOIS    MINERALS   NOTE   56 


ILLINOIS   CEOkOGICAL 

SUr  VEY  L-JRA^Y 

MAY   6  1974 


COMMERCIAL   FELDSPAR   RESOURCES 

IN  SOUTHEASTERN 
KANKAKEE  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS 


Henry  P.   Ehrlinger  III  and  John  M.  Masters 


URBANA,  ILLINOIS  61801 


APRIL   1974 


ILLINOIS  STATE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


3  3051  00005  8978 


ILLINOIS  STATE 
GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 
Y 


COMMERCIAL  FELDSPAR  RESOURCES  IN 
SOUTHEASTERN  KANKAKEE  COUNTY,    ILLINOIS 


Henry  P.    Ehrlinger  III  and  John  M.    Masters 


ABSTRACT 

This  publication  is  the  third  in  a  series  describing  potentially  commercial  feld- 
spar resources  that  occur  in  large  deposits  of  unconsolidated  surficial  sand  in  five 
general  areas  of  Illinois.  All  of  the  considerable  tonnages  of  feldspar  needed  for  in- 
dustrial use  in  Illinois  is  at  present  imported  from  distant  states.  This  report  de- 
scribes how  at  least  a  portion  of  this  need  could  be  produced  within  the  state. 

The  large  dune  field  of  late  Pleistocene  age  located  in  southeastern  Kankakee 
County,  part  of  the  general  area  described  in  the  first  of  this  series,  is  one  of  the 
most  promising  areas  for  commercial  production  of  feldspar.  Several  of  the  larger 
dunes  were  sampled  and  analyzed  chemically  and  mineralogically  in  this  study,  and  two 
representative  samples  were  selected  for  extensive  benef iciation  tests.  The  tests  were 
successful  in  producing  high-quality  feldspar  concentrates  and  possible  useful  by- 
products. Significant  progress  was  made  toward  reducing  the  residual  iron  oxide  con- 
tent of  feldspar  concentrates  without  reducing  their  alumina  content. 

During  the  study,  a  thick  sand  body  was  discovered  underlying  the  dune  ridges 
that  considerably  increases  the  previous  estimates  of  the  feldspar  resource. 


INTRODUCTION 

The  first  of  this  series  of  investigations  of  potential  feldspar 
sources  in  Illinois,  described  "by  Ehrlinger,  ten  Kate,  and  Jackman  (1969), 
was  exj^loratory  in  nature  but  generated  commercial  interest  in  the  possibili- 
ties of  developing  the  large  dune  field  in  southeastern  Kankakee  County  as  a 
source  of  feldspar.   The  benef iciation  studies  showed  that  a  saleable  grade 

-  1  - 


-   2   - 


\(W*Ueka) 

SCALE  1  62500 


* 

0 

1 

2 

3                                                         4 

3000                          0 

1000 

6000 

9000 

12000 

15000 

18000                     21000  FEET 

5                 0 

1 

2 

i 

« 

5  KILOMETERS 

CONTOUR  INTERVAL  10  FEET 

DATUM    IS    MEAN    SEA    LEVEL 

Momence,  lll.-lnd. 
1922 


Fig.  1  -  Locations  from  which  samples  were  taken. 


of  feldspar  concentrate  could  be  made  and  that  markets  in  Illinois  could  con- 
sume all  the  production  of  a  reasonably  large  plant.    Glass  manufacturers, 
among  others,  would  benefit  by  being  able  to  obtain  feldspar  sands  from  Illi- 
nois rather  than  from  traditional  sources,  such  as  South  Dakota,  North  Caro- 
lina, and  Ontario,  Canada. 

The  present  report  continues  the  investigation  and  presents  some  new 
data  on  the  thickness  of  sand  that  underlies  the  surficial  dunes.   Mineralogi- 
cal  and  chemical  data  are  given  for  13  samples  from  surficial  sites  distributed 
over  much  of  the  dune  field.   New  beneficiation  studies  have  been  made  to  de- 
termine the  quality  of  feldspar  concentrates  and  possible  by-products  that  can 
be  produced. 


-  3  - 

Acknowl edgmen ts 

All  chemical  analyses  were  made  by  the  Analytical  Chemistry  Section, 
Illinois  State  Geological  Survey.   The  X-ray  fluorescence  tests  were  made  by 
J.  K.  Kuhn  and  L.  R.  Henderson;  the  flame  emission  tests  were  made  by  L.  R. 
Camp  and  D.  B.  Heck.   Herbert  D.  Glass  of  the  Stratigraphy  and  Areal  Geology 
Section  of  the  Survey  supplied  information  on  how  to  prepare,  X-ray,  and  iden- 
tify the  clay  minerals. 

History  of  the  Dune  Field 

The  dune  field  is  a  prominent  feature  on  the  Momence,  Illinois,  15- 
minute  quadrangle,  part  of  which  is  reproduced  in  figure  1  to  show  the  sampling 
locations  for  this  study.   The  dunes  are  concentrated  in  an  area  of  about  50 
square  miles  on  the  south  side  of  the  Kankakee  Valley.  The  valley  is  bounded  on 
the  north  and  south  by  roughly  parallel  glacial  ridges  or  moraines.  The  maximum 
difference  in  elevation  in  the  area  is  only  100  feet.   The  highest  dunes,  about 
700  feet  above  sea  level,  are  as  high  as  the  segment  of  the  St.  Anne  Moraine  to 
the  southwest.  Most  of  the  dunes  are  15  to  25  feet  high,  although  some  reach  50 
feet.   The  elevation  of  the  well  developed  Valparaiso  Morainic  System,  about  8 
miles  north  of  the  dunes,  is  only  slightly  higher  than  the  highest  dunes.  North 
of  the  dunes,  the  valley  slopes  gently  downward  for  about  h   miles,  from  650 
feet  to  the  6l0-foot  elevation  of  the  Kankakee  River.   A  more  detailed  physical 
description  of  the  dune  field  was  made  by  Willman  (19^2). 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  Pleistocene  Wisconsinan  Stage,  known  as 
the  Woodfordian  Substage,  the  Kankakee  Valley  was  part  of  the  discharge  system 
for  the  Kankakee  Flood.   The  geologic  events  of  this  substage,  summarized  here, 
were  treated  more  fully  by  Willman  and  Frye  (1970,  p.  3^-36).   During  the  Wood- 
fordian Substage,  the  Lake  Michigan  Lobe  of  glacial  ice  was  lying  just  north  of 
the  valley,  building  up  the  Valparaiso  Morainic  System  and  releasing  an  enormous 
volume  of  meltwater  into  the  valley.   When  to  this  was  added  meltwater  from  the 
Saginaw  Lobe  and  from  the  northwest  side  of  the  Erie  Lobe,  both  draining  west- 
ward from  Indiana,  the  volume  of  water  was  too  great  for  the  then  existing  drain- 
age through  moraines  to  the  south  and  west  to  carry  away.  The  valley,  therefore, 
filled  with  water  during  the  time  of  greatest  discharge.  Lake  conditions  existed 
until  the  Illinois  River,  the  major  outlet  for  the  floodwaters ,  had  time  to  en- 
trench its  channel,  improving  drainage.  As  the  ice  lobes  melted  northward,  their 
meltwaters  abandoned  the  Kankakee  Valley  and  established  more  efficient  discharge 
channels.   When  the  Kankakee  Valley  was  finally  drained,  large  areas  of  sand  de- 
posited by  both  lake  and  river  waters  were  exposed  to  wind  action  in  the  Kankakee- 
Momence  area,  which  resulted  in  the  building  of  the  present  southeastern  Kankakee 
County  dune  field.   Most  of  the  dunes  were  stabilized  by  vegetation  cover  soon 
after  their  formation;  however,  some  large,  recent  blowouts  are  visible. 


