Vanning

Ore dressing in which ores are washed on a shovel

Vanning is a type of ore dressing by which ores are washed on a shovel. Typically, a powdered sample of orestuff is swirled with water on the blade of a shovel and then given a series of upward flicking motions. The heavier ore is tossed up through the water and appears as a crescent shaped patch at the top of the charge with the lighter gangue below. Developed in western England, this process was still in use at a major tin mine and a mine waste collection firm in Cornwall until 1985.

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