07-21-2016, 02:35 PM
MountainMan Wrote:Speaking of which, what does GERN ore look like? And after it is processed into a solid form?
The ore will vary in colour (color) depending on the location of the mine and it's said those colours may rival that of a prism. This is good news for modellers, as your location's ore colour is likely exactly the same as what you plan to use to represent the ore. Supposedly, the processing (and there are many methods used, depending on the end product desired) may cause the colour to change, but the colour can also be manipulated during the refining process. The mine of my Gibson Works, beneath nearby Lake Erie, produces mainly grey ore, and ships both powdered and granulated flux, along with pelletised varieties. The first two account for most of the weathering on the hoppers, but the raw ore never leaves the premises, as the entire operation is self-contained. Gibson Works also produces a lot of liquid flux products, but apparently no one outside the plant has knowledge of what colours might be involved, and tank car loading appears to be done very neatly, with no visible spillage.
Wayne