SAMPLING 

The  samples  were  collected  in  roadcuts  through  some  of  the  larger  dunes 
in  southeastern  Kankakee  County.   Thirteen  samples  were  gathered  from  nine  dif- 
ferent sites  (fig.  l).   Channel  samples  were  obtained  from  different  intervals  at 


-  k  - 


TABLE  1— SAMPLE  LOCATIONS 


Interval 

or  length 

Sample 

of  channel 

number* 

Locatlon 

Sec. 

T. 

R. 

sample  (ft) 

Remarks 

K-l 

+ 

1350' 

W  of  NE 

corner 

10 

29N 

11W 

25 

South  side  of  roadcut. 

K-3 

+ 

1350' 

W  of  NE 

corner 

10 

29N 

11W 

0-11 

Prom  road  level  upward. 

K-1 

+ 

1350' 

W  of  NE 

corner 

10 

29N 

11W 

11-19-5 

Above  road  level. 

K-5 

± 

1350- 

W  of  NE 

corner 

10 

29N 

11W 

19-5-25 

Above  road  level.  Several  feet 

K-6        ±  1350'  W  of  SE  corner  3  29N     11W 

K-7        26k0<   S,  500'  E  of  NW  30  30N 
corner 

K-8       975'  W  of  NE  corner  30  30N 

K-9       1225 '  W  of  SE  corner  19  30N 

K-10      200'  W  of  NE  corner  25  3 ON 


K-ll 

200'  V   of  NE  corner 

25 

3  ON 

K-12 

1800'  S,  300'  W  of  NE 
corner 

26 

3  ON 

K-13 

1700 '  S  of  NE  corner 

23 

3  ON 

K-llt 

2640'  S  of  NW  corner 

19 

3  ON 

10W 

11W 
11W 

12W 

12W 

12W 

12W 

11W 


5.5 


10.5 


of  sandy  soil  below  surface 
of  the  dune  not  sampled. 

North  side  of  road  on  lee  side 
of  dune,  from  road  level  down 
toward  base  of  dune. 

North  side  of  roadcut. 

South  side  of  roadcut. 

North  side  of  roadcut,  250  ft 
W  of  K-8. 


12-6.5 

Above  road  level,  south  side 

of  roadcut. 

6.5-0.5 

Above  road  level,  south  side 

of  roadcut. 

6-22 

Interval  above  base  of  lee 

side  of  large  dune. 

3-10.5 

Above  road  level,  west  side 

of  roadcut. 

3.5 

East  side  of  roadcut. 

*  Numbers  refer  to  locations  on  figure  1. 

the  same  site  whenever  possible  to  determine  whether  or  not  any  significant 
differences  could  be  expected  at  different  depths  in  the  dunes.   Locations  of 
the  sampling  sites  appear  in  table  1.   Sample  K-2  was  omitted  from  the  series 
because  it  was  a  duplicate  of  K-l. 

To  determine  the  total  thickness  of  sand  in  the  area  of  the  dune 
field,  the  drilling  records  for  the  area  (on  file  at  the  Illinois  State  Geo- 
logical Survey)  were  studied,  and  all  available  surficial  sand  samples  taken 
during  well  drillings  were  inspected  under  a  binocular  microscope.   Sand  sam- 
ples from  13  wells  were  studied,  as  were  108  well  records. 

A  deposit  of  about  50  feet  of  clean  sand  was  found  in  the  center  of 
the  dune  field,  underlying  the  flat  areas  between  the  sand  ridges.   It  thins 
toward  the  edges  of  the  dune  field,  but  has  an  average  thickness  of  about  35 
feet.   Visual  comparison  indicates  that  this  sand  is  quite  similar  in  appear- 
ance to  the  K  series  samples  taken  for  this  study  from  the  overlying  dunes. 
Below  the  level  of  the  thin,  brownish  black,  sandy  soil  zone  on  the  flat  areas 
between  the  dunes,  the  sand  is  not  leached  or  oxidized  and  has  a  low  carbonate 
content.   The  presence  of  this  thick,  apparently  continuous,  sand  body  under 
the  dune  field  increases  the  sand  reserves  of  the  area  two  to  five  times  over 
previous  estimates,  which  were  based  on  the  dunes  alone. 


-  5  - 

TREATMENT  OF  SAMPLES 

Chemical  and  mineralogical  analyses  were  made  on  the  dune  sand  sam- 
ples as  untreated  sand,  as  sieved  sand  fractions,  and  as  heneficiated  sand 
fractions.   Representative  analyses  are  reported  here  to  show  the  quality  of 
the  sand  as  a  feldspar  resource.   The  chemical  analyses  were  made  by  standard 
laboratory  procedures.   Mineralogical  methods  of  analyses,  which  are  not  as 
uniformly  established  between  laboratories ,  are  described  in  the  following 
paragraphs. 


Light  Minerals 

A  2-  to  3-gram  split  of  each  sample  was  taken  and  acidized  in  a  hot 
solution  containing  20  percent  hydrochloric  acid  (HCl)  and  5  percent  stannous 
chloride  (SnC^),  which  dissolves  iron  hydroxide  grain  coatings,  carbonate 
grains,  and  some  heavy  minerals.  The  samples  were  then  further  split  with  a 
miniature  Jones-type  riffle  splitter  to  a  size  convenient  for  mounting  on  a 
1-  by  3-inch  glass  microscope  slide.   After  they  were  mounted,  the  grains  were 
etched  and  stained  for  identification  purposes.   The  percentage  of  each  miner- 
al present  was  determined  from  about  U00  point  counts  per  slide,  an  operation 
facilitated  by  the  Swift  Automatic  Point  Counter.   The  observations  were  made 
with  a  binocular  microscope  with  oblique  illumination. 

The  basic  procedure  used  to  mount  and  stain  the  samples  is  outlined 
below.  The  use  of  a  liquid  tar  mounting  medium  was  suggested  by  Gross  and 
Moran  (1970).   The  feldspar  staining  technique  used  is  more  fully  described 
by  Reid  (1969),  who  also  gives  variations  of  reagents,  techniques,  and  basic 
literature  references. 

Reagents 

Four  reagents  were  used  to  prepare  the  samples : 

1.  Concentrated  hydrofluoric  acid  (Technical, 
52  to  55  percent). 

2.  Sodium  cobalt initrite ;  120  grams  dissolved 
in  200  milliliters  of  deionized  water. 

3.  Rhodizonic  acid  dipotassium  salt;  0.5  grams 
dissolved  in  200  milliliters  of  deionized  water. 

k.      Amyl  acetate  and  liquid  tar;  about  10  drops 
of  each  mixed  in  a  dropper  bottle.   Amyl 
acetate  is  added  if  mixture  was  not  dilute 
enough  to  spread  very  smoothly  and  thinly 
over  a  glass  slide. 

