Equipment in the Sample Prep Lab

The Sample Preparation Laboratory is a collection of four spaces in the sub-basement of the Mitchell Earth Sciences Building. For access to equipment, users must complete the required training with the Laboratory Manager. Please navigate to the Training and Safety and Access tabs for more information.

Existing Users:

Please reserve the equipment using the Agilent iLab software. If an existing user would like to bring a new chemical into the lab space(s), the user must complete the SPL New Chemical/SOP Request form for Lab Manager approval. Existing users that would like to develop and follow a new procedure in the Sample Prep Lab that does not involve new/outside chemicals should fill out the SPL New SOP Request form for Lab Manager approval. If a user simply has a new idea, but doesn't have a full procedure thought out, or is just considering slight manipulation of an existing procedure, please reach out to the Lab Manager directly.

Equipment Name	Purpose	Room	Available for Checkout?
Hammer Station	Steel hammer box and plate for manually breaking down whole rock samples. Variably sized hammers and chisels available.	A72B	No.
BICO Braun Jaw Crusher	Jaw crusher for crushing 8-cm sized gravel into 2-cm sized gravel. See the Training and Safety tab for more information.	A72B	No.
BICO Braun Disc Mill	Disc mill for grinding 2-cm sized gravel into fine sand (50-75 µm). Additional safety training requirements for use of this equipment. See the Training and Safety tab for more information.	A72B	No.
Gilson Sieve Shaker	Ro-tap sieve shaker for automatic sieving. Accommodates 3-inch and 8-inch sieves.	A72B	No.
8-inch Diameter Sieves	Gilson stainless steel sieves for laboratory use only. Older, hardy brass sieves available for check out and field use. Variety of mesh sizes, reach out to Laboratory Manager for specific needs.	A72	Yes.
3-inch Diameter Sieves	Gilson stainless steel sieves for laboratory use only. Older, hardy brass sieves available for check out and field use. Variety of mesh sizes, reach out to Laboratory Manager for specific needs.	A72	Yes.
Shatterbox	Ring and puck vibratory mill for pulverizing (<50 µm) and homogenizing sample. 100 mL alumina ceramic and tungsten carbide grinding vessels available.	A72	No.
SPEX 8000D Mixer Mill	Planetary ball mill for pulverizing and homogenizing sample. Various grinding vessels available: 55 mL tungsten carbide, 65 mL stainless steel, 5 mL polycarbonate, and 50 mL agate.	A72	No.
Mortar & Pestle	200 mL steel and ceramic mortar and pestles available for manual pulverizing of sample.	A72	Yes.
VWR Ultrasonic	5L ultrasonic for high precision equipment cleaning.	A72	No.
Covington 36" Slab Saw	36" diamond embedded blade for automatic slabbing of particularly large or hard rock samples. Clamping for multiple perfectly parallel cuts. Uses rockhound oil as cutting medium.	A54	No.
MK Diamond Pro Tile Saw MK101	10" diameter diambond embedded, continuous rim blade for manual cutting of samples. Uses water as a cutting medium.	A54	No.
Coretest Dual Trim Saw DTS-430	Dual trim saw with diamond embedded, continuous rim blades for perfectly parallel 2" cuts of sample. Uses water as a cutting medium.	A54	No.
Dual Trim Saw	Dual trim saw with diamond embedded, continuous rim blades for perfectly parallel 1" cuts of sample. Uses water as a cutting medium.	A54	No.
Buehler IsoMet 1000 Precision Saw	4"-7" diamond embedded, continuous rim blade for high-precision cuts. May use water or IsoMet fluid as cutting medium. Various sample holders available. Reach out to the Laboratory Manager for specific needs.	A54	No.
JET 20" Floorstanding Drill Press	Large floorstanding drill press for 1" diameter, 4" length core creation from large rock samples.	A54	No.
WEN Bench Drill	Bench drill for drilling into small scale samples for core creation.	A54	No.
RYOBI Bench Drill	Bench drill for micro-drilling into slabs for powderization.	A54	No.
Covington Rociprolap	Large scale polisher for rock slabs.	A54	No.
Gemeni Table	Shaker table for mineral separation by density, designed for gold concentration.	A72A	No.
Frantz Magnetic Barrier Laboratory Separator	For precise separation of mineral grains by magnetic properties, vertical.	A55	No.
Frantz Isodynamic Separator (LB-1)	For precise separation of mineral grains by magnetic properties, sloped.	A55	No.
Jasper Canyon Research Zircon Separator	Shaker table for separating mineral grains by density, designed particularly for zircon concentration.	A55	No.
Lithium Metatungstate (LMT)	High density inorganic solution at a density of 2.85 g/cm3 to perform sink/float separations of mineral grains to target minerals such as quartz/zircon. LMT SDS here.	A55	No.
Methylene Iodide	High density oranoiodine compound with a density of 3.32 g/cm³ used to perform sink/float separations of mineral grains to target minerals such as apatite/zircon. MEI SDS here.	A55	No.
Hydrochloric Acid (HCl)	Diluted acid used to dissolve iron and iron oxides in samples. HCl SDS here.	A55	No.
Nitric Acid (HNO₃)	Diluted acid used to dissolve sulfides such as pyrite from samples. HNO₃SDS here.	A55	No.
Acetic Acid (CH₃COOH)	Diluted acid used to remove organic materials from samples. CH₃COOH SDS here.	A55	No.
Sartorius Cubis II Microbalance	High resolution balance for accurate determination of the mass of materials in liquid, paste, powder, or solid form. 6.1 g -1.0 µg	A55	No.
Fisher Scientific IsoTemp 100L Gravity Oven	Oven for drying samples.	A55	No.
Hamilton Built-In Drying Oven	Oven for drying equipment and bulk samples.	A55	No.
Optical Microscope.	Basic optical microscope for quick sample checking.	A55	No.
Branson Ultrasonic	Ultrasonic for high precision equipment cleaning.	A55	No.