Description
The CSIRO Mineral Resources Sensing and Sorting Group has developed a patented X-ray diffraction (XRD) technology, that moves laboratory scale EDXRD to on-stream mineral analysis in processing plants. The removal of inefficient and labour-intensive laboratory-based XRD is imperative for a mine site as this allows stream mineralogy to be monitored in real-time.
Alongside XRD, CSIRO has designed a novel X-ray fluorescence (XRF) instrument for real-time elemental identification. This patented technology reports elemental concentrations corrected for variations in particle size. Traditional on-stream XRF systems struggle to maintain accuracy as particle size varies., The new technology allows the elemental concentrations to be corrected without constant calibration.
The high-accuracy XRF and world-first on-line XRD technology is combined into an on-line slurry analyser called the Mineral and Elemental Analyser (MEA). MEA is an autonomous, stand-alone unit that measures a continuous slurry flow at a rate of up to 120 L/min and reports results at intervals of 5 to 10 minutes. The MEA is currently installed across various processing plants in Australia. In each of these installations, the MEA is being used to monitor specific elements/minerals that are key the operational state of the plant’s process control. MEA is able to report concentrations of gangue minerals like pyrite, quartz, mica, feldspars and more, allowing better stream control and optimisation.
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