Mounting 

The  sample  number  was  engraved  with  a  diamond  scriber  at  one  end  of 
the  1-  by  3-inch  glass  slide.   One  large  drop  of  the  tar  mixture  was  applied 


-  6  - 

to  a  slide  and  spread  evenly,  leaving  one-half  to  three-fourths  of  an  inch  of 
the  slide  uncovered  at  each  end.   The  tar  was  allowed  to  dry  for  half  an  hour, 
after  which  a  representative  sand  sample  was  carefully  sprinkled  over  the  en- 
tire tarred  surface  to  achieve  a  dense  hut  even  distribution.   The  tar  was  al- 
lowed to  dry  another  half  hour. 

Staining 

The  grains  on  the  tarred  surface  were  etched  with  hydrofluoric  (HF) 
fumes  for  lh   minutes,  as  described  by  Reid  (1969),  in  batches  of  six  slides. 
After  they  were  etched,  the  slides  were  air  dried,  placed  in  a  holder,  and 
rapidly  subjected  to  the  following  procedures:   (l)  submersion  for  1  minute 
in  the  sodium  cobaltinitrite  solution;   (2)  gentle  rinsing  in  two  beakers  of 
tap  water;   (3)  dipping  in  the  5  percent  barium  chloride  (BaC^)  solution; 
(4)  gentle  rinsing  in  two  beakers  of  tap  water;  (5)  gentle  rinsing  in  a  beaker 
of  deionized  water;   (6)  submersion  in  the  potassium  rhodizonate  solution  just 
long  enough  for  the  red  stain  to  develop — never  more  than  15  seconds;  (7)  gentle 
rinsing  in  two  beakers  of  tap  water;  (8)  quick  but  gentle  drying  with  compressed 
air. 

After  the  slides  were  stained,  the  major  constituents  were  identified 
as:  (l)  quartz — colorless  and  transparent;  (2)  potassium  feldspar — grains  cov- 
ered with  a  yellow  stain;  (3)  sodium-calcium  feldspar — grains  covered  with  a 
red  stain;  (5)  composite  feldspar — grains  with  separate  areas  of  yellow  and  red 
stains;  (6)  feldspathic  rock  fragments — grains  with  a  stain;  not  pure  feldspar; 
(7)  chert — chalky-textured  grains;  and  (8)  heavy  minerals  (removed  from  some 
samples) — usually  black  or  translucent  grains. 


TABLE  2— CHEMICAL  ANALYSES  OF  THE  DUNE  SAND  SAMPLES 


Sample 

Analyses    (%) 

number 

K20 

Na20 

CaO 

AI2O3 

Si02 

Fe203 

Ti02 

K-l 

1.4l 

O.99 

I.58 

5.10 

83.4 

1.29 

0.29 

K-3 

1.50 

1.02 

1.15 

4.92 

86.0 

1.13 

0.15 

K-4 

1-95 

1.17 

0.28 

5.8l 

86.4 

1-73 

0.29 

K-5 

1.35 

0.93 

0.66 

5-57 

82.2 

1.65 

0.21 

K-6 

1.50 

1.00 

1.14 

4.62 

85.9 

1.08 

0.19 

K-7 

1.34 

O.76 

0.49 

5.19 

85.O 

1-51 

0. 17 

K-8 

1.52 

0.88 

O.1+5 

4.74 

85.9 

0.75 

0.10 

K-9 

1.53 

0.7I 

0.34 

4.90 

82.5 

O.98 

0.09 

K-10 

1.32 

0.78 

0.55 

5.04 

84.8 

1.08 

0.20 

K-ll 

1.^5 

0.81 

0.42 

5-13 

82.1 

1.27 

0.14 

K-12 

1.24 

O.72 

0.49 

4.43 

87.4 

0-77 

0.09 

K-13 

1.34 

O.79 

0.67 

5.09 

89.8 

1.40 

0.24 

K-14 

1.38 

0.93 

O.65 

4.88 

84.6 

1.41 

0.20 

*  All  chemical  analyses  were  made  by  the  Analytical  Chemistry  Section, 
Illinois  State  Geological  Survey.   The  X-ray  fluorescence  tests  were 
made  by  J.  K.  Kuhn  and  L.  R.  Henderson;  flame  emission  tests  were 
done  by  L.  R.  Camp  and  D.  B.  Heck. 


-  7  - 

TABLE  3— MINERALOGICAL  ANALYSES  OF  THE  DUNE  SAND  SAMPLES 


Analyses 

W 

Feld- 

spathic 

Remain- 

Quartz 

rook 

ing 

Sample 

Weight 
loss* 

Quartz 

and 
feldspar 

frag- 
ments 

Chert 

heavy 
minerals 

Feldspar 

number 

K 

Na-Ca 

Composite 

Total 

K-l 

3.2 

69.4 

3.3 

1.3 

1.7 

1-5 

9-3 

8.4 

1-9 

19.6 

K-3 

4.9 

64.6 

7-9 

0.8 

1.2 

1.5 

11.0 

6.3 

1.8 

19.1 

K-4 

2.5 

68.0 

3.6 

1.8 

0.4 

1.0 

12.1 

9-8 

0.8 

22.7 

K-5 

2.6 

68..  l 

5-2 

1.6 

0.8 

3.0 

10.4 

6.9 

1.4 

18.7 

K-6 

2.0 

72.2 

3-7 

2.6 

1.0 

1.3 

9-9 

>+.7 

2.6 

17.2 

K-7 

M-.l 

78.I 

1.7 

2.5 

0.3 

2.0 

6.8 

4.0 

0.5 

11.3 

K-8 

1-9 

68.6 

4.8 

2.3 

2.1 

0.9 

11-7 

6.6 

1.1 

19.4 

K-9 

2.8 

69.6 

11.4 

1.9 

0.6 

0.4 

8.8 

3.9 

0.6 

13-3 

K-10 

2.6 

67.2 

8.0 

1-5 

2.2 

1.2 

9-6 

6.5 

1.2 

17-3 

K-ll 

2.5 

68.5 

8.0 

0.6 

0.3 

2.2 

ll.l 

5.6 

1.2 

17.9 

K-12 

1.4 

75-0 

5-5 

0.5 

0.3 

0.5 

8.9 

7-1 

0.8 

16.8 

K-13 

2.3 

67.9 

8.8 

0.3 

0.6 

0.6 

9-7 

8.6 

1.2 

19-5 

K-14 

1-7 

71.3 

6.7 

2.3 

0.3 

1.1 

11.0 

4.8 

0.8 

16.6 

*  After  acidizing  and  washing,  which  removes  carbonates,  some  heavy  minerals,  iron  hydroxide,  clay, 
and  organic  material. 

Heavy  Minerals 

Heavy  mineral  separations  and  identifications  were  made  on  each  whole 
sample  of  dune  sand  and  on  gravity  and  magnetic  fractions  from  selected  benefi- 
ciation  series.   A  60-  to  80-gram  split  was  taken  from  each  whole  sand  sample, 
which  was  weighed  and  then  soaked  overnight  in  200  milliliters  of  deionized  water, 
Each  sample  was  treated  for  3  minutes  with  an  ultrasonic  probe  to  disaggregate 
small  particles.   About  100  milliliters  of  water  containing  very  fine  silt  and 
clay-size  particles  was  decanted  for  clay  mineral  analysis.   The  remaining  very 
fine  silt  and  clay-size  particles  were  washed  out  of  the  sample,  which  was  then 
dried  and  reweighed.  At  this  point,  heavy  minerals  were  separated  from  each  sam- 
ple with  bromoform  by  standard  procedures  (Krumbein  and  Pettijohn,  1938,  p.  3^3). 

