Discrimination method for pre-tailing mode based on dissemination characteristics of useful minerals
By analyzing ore sections using optical microscopy and image analysis technology, the problem of identifying low-grade ore before tailings disposal was solved, achieving efficient and accurate pre-enrichment prediction, reducing costs and risks, and improving enterprise decision-making efficiency.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Patents(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- BEIJING MINING & METALLURGICAL TECH GRP CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2026-04-20
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-26
AI Technical Summary
Existing technologies lack a fast and effective method to determine whether low-grade ore can be pre-enriched through pre-tailing, resulting in high testing costs and low efficiency.
The ore sections were analyzed using optical microscopy and image analysis techniques. Standard areas were divided, the area occupancy of locally enriched and vein-like useful minerals was statistically analyzed, the pre-enrichment ratio Pvalid was calculated, and compared with a preset threshold to determine whether it was suitable for the pre-tailing process.
It achieves quantitative and standardized pre-tail rejection, improves rejection efficiency, reduces costs, improves prediction accuracy, guides enterprises to avoid ineffective experimental investment, and enhances economic benefits.
Smart Images
Figure CN122042360B_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This application relates to the field of mineral processing, and in particular to a method for determining pre-tailing methods based on the characteristics of useful mineral embedding. Background Technology
[0002] With the large-scale development and utilization of mineral resources, the reserves of high-grade and easily beneficiated minerals are decreasing, while the increase in low-grade and complex, difficult-to-beneficiate minerals is causing a natural increase in mining production costs. Therefore, the economical and efficient development and utilization of low-grade and complex, difficult-to-beneficiate minerals is becoming increasingly urgent. Grinding costs account for more than half of the total cost in mineral processing. To improve the grade of ore entering the mill and reduce the total energy consumption of subsequent grinding and beneficiation, the adoption of pre-selection and tailings disposal processes is of great significance.
[0003] Pre-selection tailings disposal technology utilizes the differences in physical properties between waste rock and useful ore to pre-select and discard some waste rock before coarse or fine grinding operations, achieving pre-enrichment of the raw ore. This can improve the grade of the feed ore, reduce the amount of ore fed into the grinding mill, effectively reduce grinding costs, and improve the economic benefits of enterprises. The most common pre-selection tailings disposal technologies include screening, gravity, heavy media separation (DMS), optical separation, electrostatic separation, X-ray separation, electrical conductivity separation, and magnetic separation.
[0004] Currently, the selection of pre-tailing technology primarily focuses on the differences in physical properties between valuable ore and waste rock in low-grade ores. Specifically, the first step is to determine the grade of valuable elements in the ore. For low-grade ores, to reduce costs, improve economic efficiency, or achieve economically effective development and utilization, pre-tailing is necessary to increase the grade of the incoming ore. After determining the need for pre-tailing, the specific pre-tailing technology is selected based on the differences in physical properties between valuable ore and waste rock. For example, if there is a large density difference, gravity or heavy media separation will be used; similarly, photoelectric separation is selected based on the optical or electrical differences between valuable ore and waste rock. Once the pre-tailing technology is determined, extensive testing is typically conducted on actual samples using relevant pre-tailing equipment to adjust relevant parameters and achieve the best pre-tailing effect.
[0005] However, the above methods have the following drawbacks: Currently, the selection of pre-tailing processes and technologies is primarily based on the grade of valuable elements in the raw ore. Only low-grade ores require pre-tailing to improve the grade of the feed ore, thereby reducing grinding costs and increasing economic efficiency for effective development and utilization. Determining the need for pre-tailing based on grade is a prerequisite and foundation, but currently, there is no effective and rapid method to determine whether low-grade ores can be enriched through pre-tailing. As mentioned earlier, the only option is to take samples based on the differences in physical properties between the valuable ore and waste rock, and try different pre-tailing methods and equipment. This trial-and-error approach to testing the feasibility of the method is not only time-consuming and labor-intensive but also costly. Often, after extensive testing, the pre-tailing technology still fails to achieve the desired pre-enrichment.
[0006] Therefore, the current method for testing the effectiveness of pre-tailing of low-grade ore is through trial and error. This method has drawbacks such as low efficiency and high cost. There is currently a lack of a fast and effective method to determine whether low-grade ore can be pre-enriched through pre-tailing. Summary of the Invention
[0007] The purpose of this application is to provide a method for determining the pre-tailing method based on the characteristics of useful mineral embedding, so as to solve the above-mentioned problems.
