Solubility experiments were conducted on twenty carbonate and non-carbonate minerals using selected Versene solutions and acids. Two sets of experiments were run simultaneously. The first set contained only the mineral fragment and Versene solution; the second set contained another fragment of the same mineral and a block of limestone. For comparison, experiments were carried out with 10- and 25-percent solutions of hydrochloric and acetic acids.
The results of the solubility tests using Versene were found to be similar to the mineral solution results obtained with 10-percent acetic acid. Five of the twenty minerals, gypsum, anhydrite, calcite, aragonite, and witherite, were consistently affected by the Versene solutions. However, in the presence of a reacting block of limestone the rates of solution of these five minerals were altered. The gypsum was dissolved more rapidly in the presence of a limestone block and the other four minerals were dissolved more slowly. Techniques using Versene solution show little advantage over acetic acid techniques in the extraction from limestones of the twenty accessory minerals which were used in these experiments. However, a better recovery of carbonate minerals other than calcite and aragonite can be expected with Versene residue methods
