ok so what exactly are Sodium and Potassium Isobutyl Xanthate

[TheQueenOfQuotes]

??????? and what is it/are they used for??

Bloody hell QoQ you don't half come up with some questions!

Mainly industrial uses. In a household setting, probably weedkiller.

what type of industrial uses (I'm mainly just being nosey - trying to figure out what exactly the business that SIL and her DH set up earlier this year actually do.....)

Here you go:

Uses and Occurrences:
Potassium isobutyl xanthate is used mainly in the mining industry as a collector in the flotation of metal sulfide ores. Minor uses include curing and vulcanization of rubber; as an antioxidant for rubber; as a herbicide, pesticide and fungicide; as a high-pressure lubricant additive; as a fortifying agent for certain oils; for analytical procedures; and in a froth flotation process for soils contaminated with mercury.(1,11)

Same list for sodium.

What a bizarre question for this time of day.

No idea why I googled this but I did. Read this

And this

Froth flotation?

aha - thanks everyone - I bet they're sourcing and exporting stuff for the mining industry in Zimbabwe -