[0008] To achieve the above objectives, this application adopts the following technical solution:
[0009] A method for identifying pre-extraction patterns based on the characteristics of useful mineral embedding includes:
[0010] The raw ore sample was processed into multiple optical sheets;
[0011] The light section was analyzed using optical microscopy and image analysis techniques. The observation area of the light section was divided into multiple continuous standard regions of equal area. Each standard region was analyzed one by one using the standard region as the basic unit. The embedding characteristics of useful minerals in the light section were classified, including local enrichment type, vein type and sparse type.
[0012] The area of locally enriched and vein-like minerals in all slices is counted. The average occupancy of locally enriched minerals and the average occupancy of vein-like minerals in all slices are calculated. The pre-enrichment percentage Pvalid is calculated.
[0013] The pre-enrichment ratio is compared with a preset threshold. If Pvalid is greater than or equal to the preset threshold, the raw ore sample is determined to be suitable for pre-enrichment using the pre-tailing process. If Pvalid is less than the preset threshold, the raw ore sample is determined to be unsuitable for pre-enrichment using the pre-tailing process.
[0014] According to an embodiment of this application, preparing multiple optical discs from a raw ore sample includes: crushing the raw ore sample to achieve a target particle size in the crushed product, separating a representative sample from the crushed product, and preparing an optical disc using the representative sample.
[0015] And / or, the target particle size is 20~50 mm;
[0016] And / or, the number of the light sheets is greater than or equal to 30.
[0017] According to an embodiment of this application, analyzing the light sheet using an optical microscope and image analysis technology includes: analyzing the image acquired by the optical microscope using image analysis software, identifying useful mineral particles in the light sheet, and obtaining the area, length, and width of the useful mineral particles.
[0018] According to an embodiment of this application, the area of the standard region is 1 cm². 2 .
[0019] According to embodiments of this application, classifying the embedding characteristics of useful minerals in a light sheet includes:
[0020] Vein-type determination: Calculate the aspect ratio and length of useful mineral particles in each standard area. If the aspect ratio of at least one useful mineral particle in the standard area is greater than the first threshold and the length of the useful mineral particle is greater than or equal to the second threshold, then the useful mineral in that area is vein-type.
[0021] Local enrichment type determination: For areas not classified as vein-type, calculate the area occupancy rate of useful minerals in the standard area. If the occupancy rate of useful minerals in the standard area is greater than the third threshold, then the useful minerals in the area are locally enriched.
[0022] Sparse type determination: For areas not classified as vein type and not classified as locally enriched type, calculate the overall useful mineral area occupancy rate and the average spacing between useful mineral particles in the light slice. If the total useful mineral area occupancy rate in the light slice is less than or equal to the fourth threshold, and the average spacing between useful mineral particles in the light slice is greater than the fifth threshold, then the useful minerals in the light slice are sparse type.
[0023] According to an embodiment of this application, in the pulse pattern determination, the first threshold is 5:1, and the second threshold is 2mm;
[0024] And / or, in the local enrichment type judgment, the third threshold is 10%.
[0025] According to an embodiment of this application, in the sparsity determination, the fourth threshold is 3% and the fifth threshold is 2mm.
[0026] According to an embodiment of this application, the pre-enrichment ratio P is calculated. valid include:
[0027] The areas of locally enriched, vein-like, and sparse useful minerals in each slice are counted and denoted as Srich,i, Svein,i, and Ssparse,i, respectively, where i represents the i-th slice, i = 1, 2, ..., N, and N is the total number of slices;
[0028] Calculate the area occupancy rate of various embedded features in each optical sheet;
[0029] Localized enrichment occupancy: P rich,i = ×100%;
[0030] Vein-like occupancy rate: P vein,i = ×100%;
[0031] Where Ai is the total area of the i-th optical sheet;
[0032] Calculate the average occupancy of locally enriched patterns and the average occupancy of pulse patterns in all optical sheets;
[0033] Locally enriched overall population share: P rich,total = ;
[0034] Overall prevalence of vein-like patterns: P vein,total = ;
[0035] The pre-enrichment percentage is obtained by adding the average occupancy of locally enriched patterns in all optical sheets to the average occupancy of pulse patterns in all optical sheets.
