FEI has released the MLA 600F, a high-speed automated mineralogy analyser for optimising mineral processing operations in the mining industry.
The MLA 600F reduces sample turnaround from days to hours, allowing operators to increase metal recovery by responding faster and more frequently to changes in feed and waste stream mineralogy.
The new system was developed in cooperation with FEI's partner, JKTech, and mining company and automated mineralogy pioneer Anglo Platinum.
Dr Robert Schouwstra, head of mineralogical research at Anglo, said: 'Knowledge of the complex mineralogy and liberation characteristics of the plant-feed helps Anglo operate the plant more efficiently.
'The faster the analytical turnaround, the quicker we can respond to changes in feed mineralogy, with obvious benefits.
'The MLA 600F significantly reduces the analysis component of our total turnaround time and provides critical leverage for our efforts to reduce the other major components: sample preparation and transport time.' The MLA 600F uses a scanning electron microscope equipped with a field emission gun (FEG) and multiple high-speed energy dispersive X-ray spectrometers (EDS) to automatically acquire image and composition information from a large number of samples: typically polished sections of particulates from mineral processing operations and drill core, or lump materials from exploration.
Software from FEI's partner, JKTech, uses the data to acquire and measure characteristics such as: mineral type and distribution, grain size and liberation and association, essential properties of the ore that must be accommodated in mineral processing to achieve maximum metal recovery.
The ability of the MLA 600F system to reduce sample turnaround time from days to hours derives from the faster, higher quality imaging provided by the high brightness FEG and high-speed data acquisition and analysis enabled by efficient sampling, fast automation and streamlined analytical design.
