工艺矿物学与化学分析

智能文字提取功能测试中

The economic viability of a mine can be determined by the microscopic characteristics of the ore, including the mineral abundance, the grain size and the degree of ore mineral liberation. It is essential to be able to characterise these parameters rapidly and accurately, providing the data that geologists, mineralogists and mining engineers can use during mine feasibility studies and process optimisation. Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS) in the scanning electron microscope (SEM) is the optimum tool for such process mineralogy, providing fast and accurate results with a high degree of automation. An SEM-EDS mineral liberation system can analyse both polished core sections and particulates from feed material and tailings, providing information that will improve recovery and lessen any environmental impact. Importantly, recent EDS detector developments have increased X-ray collection efficiency and throughput, making it possible to characterise samples in a matter of minutes. The image shows part of an analysis of particulate feed material from a zinc ore and the associated liberation curves for some of the zinc-bearing minerals. These data are then used to refine the processing parameters resulting in a more efficient extraction process and less waste.