[0036] P valid =P rich,total +P vein,total .
[0037] According to an embodiment of this application, the preset threshold is 80%.
[0038] According to the embodiments of this application, when there are two or more types of useful minerals in the raw ore sample, all types of useful minerals are considered as a collection for analysis and classification.
[0039] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of this application include:
[0040] This application measures the area of valuable mineral particles in low-grade ore using an optical microscope and classifies them into three types: localized enrichment, sparse distribution, and vein-like formation. The average occupancy of locally enriched and vein-like valuable minerals is then calculated, and the sum of these values is compared with a preset threshold. Based on the comparison, it is determined whether pre-enrichment using a tailings removal method is appropriate. This application predicts the degree of pre-enrichment during the pre-removal process by quantitatively analyzing the distribution characteristics of valuable minerals in the ore, thereby determining whether pre-enrichment can be achieved through tailings removal. Specifically, this application has the following beneficial effects:
[0041] 1. Transforming qualitative judgment into quantitative prediction: Existing technologies mainly rely on experience to qualitatively judge "differences in physical properties," while this application uses optical microscopes, image analysis software, and a set of clear quantitative standards to transform the ineffable "embedding characteristics" into measurable and calculable parameters such as area occupancy, spacing between useful mineral particles, and aspect ratio of useful minerals, thereby achieving quantitative and standardized judgment of the feasibility of pre-tailing.
[0042] 2. This paper reveals the fundamental internal factors affecting the pre-tailing effect: Existing technologies focus on the differences in apparent physical properties and subsequent equipment debugging, neglecting the fact that the distribution pattern (intercalation characteristics) of minerals within the ore is the prerequisite and fundamental factor determining whether physical differences can be used to achieve separation at the coarse-grained level. This application directly analyzes this fundamental factor, grasping the key to the problem.
[0043] 3. It provides a reproducible and operable discrimination process: This application specifies in detail the complete steps and specific parameters from sample preparation, image acquisition and processing, feature classification, statistical calculation to final discrimination. The method of this application has the advantages of simple steps and easy operation.
[0044] 4. Significantly improves discrimination efficiency and reduces costs: Compared with the need to conduct a large number of time-consuming pre-tailing equipment tests (such as gravity separation, magnetic separation, photoelectric separation, etc.), the proposed solution mainly completes mineralogical sample preparation and image analysis in the laboratory. It can usually complete all tests and give clear conclusions within a few days, avoiding a long and expensive trial and error process. In particular, it can save a lot of ineffective test investment for ores that are not actually suitable for pre-tailing, and greatly improve decision-making efficiency and economy.
[0045] 5. High prediction accuracy and strong guiding significance: The prediction conclusions of this application's method (whether it is suitable for pre-tailing and the range of estimated loss rates) are highly consistent with actual industrial trials and production data, proving that the discrimination logic based on quantitative embedding features in this application is scientific, reliable, and has the advantage of high accuracy. Enterprises can quickly decide whether to initiate subsequent detailed pre-tailing process trials based on the discrimination results of this method, thereby significantly reducing the technical and economic risks of early-stage project decisions, and ultimately achieving the goal of avoiding ineffective investment and improving overall efficiency through accurate discrimination. Attached Figure Description
[0046] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the accompanying drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly described below. It should be understood that the following drawings only show some embodiments of this application and should not be regarded as a limitation on the scope of this application.
[0047] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of the pre-tailing method discrimination method based on the embedding characteristics of useful minerals in this application. Detailed Implementation
[0048] As used in this article:
[0049] "Prepared from" is synonymous with "comprising". The terms "comprising", "including", "having", "containing", or any other variations thereof as used herein are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a composition, step, method, article, or apparatus that includes the listed elements is not necessarily limited to those elements, but may include other elements not expressly listed or elements inherent to such composition, step, method, article, or apparatus.
[0050] The conjunction "composed of..." excludes any unspecified elements, steps, or components. If used in a claim, this phrase makes the claim closed, excluding materials other than those described, except for associated conventional impurities. When the phrase "composed of..." appears in a clause of the body of a claim rather than immediately following it, it limits only the elements described in that clause; other elements are not excluded from the claim as a whole.
