Sand and metallic charge materials are two essential and heavy raw materials that are needed for molding and casting. This chapter focuses on planning and provision for storage and handling of the raw materials needed for casting manufacturing. The major raw materials used for molding and casting are metallic charge materials and nonmetallic materials. The chapter also presents the advantages, limitations, and applications of drum or rotary dryers (also known as rotary kiln dryers) and fluidized bed dryers (also known as vibration fluidized bed dryers).

Beryllium is the 44th most abundant element on Earth, with an estimated concentration of six parts per million in the Earth’s crust. It is found in various forms in more than 100 minerals, two of which, beryl and bertrandite, account for most of the beryllium produced throughout the world. This chapter describes where and how beryllium is obtained and provides facts, figures, and insights on global supply and demand.

This chapter describes some of the processes used to concentrate beryllium-rich minerals from ores. It discusses the flotation of bertrandite and phenacite from calcite, mica, fluorspar, and quartz-containing ores, the flotation of beryl from pegmatitic gangues and low-grade deposits, and the use of chemical activators and conditioning agents. It also explains that hand sorting is still very common because of processing challenges and inefficiencies.