Magnetite  was  then  separated  from  the  heavy  mineral  fractions  with  a 
strong  hand  magnet  and  weighed.   The  remaining  heavy  minerals  were  acidized  to 
clarify  the  grains,  and  the  loss  in  weight  was  recorded.   Representative  splits 
of  each  heavy  mineral  fraction  were  then  taken  and  mounted  on  1-  by  3-inch  glass 
slides  in  Canada  balsam.  Then  about  U00  point  counts  of  each  heavy  mineral  suite 
were  made  using  a  Swift  Automatic  Point  Counter  and  a  petrographic  microscope. 

Clay  Minerals 

Samples  K-3  through  K-ll,  K-13,  and  K-l**  were  examined  to  determine 
the  presence  of  clay  minerals.  The  very  fine  silt  and  clay-size  material  was 
centrifuged  out  of  the  100  milliliters  of  water  retained  from  the  heavy  mineral 


-  8  - 


TABLE  h— GRAIN  SIZE  FRACTIONS  OF  THE  DUNE  SAND  SAMPLES 


Average 

Sample 

Size   frac 

tions,   Tyler  Screen  Series    {%)* 

particle 

number 

>  35 

35  -  48 

48   -   65          65 

-    100          100  -    150          150  -   200 

200  -  325 

<  325 

size    (pjn) 

K-l 

0.08 

9.16 

32.31 

34.22 

14.35 

8.38 

1.21 

O.29 

167 

K-3 

0.11 

14.05 

36.86 

30.21 

11.91 

5.87 

O.78 

0.21 

180 

K-4 

0.03 

4.84 

26.53 

32.71 

23.56 

IO.58 

1.50 

0.25 

151 

K-5 

0.01 

5.92 

26.39 

33.58 

21.39 

10.86 

1.51 

0.34 

153 

K-6 

0.08 

12.71 

40.50 

31.39 

10.84 

4.08 

0.32 

0.08 

183 

K-7 

2.11 

39.26 

30.60 

16.46 

6.O5 

3.79 

1.03 

0.70 

222 

K-8 

0.18 

5.83 

33.30 

41.79 

12.46 

5-53 

0.62 

0.29 

166 

K-9 

0.16 

7-55 

31.18 

43.15 

12.48 

4.00 

O.58 

0.90 

168 

K-10 

0.09 

12.59 

43.77 

29.94 

8.05 

4.20 

0.54 

0.82 

184 

K-ll 

0.04 

8.28 

36.47 

35.96 

12.11 

5.52 

O.71 

O.91 

171 

K-12 

0.08 

23-95 

47.31 

20.49 

5-97 

1-93 

0.15 

0.12 

207 

K-13 

0.01 

8.14 

43.32 

29.93 

11.44 

5.57 

0.86 

0.73 

175 

K-14 

0.01 

5.19 

37-64 

36.76 

14.33 

5.33 

0.39 

0.35 

167 

*  Tyler  Screen  Series 

Meshes 

Opening 

Wentworth  grain 

per  inch 

in  urn 

s 

ize  c] 

assest 

35 
48 

417 
295 

Medium  sand 

250  am 

65 
100 

208 
147 

125  \m 

Pine 

sand 

150 

200 

104 

74 

63   \ixn 

Very 

fine  sand 

325 

43 

Silt 

t  Krumbein 

5c  Pettijohn 

,    1938, 

p.   80. 

separations.   These  solids  were  then  resuspended  in  30  milliliters  of  -water. 
After  the  sediment  had  settled,  fractions  containing  suspended  clay-size  mater- 
ial -were  drawn  off  with  an  eyedropper  and  spread  on  glass  slides.  The  clay  min- 
eral content  was  so  low  that  several  applications  were  necessary  to  build  up 
enough  oriented  clay-size  material  on  the  slides  to  obtain  adequate  X-ray  pat- 
terns.  Diffraction  patterns  of  each  sample  were  run  on  a  Norelco  X-ray  unit 
after  glycolation  and  again  after  the  sample  had  been  heated  at  300°  C  for  1 
hour. 


SAND  SAMPLES 


Chemical  analyses  of  each  sample  are  shown  in  table  2.   The  mineral - 
ogical  analyses  of  each  sample  are  shown  in  table  3.   These  tables  show  that 
the  alumina  content  varies  from  U . i+3  to  5.8l  percent,  while  the  total  feldspar 
in  the  samples  varies  from  11.3  to  22.7  percent.   Of  the  total  feldspar,  the 
potassium  feldspars  average  10.0  percent,  the  sodium- calcium  feldspars  average 
6.h   percent,  and  the  composite  feldspar  grains  average  1.2  percent.  The  alumina 


-  9  - 

content  of  the  samples  is  predominantly  in  the  feldspar,  hut  it  is  also  pres- 
ent in  the  much  less  abundant  feldspathic  rock  fragments,  some  heavy  minerals, 
and  the  clay  minerals.   The  silica  in  the  samples  is  predominantly  in  the  quartz, 
"but  it  is  also  present  to  a  much  lesser  extent  in  the  rest  of  the  mineral  frac- 
tions.  The  average  quartz  content  is  69.9  percent,  ranging  from  6k. 6  to  78.1 
percent.   These  chemical  and  mineralogical  analyses  agree  very  closely  with 
those  of  samples  from  the  same  area  reported  by  Willman  (19^2)  and  by  Ehrlinger, 
ten  Kate,  and  Jackman  (1969). 

A  separate  study  was  made  on  the  heavy  mineral  fraction  of  each  dune 
sample.   This  fraction  averaged  2.k   percent  of  the  total  weight  of  each  sample. 
Individual  minerals  do  vary  slightly  in  percentage  between  samples,  but  the 
suite  of  minerals  present  is  nearly  identical  in  all  samples. 

The  clay  minerals ,  determined  by  X-ray  diffraction  in  11  samples  out 
of  the  total  13,  make  up  less  than  0.5  percent  of  each  sample.   The  most  abun- 
dant clay  minerals  are  chlorite-vermiculite  and  illite.   They  form  three  clay 
mineral  assemblages,  two  samples  in  which  illite  is  dominant  and  chlorite-ver- 
miculite in  minor  amounts,  four  samples  with  approximately  equal  amounts  of 
illite  and  chlorite-vermiculite,  and  five  samples  in  which  chlorite-vermiculite 
is  dominant  and  illite  is  a  minor  constituent.   Distribution  of  these  assem- 
blages in  the  dune  field  forms  no  regular  pattern.   However,  as  the  deepest 
samples  from  a  dune  were  dominantly  illite  and  an  overlying  sample  fell  into 
the  equal  illite  and  chlorite-vermiculite  group,  it  is  possible  that  there  is 
some  vertical  zonation  of  the  clay  minerals — the  dominantly  illite  group  rep- 
resenting deeper,  incompletely  leached  sand,  the  group  equal  in  illite  and 
chlorite-vermiculite  coming  from  shallower  sand,  and  the  dominantly  chlorite- 
vermiculite  group  being  from  the  shallowest,  most  weathered  sand.   This  pos- 
sibility cannot  be  verified  by  the  samples  used  in  this  study  because  they 
represent  thick  intervals  that  may  be  affected  by  slumping. 