[0051] When a quantity, concentration, or other value or parameter is expressed as a range, a preferred range, or a range defined by a series of upper and lower preferred values, this should be understood as specifically disclosing all ranges formed by any pair of any upper or preferred value with any lower or preferred value, regardless of whether the range is disclosed individually. For example, when the range “1–5” is disclosed, the described range should be interpreted as including ranges “1–4”, “1–3”, “1–2”, “1–2 and 4–5”, “1–3 and 5”, etc. When numerical ranges are described herein, unless otherwise stated, the range is intended to include its endpoints and all integers and fractions within that range.
[0052] In these embodiments, unless otherwise specified, the portions and percentages are all by weight.
[0053] "Parts by mass" refers to the basic unit of measurement that expresses the mass ratio of multiple components. One part can represent any unit mass, such as 1g or 2.689g. If we say that component A has "a" parts by mass and component B has "b" parts by mass, it means the ratio of the mass of component A to the mass of component B is a:b. Alternatively, it can mean that the mass of component A is aK and the mass of component B is bK (where K is any number representing a multiplier). It is important to understand that, unlike parts by mass, the sum of the mass parts of all components is not limited to 100 parts.
[0054] "And / or" is used to indicate that one or both of the described situations may occur, for example, A and / or B includes (A and B) and (A or B).
[0055] Existing methods only focus on the grade of valuable elements and the differences in physical properties between useful ores and waste rock, and then focus on adjusting the parameters of the pre-disposal equipment. They neglect the most critical factor that determines whether the pre-disposal method can achieve the purpose of pre-enriching useful ores, namely the embedding characteristics of useful minerals. Only when the particle size of useful minerals is relatively coarse or locally enriched in the ore can the pre-disposal equipment utilize their differences in physical properties to achieve effective separation.
[0056] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this application provides a method for determining pre-tailing methods based on the characteristics of useful mineral embedding, comprising:
[0057] The raw ore sample was processed into multiple optical sheets;
[0058] The light section was analyzed using optical microscopy and image analysis techniques. The observation area of the light section was divided into multiple continuous standard regions of equal area. Each standard region was analyzed one by one using the standard region as the basic unit. The embedding characteristics of useful minerals in the light section were classified, including local enrichment type, vein type and sparse type.
[0059] The area of locally enriched and vein-like minerals in all slices is counted. The average occupancy of locally enriched minerals and the average occupancy of vein-like minerals in all slices are calculated. The pre-enrichment percentage Pvalid is calculated.
[0060] The pre-enrichment ratio is compared with a preset threshold. If Pvalid is greater than or equal to the preset threshold, the raw ore sample is determined to be suitable for pre-enrichment using the pre-tailing process. If Pvalid is less than the preset threshold, the raw ore sample is determined to be unsuitable for pre-enrichment using the pre-tailing process.
[0061] This application solves the problem that the pre-polishing effect can only be detected through experiments, avoiding the waste of manpower and time caused by a large number of invalid pre-polishing tail tests, improving work efficiency, reducing costs, and increasing benefits.
[0062] According to an embodiment of this application, preparing multiple optical discs from a raw ore sample includes: crushing the raw ore sample to achieve a target particle size in the crushed product, separating a representative sample from the crushed product, and preparing an optical disc using the representative sample.
[0063] In some embodiments, crushing the raw ore sample includes: sequentially subjecting the raw ore sample to coarse crushing and medium crushing to achieve a target particle size for the crushed product; for example, a laboratory jaw crusher can be used to coarsely crush the sample to control the particle size of the coarsely crushed product to no more than 100 mm. Subsequently, a double roll crusher or a cone crusher is used to perform medium crushing on the coarsely crushed product until the target particle size is achieved.
[0064] In some embodiments, preparing a smooth sheet using the representative sample includes: mixing the representative sample with epoxy resin and a curing agent, curing it, and then polishing it to produce a smooth sheet with a flat surface; further, the diameter of the smooth sheet is 30 mm.
[0065] The target particle size is 20 to 50 mm; for example, the target particle size is any value between 20 mm, 25 mm, 30 mm, 35 mm, 40 mm, 45 mm, 50 mm or 20 to 50 mm.
[0066] The number of light plates is greater than or equal to 30. For example, the number of light plates is 30, 35, 40, 45 or any value greater than or equal to 30.
[0067] According to embodiments of this application, analyzing the light sheet using an optical microscope (e.g., a ZEISS optical microscope) and image analysis techniques includes: analyzing images acquired by the optical microscope using image analysis software (e.g., Progres Capturepro), identifying useful mineral particles in the light sheet, and obtaining the area, length, and width of the useful mineral particles.
