Mineralogy of fine particles in slurry from multispectral imaging

摘要

Mineral processing relies heavily on the differential behaviour of particles in pulps. In order to monitor hydrocyclones and flotation cells in, it is important to develop at line particle characterization providing information on particle size distribution and mineralogy. A sampling device has been elaborated based on a flow cell linked to a high pressure pump. The setup allows for dispersion of the diluted mineral slurry into the cell.A simple multispectral imaging module has been designed to acquire images at different wavelengths. The design is based on a series of dichroic filters thereby avoiding moving parts and enabling a very fast acquisition of multispectral images. Multispectral classification is used to outline particles appearing in the field of view and to qualify their main mineral component. The technology developed in this work sets the basis for at line monitoring of ore slurries with reasonably simple mineralogy.