TABLE  5— CHEMICAL  ANALYSES  OF  THE  <  U8-  AND  >  200-MESH  SAND 


%   of 

Sample 

original 
weight 

Analyses 

{%) 

number 

K20 

Na20 

CaO 

AI2O3 

Si02 

Fe203 

Ti02 

K-l 

89.26 

1.42 

O.98 

1.45 

5.H 

83.0 

1.17 

0.17 

K-3 

84.15 

1.49 

1.01 

1.30 

4.94 

85.6 

1.14 

0.17 

K-4 

93.41 

1.88 

1.13 

0.23 

5-55 

86.4 

1.17 

0.23 

K-5 

92.22 

1.51 

0-99 

O.67 

5.80 

81.9 

1.63 

0.18 

K-6 

86.81 

1.45 

0.91 

1.20 

4.69 

86.8 

1.12 

0.16 

K-7 

56.90 

1.48 

0.84 

0.57 

5.60 

84.5 

1.86 

0.27 

K-8 

93.08 

1.45 

0.84 

0.50 

4.63 

85.8 

0.70 

0.09 

K-9 

90.81 

1.64 

0.82 

0.36 

5.00 

82.4 

O.96 

0.12 

K-10 

85.96 

1.34 

O.72 

0.47 

4.93 

84.6 

1.03 

0. 17 

K-ll 

90.06 

1.49 

0.79 

0.38 

5.12 

81.7 

1.21 

0.12 

K-12 

75.70 

1.32 

0.73 

0.44 

5.09 

87.I 

0.83 

0.07 

K-13 

90.26 

1.26 

0.84 

O.63 

5.26 

90.2 

1.47 

0.21 

K-14 

94.06 

1.41 

0.94 

0.67 

4.70 

85.O 

1.35 

0.17 

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-  11  - 

The  only  samples  (K-l,  K-3 ,  and  K-U)  in  this  study  found  to  be  cal- 
careous are  from  a  roadcut  through  a  dune  (fig.  1,  table  l)  that  exposes  about 
25  feet  of  sand.   In  this  dune,  carbonates  have  been  completely  leached  from 
the  sand  to  a  depth  of  about  10  feet.   Sample  K-3  contained  the  most  carbonate 
(less  than  h   percent),  effervescing  freely  when  treated  with  acid  and  losing 
more  weight  than  the  other  acidized  samples.   Samples  K-l  and  K-U  effervesced 
only  slightly.   The  petrographic  microscope  revealed  both  calcite  and  dolomite 
in  these  three  samples. 

The  grain  sizes  shown  in  table  k   reveal  that  the  sand  is  well  sorted 
and  varies  from  medium  to  fine,  a  conclusion  that  agrees  very  closely  with  the 
physical  description  of  dune  sands  given  by  Willman  (19^2,  p.  15-19).   Some 
larger  grains  are  well  rounded,  but  the  sand  as  a  whole  is  subrounded,  and 
roundness  decreases  rapidly  with  grain  size.  The  sand  with  the  greatest  average 
grain  size  (K-7)  has  the  lowest  feldspar  content,  and  the  sand  with  the  finest 
average  grain  size  (K-^)  contains  the  highest  percentage  of  feldspar  (tables  3 
and  k) .      Although  this  relation  did  not  exist  for  all  of  the  intermediate  size 
samples ,  in  nearly  every  sieve  fraction  of  individual  samples  the  feldspar  con- 
tent increased  with  decreasing  grain  size.   Decrease  in  grain  size  also  was  ac- 
companied by  an  increase  in  heavy  mineral  grains  and  a  decrease  in  feldspathic 
rock  fragments.   Tables  2  and  k   show  that  the  samples  with  fine  average  grain 
sizes  have  the  highest  iron  and  titanium  oxide  contents.   We  therefore  decided 
to  eliminate  the  coarser  than  U8-mesh  sand  because  of  its  low  alumina  content 
and  the  finer  than  200-mesh  sand  (even  though  it  is  high  in  alumina)  because 
of  its  high  iron  and  titanium  oxide  content.   This  practice  would  also  provide 
a  uniform  product,  which  is  very  important  for  optimum  plant  operation.   The 
chemical  analyses  of  the  material  from  finer  than  U8-  to  coarser  than  200-mesh 
are  shown  in  table  5. 


BENEFICIATION 

Samples  K-l  and  K-12  were  selected  for  detailed  benef iciation  tests 
after  the  chemical  and  mineralogical  results  of  the  13  sand  samples  had  been 
compared  and  the  locations  from  which  they  were  obtained  in  the  dune  field  had 
been  examined.   Both  samples  came  from  areas  that  have  sufficient  reserves  to 
sustain  an  operation,  and  hauling  expense  to  the  plant  would  not  be  prohibitive. 
K-l  contains  more  feldspar  than  K-12,  but  they  are  sufficiently  representative 
of  the  dune  field  to  allow  the  results  of  this  study  to  be  used  to  evaluate 
the  area. 

The  beneficiation  procedure  used  on  samples  K-l  and  K-12  is  illus- 
trated on  the  schematic  flowsheet  (fig.  2) ,  which  is  essentially  an  outline  of 
the  following  discussion.   However,  it  should  be  noted  that  the  last  conditioner 
and  classifier  steps  enclosed  in  dashed  lines  represent  laboratory  conditions 
and  not  simulated  plant  conditions. 

Tables  6  and  7  present  chemical  analyses  and  recoveries  of  the  bene- 
ficiation products  of  K-l  and  K-12  that  were  progressively  removed  from  the  raw 
sands  to  produce  the  final  feldspar  concentrates.   Each  step  is  listed  on  the 
tables,  and  numbers  key  them  to  figure  2.   The  beneficiation  treatment  of  the 
samples  included  attrition,  removal  of  the  coarser  than  U8—  and  finer  than  200- 


-  12  - 


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-  Ik  - 

mesh  sand,  gravity  separation,  magnetic  separation,  rough  flotation,  milling, 
and  cleaner  flotation.   An  additional  magnetic  separation  was  added  for  the 
feldspar  concentrate  of  sample  K-l. 

The  experience  gained  in  the  two  previous  feldspar  heneficiation  stud- 
ies of  this  series  by  Ehrlinger,  ten  Kate,  and  Jackman  (1969)  and  Ehrlinger  and 
Jackman  (1970),  prompted  us  to  subject  the  raw  dune  sand  (fig.  2,  no.  l)  to  two 
attrition  stages.    One  pound  of  sulfuric  acid  was  used  per  ton  of  sand  in  each 
stage.    Attrition  is  an  established  commercial  process  in  which  the  grains  are 
driven  against  each  other  in  a  slurry  to  produce  a  scrubbing  action  that,  aided 
by  the  sulfuric  acid,  disaggregates  the  clays  and  removes  most  of  the  hydrated 
iron  oxides  from  the  surface  of  the  sand  grains  ,  both  of  which  results  are  nec- 
essary prior  to  subsequent  benef iciation.   The  removed  slimes  (fig.  2,  no.  2) 
have  a  high  alumina  content,  but  they  are  basically  clay,  have  a  high  iron  ox- 
ide content,  and  would  not  be  marketable  as  part  of  the  feldspar  product.   The 
pound  of  sulfuric  acid  used  per  ton  of  sand  in  each  stage  of  attrition  is  not 
a  rigid  ratio,  and  operating  plants  should  determine  the  optimum  quantity  by 
experimentation. 

