Bulk ore sorting
AS global grades decline, and new high-grade discoveries operating mines and development projects are facing mounting pressure to materially improve the efficiency of mining systems.
Where applied properly, bulk ore sorting systems represent an opportunity for miners to simultaneously improve revenue and decrease costs - without introducing excessive complexity.
Bulk ore sorting systems with cutting-edge grade measurement devices make it possible to deliver analogous improvements at the scale of typical large mining operations that are processing tens of millions of tonnes of ore per annum.
NextOre’s flagship product, the on-belt magnetic resonance ( MR) analyser, is used in high-throughput bulk ore sorting systems and allows for the grade of high throughput ore to be measured at industry-leading accuracies and speeds.
Radio waves are pulsed into a moving sample of ore and the response measured with a specific signal tuned to the signature resonant frequency unique to the target mineral, resulting in real-time grade measurements.
The MR measures, analyses, and physically diverts ore with minimal impact on other on-site systems – balancing high sorting performance with practicality and low cost.
Ore upgrade and waste rejection
Throughput capacity of the MR analyser is between 100t and 5000t per hour with zero loss in measurement sensitivity at higher throughputs.
The system can measure grades quickly and accurately, measuring 100pc of the material on the conveyor belt for metal content, regardless of its size, shape, moisture content or rock type, in two second measurement intervals.
By reducing the measurement interval, a short conveyor belt can be used after the analyser and before the diverter gate, allowing the ore sorting system to more easily be integrated into existing conveying systems.
This corresponds to pods of 30kg to 150kg for small operations (1Mtpa) and 1t to 5t for larger operations (10-40Mtpa), and between a 15-40pc reduction in tonnes equivalent or improved metal recoveries depending on the geological and operating conditions of the project.
Improved recovery
Bulk ore sorting can deliver an overall increase in metal recovery to mining operations by capturing a portion of metal that would otherwise end up in waste dumps.
The result is an increase in metal directed to the processing plant without a commensurate increase, and often a decrease, in gross ore tonnage.
For more information about how NextOre can offer bulk ore sorting systems customised to your existing assets or development projects visit: www.nextore.com.au.
See them at IMARC stand CA 20.