How does WARDS process their rock and mineral samples?
As we receive shipments of rocks and minerals from around the globe, the materials are examined for quality, weighed, and stocked in large storage bins. Production orders are then issued to our technicians to individually cut specifically sized pieces on custom-made 50-ton hydraulic rock trimmers. Here is where we literally make little rocks out of big rocks, one at a time. Each student or larger lab sample is hand cut in this process and trimmed to the appropriate size. It is then placed in our parts stock as finished sized pieces. From here, the various stock pieces are pulled for packaging into individual Study Packs or to be used as a component in various teaching collections being assembled. WARD’S does not use bulk crushers to process these standard specimens, since we believe that individualized cutting provides greater control over uniformity in size and specimen quality. That’s just another WARD’S commitment to quality that our customers have appreciated now for over 140 years
Related Questions
- I have access to local collecting areas for some excellent mineral, rock, and fossil samples. Does WARDS ever purchase specimens from individual collectors?
- Does the texture of the rock change over time as a mineral goes through the process of diagenesis?
- How does WARDS process their rock and mineral samples?