Following  the  two  attrition  steps  ,  the  coarser  than  U8-mesh  material 
(fig.  2,  no.  3)  was  removed.   This  relatively  low-alumina  product  could  be  sold 
as  a  clean,  washed,  sized  sand.  It  is  also  quite  low  in  iron  and  titanium  oxide 
content.   The  finer  than  200-mesh  sand  (fig.  2,  no.  h)   also  was  removed  at  this 
time.   Heavy  minerals  could  be  separated  from  this  fraction  and  sold  with  the 
gravity  concentrate  removed  at  step  5  (fig.  2)  as  a  raw,  heavy  mineral  product. 
In  step  5>  the  deslimed  sands  (finer  than  kQ-   to  coarser  than  200-mesh)  were 
subjected  to  a  gravity  separation  process  for  the  removal  of  heavy  minerals. 
Humphreys  spirals  or  shaking  tables  would  be  most  applicable  for  this  process, 
which  removes  heavy  mineral  grains  that  contain  calcium,  magnesium,  iron,  or  ti- 
tanium.  In  test  K-l  (table  6)  the  gravity  concentrate  was  responsible  for  only 
3.02  percent  of  the  sample's  original  weight,  yet  it  contained  15.^  percent  of 
the  original  calcium  oxide  content,  ^5«3  percent  of  the  original  iron  oxide  con- 
tent, and  66.5  percent  of  the  original  titanium  oxide  content.   About  75  percent 
of  the  gravity  concentrate  consists  of,  in  order  of  abundance,  hornblende,  il- 
menite,  garnet,  magnetite,  and  rock  fragments.   The  more  valuable  heavy  miner- 
als, such  as  zircon,  rutile ,  and  monazite,  make  up  less  than  5  percent  of  the 
concentrate.   Any  marketable,  heavy  mineral  product  would  come  from  the  gravity 
concentrate,  possibly  combined  with  heavy  minerals  from  the  finer  than  200- 
mesh  sand  fraction,  because  the  bulk  of  the  purer  heavy  mineral  grains  is  con- 
centrated in  these  two  by-products.   As  gravity  separation  is  a  low-cost  opera- 
tion, it  should  receive  favorable  consideration  in  a  plant  flowsheet. 

The  tailings  from  the  gravity  separation  were  next  subjected  to  a  wet 
magnetic  process.   In  the  laboratory  test  the  sands  were  passed  through  a  Carp- 
co  Wet  Magnetic  Separator,  Model  MWL  3^+65 ,  at  field  current  settings  of  0.25, 
1.00,  2.50,  and  5*00  amperes.   In  a  plant  operation,  no  more  than  two  intensi- 
ties, and  perhaps  only  one,  would  be  required.   The  combined  magnetic  concen- 
trate of  sample  K-l  (table  6)  included  lU.3  percent  of  the  calcium  oxide  con- 
tent, 21.0  percent  of  the  iron  oxide  content,  and  15.9  percent  of  the  titanium 
oxide  content,  although  it  accounted  for  only  ^.80  percent  of  the  original  weight 
Nearly  80  percent  of  the  magnetic  concentrate  consists  of  hornblende  and  rock 
fragments  and  a  smaller  amount  of  magnetite. 


-  15  - 

At  this  point  the  beneficiation  of  the  flotation  feed  was  completed. 
The  chemical  analyses  of  the  K-l  and  K-12  flotation  feeds  are  given  in  step  7 
of  tables  6  and  7,  respectively.   Each  step  leading  up  to  this  point,  with  the 
exception  of  the  removal  of  the  coarser  than  U8-mesh  material,  significantly 
reduces  the  calcium,  iron,  and  titanium  oxide  contents.   The  arrangement  of  the 
beneficiation  steps  from  the  attrited  feed  to  the  flotation  feed  is  not  critical 
to  the  subsequent  flotation  steps,  but  it  is  critical  if  specific  by-products, 
such  as  the  gravity  concentrate,  are  to  be  sold. 

The  flotation  feed  (fig.  2,  no.  7)  is  a  nearly  pure  quartz-feldspar 
sand  that  could  be  added  just  as  it  is  to  the  sand  used  in  glass  making,  the 
quantity  used  depending  on  the  chemical  requirements  of  individual  operations. 
The  residual  iron  oxide  content  of  two  small  splits  from  K-l  and  K-12  flotation 
feed  samples  was  reduced  to  less  than  0.005  percent  by  acid  leaching  without 
reducing  the  alumina  content. 

The  last  major  process  in  beneficiation  is  the  separation  of  the  feld- 
spar from  the  quartz  by  flotation  (fig.  2,  nos.  8  through  ll).   The  pulp  was  con- 
ditioned with  one  pound  of  concentrated  (U8  percent)  hydrofluoric  acid  per  ton 
for  8  minutes,  next  with  0.5  pounds  of  Delamate  8l  Reagent  (Hercules)  per  ton 
for  h   minutes,  and  finally  floated  with  methyl  isobutyl  carbinol,  as  needed,  for 
8  minutes.   The  rougher  tailing  is  a  very  clean  quartz  concentrate  (fig.  2,  no. 
8)  that  should  be  marketable  for  various  uses,  such  as  a  high-quality  concrete 
sand. 

The  rougher  concentrate  (fig.  2,  no.  9)  is  slurried  at  a  high  solid 
to  liquid  ratio  and  ground  for  20  minutes  with  ceramic  grinding  balls  in  a 
ceramic  mill.   This  step  is  designed  not  to  break  grains  but  to  further  scrub 
the  surfaces  of  the  feldspar  grains.   The  rougher  concentrate  was  again  condi- 
tioned with  hydrofluoric  acid  and  Delamate  8l  and  then  floated  without  frother 
to  produce  the  cleaner  tailing  (fig.  2,  no.  10 )  and  cleaner  concentrate  (fig. 
2,  no.  ll).   After  it  was  dried,  the  cleaner  concentrate  was  passed  through  a 
Carpco  Induced  Roll  Magnetic  Separator,  Model  M  127,  from  which  a  very  small 
percentage  of  slightly  magnetic  grains  were  removed  (fig.  2,  no.  12). 

The  feldspar  concentrate  from  test  K-l,  B-II  (table  6,  no.  13)  at 
this  point  had  the  following  chemical  analysis  (in  percent):   potassium  oxide, 
8.57;  sodium  oxide,  3.8l;  calcium  oxide,  1.63;  alumina,  17.87;  silica,  6l.Ul; 
iron  oxide,  0.^5;  and  titanium  oxide,  0.01.   The  ratio  of  concentration  (R/C) 
was  7.30;  it  represents  the  number  of  tons  of  raw  sand  required  to  produce  one 
ton  of  feldspar  concentrate. 