[0068] In some embodiments, the raw ore sample includes at least one of chalcopyrite, bornite, pyrite, and magnetite.
[0069] According to an embodiment of this application, the area of the standard region is 1 cm². 2 .
[0070] According to embodiments of this application, classifying the embedding characteristics of useful minerals in a light sheet includes:
[0071] Vein-type determination: Calculate the aspect ratio and length of useful mineral particles in each standard area. If the aspect ratio of at least one useful mineral particle in the standard area is greater than the first threshold and the length of the useful mineral particle is greater than or equal to the second threshold, then the useful mineral in that area is vein-type.
[0072] Local enrichment type determination: For areas not classified as vein-like, calculate the area occupancy rate of useful minerals within the standard area. If the occupancy rate of useful minerals within the standard area is greater than the third threshold, then the useful minerals in that area are locally enriched. It should be noted that the occupancy rate of useful minerals within the standard area refers to the proportion of the area of useful minerals within the standard area to the total area of the standard area.
[0073] Sparse type determination: For areas not classified as vein type and not classified as locally enriched type, calculate the overall useful mineral area occupancy rate and the average spacing between useful mineral particles in the light slice. If the total useful mineral area occupancy rate in the light slice is less than or equal to the fourth threshold, and the average spacing between useful mineral particles in the light slice is greater than the fifth threshold, then the useful minerals in the light slice are sparse type.
[0074] It should be noted that when making a sparse type judgment, the overall useful mineral area occupancy rate of the light section refers to the ratio of the sum of the areas of useful minerals in the entire light section to the total area of the light section.
[0075] Useful minerals that are locally enriched and distributed in vein-like forms are likely to enter the concentrate during pre-disposal tailings. In contrast, sparsely distributed useful minerals appear as scattered particles in a single light section image. Useful minerals that are sparsely distributed are more difficult to pre-enrich and recover, and are likely to be lost to the tailings during pre-disposal tailings.
[0076] According to an embodiment of this application, in the vein-like shape determination, the first threshold is 5:1, and the second threshold is 2 mm; the vein-like useful mineral particles are distributed in an elongated shape. The aspect ratio α of the useful mineral particles = Where L is the length of the useful mineral particle (equivalent ellipse major axis) and W is the minor axis. In the coarse-grained (20-50mm) pre-removal tailing process, the length-to-width ratio greater than 5:1 and L≥2mm are thresholds derived from a large number of mineral embedding morphologies. When the length-to-width ratio of the useful mineral particle is greater than 5:1, its morphology exhibits obvious slender strips, veins, or flakes, which are significantly different from equiaxed, agglomerated, and other embedding types, and have typical "vein-like" visual and structural characteristics. Vein-like minerals with a continuous distribution length L≥2mm still have a high probability of maintaining a certain length and integrity after crushing, making them easy to separate in subsequent sorting stages based on their size or shape characteristics. Simultaneously satisfying the condition that the length-to-width ratio of the useful mineral particle is greater than 5:1 and the length of the useful mineral particle L≥2mm indicates that the useful mineral exists in a sufficiently large slender vein form.
[0077] In the local enrichment type determination, the third threshold is 10%.
[0078] According to an embodiment of this application, in the sparsity determination, the fourth threshold is 3% and the fifth threshold is 2mm.
[0079] In the pre-tailing stage, if the overall useful mineral area occupancy of the polished section is too low (≤3%), it means that under coarse-grained conditions (20-50mm), it is extremely difficult to effectively recover useful minerals through physical separation (such as gravity separation, magnetic separation, photoelectric separation, etc.), and the tailing loss rate usually exceeds 20%, making it economically infeasible. When the overall useful mineral area occupancy of the polished section is less than 3%, even with pre-tailing, the recovery rate of useful minerals is generally less than 80%, failing to achieve the purpose of pre-enrichment. If the average spacing between useful mineral particles in the polished section... A particle size greater than 2 mm indicates that the minerals are highly dispersed within the ore. After coarse crushing, valuable minerals are unlikely to form localized rich agglomerates, making effective collection or enrichment impossible through roughing equipment.
