Abstract
Large, highly marketable deposits of borate are situated in the north-western Argentina. The exploitation of these deposits started in the beginning of this century. The exploitation and industrialization of some of these deposits during the 1980s turned the region into an important trading centre for export of raw borates and of boric acid. Technical specifications, as regards the iron content in those products, are very rigorous, particularly if they are used in manufacture of high-quality glass. This paper presents a survey of the borate industry in the Puna region of Argentina. A purification technique for "hard borates", based on magnetic separation is described. The study has been carried out using pilot- plant magnetic separators at the IN BE MI, The Salta National University.