With  the  exception  of  the  iron  oxide  content,  the  material  left  at 
no.  13  is  quite  a  high  quality  feldspar  concentrate,  and,  as  pointed  out  by 
Ehrlinger,  ten  Kate,  and  Jackman  (1969),  there  is  an  adequate  market  for  feld- 
spar in  northeastern  Illinois.   The  problem  of  reducing  iron  oxide  content 
without  reducing  the  alumina  content  has  arisen  in  all  past  feldspar  studies 
of  Illinois  sand  (Willman,  19^2,  p.  13;  Hunter,  1965,  p.  5;  Ehrlinger,  ten 
Kate,  and  Jackman,  1969,  p.  16 ;  and  Ehrlinger  and  Jackman,  1970,  p.  8).   Will- 
man  (19^2,  p.  16)  and  Hunter  (1965,  p.  5)  had  significantly  reduced  the  iron 
oxide  content  of  sand  samples  by  using  an  acid  treatment.   During  this  study 
the  residual  iron  oxide  content  of  several  flotation  feeds  and  quartz  and  feld- 
spar concentrates  was  lowered  considerably  by  acid  leaching  while  the  alumina 


-  16  - 

TABLE  8— COMPOSITION  OF  SELECTED  FELDSPAE  CONCENTRATES 


Sample  and 
test 

Chemical 

analyses 

(*1 

K20 

Na20 

CaO 

A12°3 

Si02 

Fe203 

T102 

R/C 

a 

K-12, 

C-I 

8.99 

3.65 

1.06 

17.5 

59-6 

0.28 

0.02 

8.15 

b 

K-12, 

C-II 

8.60 

4.11 

1.29 

20.4 

61.5 

0.33 

0.03 

8.37 

c 

K-12, 

C-III  (>  65  m  only) 

9.70 

3.96 

1.24 

19.4 

64.2 

0.21 

0.04 

29.49 

d 

K-12, 

C-III  (65  to  200  m) 

9.15 

3.90 

1.36 

19.3 

63.0 

0.24 

0.06 

18.01 

e 

K-12, 

C-III  (c  +  d) 

9-33 

3.92 

1.32 

19.3 

63.5 

0.24 

0.05 

11.18 

content  remained  stable.   For  example,  a  sample  of  the  K-l ,  B-II ,  final  feld- 
spar concentrate  was  treated  under  laboratory  conditions  for  15  minutes  in  a 
hot  (approximately  90°  C)  acid  solution  containing  20  percent  by  volume  of  con- 
centrated hydrochloric  acid  and  5  percent  by  weight  of  stannous  chloride  (Krum- 
bein  and  Pettijohn,  1938,  p.  U8).   The  sample  was  then  reanalyzed  for  iron  and 
was  found  to  contain  only  0.0U  percent,  well  below  the  maximum  allowable  in 
glass  of  flint  grade,  while  the  alumina  content  remained  stable. 

Although  this  precise  treatment  may  not  prove  economical,  it  does  in- 
dicate that  most  of  the  iron  oxide  in  the  quartz  and  feldspar  concentrates  oc- 
curs in  a  residual  surface  coating.   This  fact  had  been  suspected  because  bin- 
ocular microscope  observations  of  feldspar  concentrates  under  oblique  illumina- 
tion had  revealed  that  some  patches  of  orange-red  grain  coatings  remained  in 
the  surface  irregularities  of  some  grains.   Hunter  (1965,  p-  8-9)   clearly  il- 
lustrated that  some  feldspar  grains  contain  inclusions  of  iron-bearing  minerals 
and  alteration  products.  However,  our  study  has  shown  that  most  of  those  grains 
were  rejected  during  the  magnetic  separation  stages  of  beneficiation.   There- 
fore, further  experimentation  with  methods  convertible  to  plant  scale  is  highly 
recommended  for  this  phase  of  beneficiation  of  feldspar  from  Illinois. 

The  feldspar  concentrate  from  test  K-12,  B-IV  (table  7,  no.  11)  had 
a  chemical  analysis  similar  to  that  of  sample  K-l.   Percentages  were:   potas- 
sium oxide,  9^50;  sodium  oxide,  4.3^;  calcium  oxide,  1.38;  alumina,  18.56; 
silica,  60.i+9 ;  iron  oxide,  0.57;  and  titanium  oxide,  0.03.   The  ratio  of  con- 
centration was  9.28.   The  iron  oxide  content  of  this  feldspar  concentrate  was 
reduced  to  0.l8  percent  by  the  hydrochloric-stannous  chloride  treatment  with 
no  reduction  in  alumina  content.  In  this  test  the  dry  magnetic  separation  after 
final  flotation  was  eliminated,  which  might  account  for  the  fact  that  K-12  had 
a  final  iron  oxide  content  higher  than  that  of  K-l. 

In  the  final  phase  of  testing,  another  short  series  was  run  on  sam- 
ple K-12  with  some  variations  not  shown  on  the  flowsheet  (fig.  2).   The  coarser 
than  U8-mesh  sand  was  left  in  the  feed  and  the  finer  than  150-mesh  (rather  than 
the  finer  than  200-mesh)  sand  was  eliminated  prior  to  flotation.   The  over-all 
quantity  of  coarser  than  48-mesh  sand  in  the  dune  field  may  be  large  enough  to 
justify  further  beneficiation,  since  2k   percent  of  the  total  weight  of  sample 
K-12  (table  k)    is  in  the  coarser  than  48-mesh  fraction,  which  contains  1^  per- 
cent feldspar.   The  resulting  feldspar  concentrates  were  as  good  as  those  of 
the  preceding  tests.   Alumina  was  generally  more  plentiful  and  iron  oxide  less 
so  than  they  were  in  the  tests  in  which  the  finer  than  200-mesh  material  was 
eliminated.   The  compositions  of  several  feldspar  concentrates  derived  by  this 


-  17  - 

procedure  are  shown  in  table  8.   In  most  of  these  feldspar  concentrates,  later 
acidation  resulted  in  iron  oxide  reductions  similar  to  those  reported  in  the 
preceding  paragraphs . 


PRODUCTION  EFFECTS 

A  recent  paper  by  Philip  Loughman,  "Feldspar  Production  Potential  of 
Local  Sand  Dunes  in  Southeastern  Kankakee  County,  Illinois,"  written  for  a 
landscape  architecture  project  at  the  University  of  Illinois,  is  on  file  at  the 
Illinois  State  Geological  Survey.   Using  the  product  ratios  given  by  Ehrlinger, 
ten  Kate,  and  Jackman  (1969)  ,  Loughman  designated  primary  and  secondary  sites 
for  a  feldspar  plant  that  could  produce  100,000  tons  of  feldspar  per  year.   The 
plant  would  have  a  productive  life  of  27.5  years,  would  be  within  a  radius  of  2 
miles  of  the  raw  sand,  would  not  detract  from  the  beauty  of  the  dunes,  and  would 
allow  the  natural  resources  to  be  developed  without  adding  to  existing  railways 
and  roads. 

Loughman' s  estimated  life  for  the  plant  considered  only  sand  in  the 
surficial  dunes.   The  additional  underlying  sand  deposit  found  during  our  study 
could  increase  the  productive  life  of  the  plant  to  from  55  to  137  years. 


CONCLUSIONS 

The  dune  field  of  southeastern  Kankakee  County,  which  extends  over  an 
area  of  approximately  50  square  miles,  is  an  enormous  potential  source  of  feld- 
spar.  As  a  result  of  this  study,  the  following  conclusions  about  this  natural 
resource  can  be  drawn: 

(1)  The  surficial  sand  is  reasonably  uniform  in  its 
feldspar  content,  and  the  feldspar  content  is  re- 
lated more  to  the  grain-size  distribution  than  to 
the  sample  location. 

(2)  The  thick  sand  body  underlying  the  surficial  dune 
field  increases  previous  estimates  of  the  area's 
feldspar  reserves  two  to  five  times. 

(3)  The  sand's  response  to  benef iciation  techniques 
seems  to  be  about  the  same  in  each  area  tested. 

(U)   As  the  testing  program  used  scaled-down  commer- 
cial processes,  feldspar  produced  on  a  large 
scale  in  a  commercial  plant  should  be  at  least 
as  good  as  the  feldspar  concentrates  produced 
in  this  testing  program. 

(5)   Additional  acidation  tests  indicated  that  the 

iron  oxide  content  of  the  feldspar  concentrates 


-  18  - 

produced  in  this  testing  program  can  be  greatly- 
reduced  with  no  reduction  in  alumina. 