[0080] According to embodiments of this application, calculating the pre-enrichment percentage Pvalid includes:
[0081] The areas of locally enriched, vein-like, and sparse useful minerals in each slice are counted and denoted as Srich,i, Svein,i, and Ssparse,i, respectively, where i represents the i-th slice, i = 1, 2, ..., N, and N is the total number of slices;
[0082] Calculate the area occupancy rate of various embedded features in each optical sheet;
[0083] Locally enriched occupancy: Prich,i= ×100%;
[0084] Vein-like occupancy: Pvein,i= ×100%;
[0085] Where Ai is the total area of the i-th optical sheet;
[0086] Calculate the average occupancy of locally enriched patterns and the average occupancy of pulse patterns in all optical sheets;
[0087] Locally enriched total occupancy: Prich,total= ;
[0088] Total prevalence of vein-like patterns: Pvein,total= ;
[0089] The pre-enrichment percentage is obtained by adding the average occupancy of locally enriched patterns in all optical sheets to the average occupancy of pulse patterns in all optical sheets.
[0090] Pvalid=Prich,total+Pvein,total.
[0091] According to an embodiment of this application, the preset threshold is 80%. 80% is a critical value determined based on mineral processing cost-benefit analysis and extensive pre-tailings disposal industrial test data. When the proportion of minerals (locally enriched and vein-like types) in the ore that are "easily recovered through pre-tailings disposal" reaches or exceeds 80%, the overall recovery rate of pre-tailings disposal can typically be stabilized above 80%, and the corresponding loss rate of useful minerals can be controlled within 20%. At this point, the economic benefits of pre-tailings disposal, such as tailings reduction, energy consumption reduction, and subsequent processing cost savings, can clearly cover the operating costs, and the overall process is feasible both economically and technically.
[0092] like If the pre-extraction loss rate is ≥80%, then the pre-extraction loss rate is less than 20%, making it suitable for pre-enrichment; if If the percentage is less than 80%, pre-tailing will result in excessive loss of useful minerals, and pre-tailing is not suitable for pre-enrichment.
[0093] According to the embodiments of this application, when there are two or more types of useful minerals in the raw ore sample, all types of useful minerals are considered as a collection for analysis and classification.
[0094] The implementation schemes of this application will be described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the following embodiments are only for illustrating this application and should not be regarded as limiting the scope of this application. Unless otherwise specified in the embodiments, conventional conditions or conditions recommended by the manufacturer shall apply. Reagents or instruments used without specified manufacturers are all conventional products that can be purchased commercially.
[0095] Example 1
[0096] Example 1 provides a method for determining pre-tailing patterns based on the characteristics of useful mineral embedding, referring to... Figure 1 This includes the following steps:
[0097] Step 1: The raw ore sample is a low-grade copper ore from a certain place in Anhui Province, with a copper grade of 0.25%. The ore contains three metallic minerals: chalcopyrite, bornite, and pyrite.
[0098] The raw ore sample was coarsely crushed using a laboratory jaw crusher, with the particle size of the coarsely crushed product not exceeding 100 mm. Subsequently, a double roll crusher or cone crusher was used to perform medium crushing on the coarsely crushed product, controlling the particle size of the crushed product between 20 and 50 mm.
[0099] Step 2: Extract representative samples from the crushed products. Pour epoxy resin, curing agent, and representative samples into a beaker, stir evenly with a glass rod, pour the mixed solution into a mold, and place it in an oven for curing. Use an automatic polishing machine to polish the sample to make a smooth, flat 30mm diameter sheet sample. Prepare 40 sheets.
[0100] Step 3: Under a ZEISS optical microscope, use a low-power objective lens to count the area of the useful minerals in each light sample. The ore contains three metallic minerals: chalcopyrite, bornite, and pyrite. These three metallic minerals need to be treated as an aggregate for particle area testing.
[0101] Step 4: Classify the aggregates (useful minerals) of chalcopyrite, bornite and pyrite in the ore into three types according to their distribution characteristics: locally enriched, sparse and vein-like.
[0102] Step 5: Calculate the area occupancy rate of each type of useful mineral in each light section sample, and calculate the average value by summing the area occupancy rates of the same type of useful mineral in all 40 light section samples. The results are shown in Table 1.
[0103] Table 1. Distribution statistics of different types of useful minerals in Example 1
[0104]
[0105] Step 6: As can be seen from Table 1, the sum of the average occupancy rate of the local enrichment type and the average occupancy rate of the vein type in all the light slices is 41.09%, which is far lower than 80%. This indicates that more than 60% of the useful minerals will be lost during pre-tailing, and it is not advisable to use the pre-tailing method for pre-enrichment.
