BLOG
A Brief Overview of In-situ Recovery (ISR)
Over the past few years there has been a renewed interest in in-situ recovery methods for metals (ISR). The concept of […]
Working with High-Dimensional Data Part 4: Classifying Unknown Samples using Machine Learning Principles
In the previous articles in this series (part 1, part 2, and part 3) we’ve been performing analyses on an example high-dimensional […]
Working with High-Dimensional Data Part 3: Geospatial Mapping and Mine Planning
In part 1 of this introductory series about working with high-dimensional data we looked at dimensionality reduction to allow the visualisation […]
Working with High-Dimensional Data Part 2: Classification by Cluster Analysis
In part 1 of this introductory series on working with high-dimensional data we determined that cluster analysis is a commonly used method […]
Working with High-Dimensional Data, Part 1: Dimensionality Reduction
Mineral exploration, mining, ore processing, and, more generally, earth science research, involves the collection of large and complex data sets where single […]
How do geometallurgical models relate to operational mineralogy?
In preparation for the AusIMM Geomet ’16 conference in Perth next week we thought a brief introduction to how operational mineralogy can […]
Workshop: Basics of Operational Mineralogy
For all of you who are going to, or thinking about going to, the AusIMM Geomet 16 conference in Perth […]
The iMin Workbench – A framework for predictive control with mineralogy
Since the introduction of automated mineralogy almost 40 years ago the holy grail has been to bring the capability to operational sites. […]
From Paragenesis to Processing: Geological Reconstructions Carry Implications for Mineral Processing
This case study briefly highlights the potential to derive, in an approximate sense, likely processing behaviour from geological reconstructions. In turn, […]
Geometallurgy – A Geologist’s Approach
From a geologist’s point of view geological models form the starting point of successful geometallurgical studies. Most importantly, geological models consist of […]
Third AusIMM International Geometallurgy Conference
It’s time to start thinking about the 3rd AusIMM International Geometallurgy Conference to be held in Perth, Australia from June 15-17 2016. […]
ZEISS Mineralogic-Mining: a new automated mineralogy system on the market
This week, ZEISS released the latest automated mineralogy system to hit the market; Mineralogic-Mining. Mineralogic-Mining combines a scanning electron microscope with one […]
Geometallurgy Conference (IOM3), London, June 2014
The recent IOM3 (UK Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining) Geometallurgy 2014 Conference held in London, UK on the 9-10th June was […]
Reprocessing Tailings Dams – A systematic characterisation approach (Part 2)
In the first part of this blog (2nd April 2014) a brief introduction was given on having a systematic approach to tailings […]
Reprocessing Tailings Dams – A systematic Approach (Part 1)
This is the first of two blogs examining the reprocessing of tailings dams. Millions of tonnes of sulphide tailings are produced […]
Mineralogy: The missing “M” in AMD prediction?
The previous blog of 5th December 2013 Flotation Mineralogy: Valid and Valuable examined the role of mineralogy in flotation. Indeed, many of these […]
Reinventing the Acid Rock Drainage testing wheel
The Challenge Acid rock drainage (ARD) testing as practised by the mining industry is in need for reinvention. With the global financial […]
When to invest in process mineralogy
Over the past few months we have explored the value of investing in Process Mineralogy in some detail. We have established that […]
What is the Return on Investment of using Process Mineralogy?
In this week’s blog, we seek to respond to a common question that we hear at MinAssist: what is the return I […]
Using mineralogical understanding as a building block for plant process improvement
Developers and operators of mining and mineral processing operations face constant challenges to become more efficient, whilst at the same time being […]
Rock and Mineral Texture: Controls on Processing
The texture of an ore will define: the grain size distribution(s) and P80 target grind size; the grindability of the ore; the degree […]
Understanding what is feeding your process: How ore variability costs money!
Too often operations utilise ore type definitions that are based on geological or mining characteristics and have little relation to the processing behaviour of the material. This is perfectly valid for resource definition and mine planning but when applied to processing can be misleading. While there are situations where the relationship is valid, for the majority of operations there do remain subtle differences in how ore domains should be processed.
What is Geometallurgy?
With today’s increasingly complex ore bodies, it is no longer sufficient to use grade and tonnes alone to manage risk and optimise […]
What is Process Mineralogy?
The use of Process Mineralogy has increasingly become a larger part of everyday operation in mines and mineral processing plants. To explain what […]
Mineralogical ore typing by QEMSCAN
Today I wanted to share some more thoughts on the usefullness of ore typing to mining and mineral processing operations. I have recently been working on a the beginnings of a geometallurgical program for an open pit operation where the whole processing chain from mining, through processing and to smelting is included. This has given me a unique opportunity to view ore typing from the perspective that although the mill is the direct customer of the mines ore types, consideration must be made for the effect that changing ore type can have on products fed to a smelter.
A greater understanding of your process by mineralogical ore characterisation
Ore characterisation is a very broad term that is viewed differently by geologists, mineralogists and metallurgists. It does however fundamentally cover the concept of defining the building blocks of an ore, giving insight into how best to deal with it.