(6)      Several  "by-products  might  be   saleable.      Included 
are   a  clean,  washed  sand   separated  by  sieving 
before  flotation  and  a  quartz   sand  separated  by 
flotation,  both  of  which  would  possibly  be  mar- 
ketable as  concrete  additives.      The  heavy  min- 
eral concentrates  might  be  sold  as  a  raw  mater- 
ial to  heavy  minerals  producers. 


REFERENCES 

Ehrlinger,   H.   P.    Ill,  W.    G.    ten  Kate,   and  H.  W.    Jackman,    1969,   Kankakee  dune  sands  as  a  com- 
mercial  source   of  feldspar:      Illinois   Geol.   Survey  Industrial  Minerals   Note  38,    17  p. 

Ehrlinger,    H.   P.    Ill,   and  H.  W.    Jackman,    1970f  Lower  Mississippi  River  terrace  sands  as  a 
commercial  source  of  feldspar:      Illinois  Geol.   Survey  Industrial  Minerals  Note  43, 
18  p. 

Gross,  D.   L.,    and  S.   R.   Moran,    1970*   A  technique  for  the   rapid  determination  of   the  light 
minerals   of  detrital   sands:      Jour.    Sedimentary  Petrology,   v.   40,   no.    2,   p.    759-761. 

Hunter,   R.   E.,    1965,   Feldspar   in  Illinois   sands — A  further  study:      Illinois   Geol.   Survey 
Circ.   391.    19  P- 

Krumbein,  W.    C.,   and  F.    J.    Pettijohn,    1938,   Manual  of  sedimentary  petrography:      Appleton- 
Century-Crofts,   New  York,    549  p. 

Reid,   W.    P.,    1969,   Mineral   staining  tests:      Colorado  School   of  Mines,   Mineral   Industries 
Bull. ,   v.    12,    no.    3,    20  p. 

Willman,   H.   B. ,    1942,   Feldspar  in  Illinois   sands — A  study  of  resources:      Illinois  Geol.   Sur- 
vey Rept.    Inv.    79,    87  p. 

Willman,    H.    B.,   and  J.    C.   Frye,    1970.   Pleistocene   stratigraphy  of  Illinois:      Illinois   Geol. 
Survey  Bull.    94,    204  p. 


SELECTED  LIST  OF  SURVEY  PUBLICATIONS 

MINERAL  ECONOMICS  BRIEFS  SERIES 

5.  Summary  of  Illinois  Mineral  Production  in  1961.   19-62. 

11.  Shipments  of  Illinois  Crushed  Stone,  1954-1964.   1966. 

12.  Mineral  Resources  and  Mineral  Industries  of  the  East  St.  Louis  Region,  Illinois.   1966. 

13.  Mineral  Resources  and  Mineral  Industries  of  the  Extreme  Southern  Illinois  Region.   1966. 
17.  Mineral  Resources  and  Mineral  Industries  of  the  Springfield  Region,  Illinois.   1967. 

19.  Mineral  Resources  and  Mineral  Industries  of  the  Western  Illinois  Region.   1967- 

20.  Mineral  Resources  and  Mineral  Industries  of  the  Northwestern  Illinois  Region.   1967 . 

22.  Mineral  Resources  and  Mineral  Industries  of  the  Northeastern  Illinois  Region.   1968. 

26.  Evaluation  of  Fuels— Long-Term  Factors  and  Considerations.   1969 • 

27.  Illinois  Mineral  Production  by  Counties,  1968.   1970- 
29.  Directory  of  Illinois  Mineral  Producers.   1971- 

INDUSTRIAL  MINERALS  NOTES  SERIES 

13.  Summary  of  Illinois  Mineral  Industry,  1951-1959.   1961. 

17.  Pelletizing  Illinois  Fluorspar.   1963. 

19.  Binding  Materials  Used  in  Making  Pellets  and  Briquets.   1964. 

20.  Chemical  Composition  of  Some  Deep  Limestones  and  Dolomites  in  Livingston  County,  Illinois.   1964. 

21.  Illinois  Natural  Resources — An  Industrial  Development  Asset.   1964. 

23.  Limestone  Resources  of  Jefferson  and  Marion  Counties,  Illinois.   1965 . 

24.  Thermal  Expansion  of  Certain  Illinois  Limestones.   1966. 

26.  Binders  for  Fluorspar  Pellets.   1966. 

27.  High-Purity  Limestones  in  Illinois.   1966. 

29.  Clay  and  Shale  Resources  of  Clark,  Crawford,  Cumberland,  Edgar,  Effingham,  Jasper,  and  Vermilion 

Counties.   1967. 

30.  Lightweight  Bricks  Made  with  Clay  and  Expanded  Plastic.   1967 - 

31.  Clays  as  Binding  Materials.   1967- 

32.  Silica  Sand  Briquets  and  Pellets  as  a  Replacement  for  Quartzite.   1968. 

34.  Neutron  Activation  Analysis  at  the  Illinois  State  Geological  Survey.   1968. 

35-  Computer-Calculated  Lambert  Conformal  Conic  Projection  Tables  for  Illinois  (7-5-Minute  Intersections), 

1968. 

38.  Kankakee  Dune  Sands  as  a  Commercial  Source  of  Feldspar.   1969. 

39-  Alumina  Content  of  Carbonate  Rocks  as  an  Index  to  Sodium  Sulfate  Soundness.   1969. 

40.  Colloidal-Size  Silica  Produced  from  Southern  Illinois  Tripoli.   1970. 

41.  Two-Dimensional  Shape  of  Sand  Made  by  Crushing  Illinois  Limestones  of  Different  Textures.   1970. 

42.  An  Investigation  of  Sands  on  the  Uplands  Adjacent  to  the  Sangamon  River  Floodplain:   Possibilities 

as  a  "Blend  Sand"  Resource.   1970. 

43.  Lower  Mississippi  River  Terrace  Sands  as  a  Commercial  Source  of  Feldspar.   1970. 

44.  Analyses  of  Some  Illinois  Rocks  for  Gold.   1970. 

45.  Clay  and  Shale  Resources  of  Madison,  Monroe,  and  St.  Clair  Counties,  Illinois.   1971. 

46.  Sideritic  Concretions  in  Illinois  Shale,  Gravel,  and  Till.   1972. 

47.  Selected  and  Annotated  List  of  Industrial  Minerals  Publications  of  the  Illinois  State  Geological 

Survey.   1972. 

ILLINOIS  MINERALS  NOTES  SERIES 
(The  Illinois  Minerals  Notes  Series  continues  the  Industrial  Minerals  Notes 
Series  and  incorporates  the  Mineral  Economics  Briefs  Series) 

48.  Illinois  Mineral  Production  by  Counties,  1970.   1972. 

49.  Clay  and  Shale  Resources  of  Peoria  and  Tazewell  Counties,  Illinois.   1973. 

50.  By-Product  Gypsum  in  Illinois — A  New  Resource?   1973. 

51.  Illinois  Mineral  Production  by  Counties,  1971.   1973. 

52.  Fuels  and  Energy  Situation  in  the  Midwest  Industrial  Market.   1973. 

53.  Coal  Resources  of  Illinois.   1974. 

54.  Properties  of  Carbonate  Rocks  Affecting  Soundness  of  Aggregate — A  Progress  Report.   1974. 

55.  The  Energy  Crisis  and  Its  Potential  Impact  on  the  Illinois  Clay  Products  Industry.   1974.