Automated mineralogy: adding value
NORTHPARKES Mines (NPM) is setting the benchmark for plant automation, with systems like the TESCAN TIMA automated mineralogy solution key to its success.
The TESCAN TIMA has helped the company integrate on-site departments and has directly contributed to greater recoveries and plant efficiencies.
NPM ore processing technical superintendent Dylan Morgan said “since its installation in 2015, the Northparkes onsite mineralogy program, driven by data from the TESCAN TIMA, has advanced both its analytical ability and driven many critical business processes”.
“We use the data to understand the performance of future orebodies, predict the performance of changes to the plant configuration and troubleshoot changes in plant performance,” he said.
“It has added huge value to our day to day operations and to our future Life of Mine.
“It is now an essential part of the technical teams’ tool kit.”
The TESCAN TIMA is the most advanced automated mineralogical analyser available boasting the fastest data acquisition speeds.
Its robust design is mine site capable for production environments.
Automated mineralogy is a sophisticated analytical technique that provides a detailed understanding of whole rock, plant products and tailings.
Critical knowledge of the ore body enables plant operators to optimise and improve their operations and consequently deliver improved and optimised flowsheets.