Lined Pipe in Nevada

Nevada mines most of the gold produced in the United States, and nearly every ounce of it passes through cyanide solution, lime slurry, hydrochloric acid, caustic or sulfuric acid on its way to the pour. Add the only producing lithium brine operation in the country at Silver Peak, the clay-leach lithium project at Thacker Pass with its own sulfuric acid plant, battery cell manufacturing and battery recycling at the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center, and the chlor-alkali and titanium chemistry that has lived in Henderson since the 1940s, and you have a state that runs on exactly the fluids plastic-lined pipe is made for. Marspec Technical Products fabricates PTFE-, PVDF- and polypropylene-lined pipe spools and supplies the lined fittings and valves for that service, with spools shipping to Nevada from Fairhope, Alabama.

Call (251) 625-4949 or contact us online with a line list or a drawing and we will quote lined spools, fittings and valves for the job.

Gold: the Carlin Trend and the mills of northern Nevada

The Carlin Trend between Carlin and Elko, the Cortez and Battle Mountain-Eureka trends, the Getchell belt north of Winnemucca and the operations around Round Mountain and Tonopah make Nevada responsible for roughly three-quarters of the nation's gold. The flow sheets vary, but the chemistry repeats. Oxide ore goes to heap leach pads under dilute sodium cyanide at high pH, with lime for pH control. Refractory sulfide ore is roasted or pressure-oxidized in acidic autoclaves, neutralized with lime or limestone, then cyanided in carbon-in-leach or carbon-in-pulp circuits. Loaded carbon is acid-washed with hydrochloric acid, stripped with hot caustic and cyanide, and the gold is electrowon and smelted. Spent solution is detoxified with sulfur dioxide and air, hydrogen peroxide or Caro's acid. A sodium cyanide plant at Winnemucca supplies the region.

Where lined pipe fits in a gold mill

Hydrochloric acid wash lines, caustic strip solution, cyanide reagent make-up and distribution, hydrogen peroxide and Caro's acid dosing, autoclave discharge acid after cooling, and the sulfuric acid and caustic used in water treatment are all lined-pipe services. PTFE handles every one of them across the temperature range of a mill, with vented housings on the hydrochloric acid lines because HCl permeates the liner. Lined diaphragm valves are the usual choice on acid and reagent lines that carry solids, PFA-lined plug and ball valves give tight shutoff on reagent lines, and lined strainers and sight glasses protect pumps and show flow.

Lithium, batteries and copper

The brine operation at Silver Peak, in Clayton Valley south of Tonopah, concentrates lithium in solar evaporation ponds and precipitates lithium carbonate with soda ash after lime treatment. The Thacker Pass project in Humboldt County leaches lithium from clay with sulfuric acid produced on site from molten sulfur, neutralizes with limestone and lime, and purifies the solution to lithium carbonate or hydroxide. At the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center east of Sparks, battery cell manufacturing and lithium-ion battery recycling use sulfuric acid and peroxide leaching, solvent extraction, caustic and high-purity water. Copper leaching with sulfuric acid followed by solvent extraction and electrowinning operates near Yerington and in the Battle Mountain district, and a copper concentrator runs near Ely. Hot sulfuric acid, lithium and copper sulfate solutions, loaded organic, caustic and saturated brine are standard PTFE services; PVDF also takes the sulfate solutions, brine and dilute acid but not caustic or hot concentrated sulfuric acid, polypropylene is available where a specification calls for it, and the liners keep iron out of battery-grade product.

Henderson, geothermal and water

Henderson's industrial complex at the foot of Black Mountain, built for magnesium production during the Second World War, has hosted chlor-alkali production of chlorine, caustic soda, hydrochloric acid and sodium hypochlorite and the chloride-based production of titanium sponge for decades. Wet chlorine, titanium tetrachloride vapors and strong hydrochloric acid are the reason fluoropolymer liners exist. Nevada is second only to California in geothermal generation, with plants from Reno out to Fallon and the Black Rock Desert handling hot brine, hydrogen sulfide abatement chemicals and scale-control acid. The water systems that serve Las Vegas and Henderson from Lake Mead, and Reno and Sparks from the Truckee, dose sodium hypochlorite, chlorine, ferric salts and fluoride through pipe that must not corrode.

How we build for Nevada mines and plants

Sizes, liners and housings

Custom lined spools in 1/2" through 12" sizes and lengths up to 20 ft, in PTFE, PVDF or polypropylene, with carbon steel or 304 and 316 stainless housings, are fabricated to your isometric. Our lined pipe and fittings conform dimensionally to ANSI B16.5. Lined valves cover ball, plug, butterfly, diaphragm, check and sampling patterns. Our piping accessories page lists lined strainers, expansion joints, PTFE spacers, spectacle blinds and sight glasses, and we supply solid PTFE pipe for high-purity lines. Winter nights at Nevada mine elevations freeze caustic and crystallize brine, so we also supply clamp-on steam heaters, electric heat tracing and heat-transfer compound under our temperature maintenance line, sized to the liner's limits.

Standards

Our lined pipe and fittings comply with ASTM F1545, and lined fittings are welded to ASME B31.3 by welders certified to ASME Section IX. Every lined pipe spool and fitting gets a minimum 10,000-volt spark test, backed by more than half a century in the plastic-lined piping industry. Liner compatibility, vacuum and temperature ratings and torque data are on our technical details page.

Serving Elko, Winnemucca, Reno, Henderson and the rest of Nevada

We ship nationwide from Fairhope, Alabama, with custom spools built to order for operations in Elko, Carlin, Battle Mountain, Winnemucca, Ely, Yerington, Tonopah, Silver Peak, Fallon, Fernley, Sparks, Reno, Carson City, Henderson and Las Vegas. Call (251) 625-4949 or contact us online.

FAQ: Lined Pipe in Nevada

Which liner should a Carlin Trend gold mill use for hydrochloric acid carbon wash and caustic strip lines?

PTFE covers both: it resists hydrochloric acid at any concentration and hot caustic strip solution, so one liner serves the whole carbon circuit, with vented housings on the acid lines because HCl permeates the liner. PVDF is an option for the acid side where temperatures allow.

Can lined pipe handle the hot sulfuric acid at a Nevada lithium clay leach or copper SX-EW plant?

Yes. PTFE-lined pipe handles sulfuric acid across the full concentration range at the temperatures used in leaching and solvent extraction, and it covers the cooler, dilute raffinate and electrolyte lines as well; polypropylene is available for those where a specification calls for it.

Do you supply lined pipe for cyanide reagent and detox lines at a heap leach near Winnemucca or Elko?

We do. Sodium cyanide solution, hydrogen peroxide, Caro's acid and sulfur dioxide and air detox streams are all compatible with PTFE liners, and we supply the lined diaphragm, plug and ball valves to go with the spools.

Is lined carbon steel a fit for chlorine and hydrochloric acid at the Henderson chemical complex?

It is the standard choice. PTFE-lined pipe and PFA-lined valves carry wet chlorine, hydrochloric acid at every concentration and sodium hypochlorite without the exotic alloys those services would otherwise require, with vented housings on the chlorine and HCl lines because both permeate the liner.