4 ms·

I don't understand the point of "two-phase" materials. Why would you add water to ore?

• tialaramex 8y ago
  First up, we're not talking about a soup here, this isn't like it's a litre of water for every kilo of ore, it's just that it's enough to allow the solids to move without the friction they'd incur if entirely dry. Ore starts out as rock buried in the ground. So, you're going to need to get that out of there. While you could do that with a bloke and a pickaxe I'm sure lots of the processes actually involved add water, even if not terribly much. Also, this stuff isn't expensive, it's basically just slightly valuable dirt, so if it's stored somewhere they're not going to be keeping it in water-tight containers, it'll be in an open truck, or an open freight car somewhere, getting rained on. Now, shipping dirty water across the ocean is pointless and costs money, so it's not as though they're going to add more water just for fun, but if the contracts involved don't specify that it has to be less than so-and-so much water in the cargo, then it's nobody's job to ensure it isn't damp.
  • vvpan 8y ago
    Ah! Thanks. I imagined an intentional mix for some reason.