Eliminating the Guess Work involved with PGM Recoveries

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Eliminating the Guess Work involved with PGM
Recoveries

• Nitric Acid Producers Meeting
• October 10, 2002
• David Kelley, PGM Technologies

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Background Info

• Industry experience
• Partnership with Hicks Equipment, Inc.
• Various recovery options - destructive,
  non-destructive, on-site, etc.
• PGM estimating, metal tracking pool account
  optimization

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General Comments/Rules of Thumb for PGM Recovery

• Non-destructive recovery
• hydroblasting - 30-35 potential recovery
• chemical cleaning - 60-70 potential recovery,
  more risk involved
• Destructive recovery performed off-site
• Dismantle prior to shipping if recovery charges
  will be based on wt.
• Take samples and have them analyzed independently
• Know how your material will be sampled at the
  refiner
• Always have the customer sample analyzed
• Have your lot (i.e. tubes) held until settlement
  is reached
• Take samples of the cleaned items and have them
  analyzed
• Two most critical steps - cleaning sampling

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General Comments

• For destructive recovery performed on-site
• Know your environmental rules regulations and
  how waste generated will be disposed
• Clean periodically versus waiting for equipment
  to fail - let economics dictate this decision
• Dont accept that recoveries cant be estimated
  and dont accept that there is no possible way to
  obtain a representative sample from equipment
• Keep records of metal use

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General Comments

• Should be able to account for 88-95 of your
  gross metal losses
• Heat train catch is improved by
• location of the vessel in the heat train
• vessel life
• temperature differential across the vessel
• surface area of the vessel
• capture efficiency declines with time

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General Comments

• Absorbers typically catch 3-7 of the gross metal
  losses
• Storage tanks typically catch 3-6 of the gross
  metal losses

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PGM Technologies, Inc.Thank you!Please
visit our website at www.pgmtechnologies.com