[0106] Actual X-ray tailings disposal tests were conducted on the copper ore, and the actual test results showed that the copper recovery rate in the final tailings was 60.85%, which is very close to the result predicted using the method described in this application. This prediction result can provide effective guidance for accurately determining whether the pre-enrichment of low-grade ore can be achieved through pre-tailings disposal.
[0107] Example 2
[0108] Example 2 provides a method for determining pre-tailing methods based on the characteristics of useful mineral embedding, referring to... Figure 1 This includes the following steps:
[0109] Step 1: The raw ore sample is a low-grade porphyry copper ore with a copper grade of 0.31%. The raw ore of this low-grade porphyry copper ore is crushed to 20-50mm.
[0110] Step 2: Extract representative samples from the crushed products obtained in Step 1, mix the representative samples with epoxy resin and curing agent, and prepare 35 light sheets.
[0111] Step 3: Under a ZEISS optical microscope, the particle area of chalcopyrite in all sections is statistically analyzed using a low-power objective lens.
[0112] Step 4: Based on the quantitative standards, classify the dissemination characteristics of chalcopyrite into three types: local enrichment, sparseness, and vein-like.
[0113] Step 5: Calculate the area occupancy of chalcopyrite particles of the three types mentioned above in each optical section sample. Then, sum the occupancy rates of the same type in all 35 optical sections to obtain the final occupancy rate of each type in the total observed area.
[0114] The calculation results are as follows: the average proportion of locally enriched useful minerals in all sections is 18%, the average proportion of vein-type useful minerals in all sections is 65%, and the average proportion of sparse useful minerals in all sections is 17%.
[0115] Step 6: The average occupancy rates of local enrichment and vein-like formations in all the light slices are summed to obtain 83%. This result is greater than the 80% discrimination threshold. Therefore, it is determined that the ore is suitable for pre-enrichment using the pre-tailing process, and the loss rate of useful minerals is predicted to be less than 20%.
[0116] Industrial validation: Subsequent beneficiation plant practice adopted a pre-tailings disposal process of "coarse crushing-screening-hand / photoelectric separation", and the actual tailings disposal yield reached 35%. After calculation, the actual loss rate of chalcopyrite was 15%, which is lower than the 20% loss threshold predicted by this method, thus confirming the accuracy and reliability of the discrimination method of this application.
[0117] Industrial practice has verified that the discrimination results of the method in this application are in high agreement with the practical data, and it has successfully achieved accurate prediction of the effectiveness of pre-tailing, bringing significant energy-saving and consumption-reducing benefits to enterprises.
[0118] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this application, and are not intended to limit them. Although this application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some or all of the technical features therein. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application.
[0119] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that although some embodiments herein include certain features included in other embodiments but not others, combinations of features from different embodiments are intended to be within the scope of this application and form different embodiments. For example, in the foregoing claims, any of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination. The information disclosed in this background section is intended only to enhance the understanding of the general background of this application and should not be construed as an admission or in any way implying that such information constitutes prior art known to those skilled in the art.
Claims
1. A method for determining pre-tailing patterns based on the characteristics of useful mineral embedding, characterized in that, include: The raw ore sample was processed into multiple optical sheets; The light section was analyzed using optical microscopy and image analysis techniques. The observation area of the light section was divided into multiple continuous standard regions of equal area. Each standard region was analyzed one by one using the standard region as the basic unit. The embedding characteristics of useful minerals in the light section were classified, including local enrichment type, vein type and sparse type. The areas of locally enriched and vein-like minerals in all light sections were statistically analyzed. The average occupancy of locally enriched minerals and the average occupancy of vein-like minerals in all light sections were calculated, and the pre-enrichment ratio was calculated. ; The pre-enrichment ratio is compared with a preset threshold. If the value is greater than or equal to the preset threshold, then the raw ore sample is determined to be suitable for pre-enrichment using the pre-tailing process. like If the value is less than the preset threshold, the raw ore sample is determined to be unsuitable for pre-enrichment using the pre-tailing process. Among them, the pre-enrichment ratio is calculated. include: The areas of locally enriched, vein-like, and sparsely distributed valuable minerals in each slice were counted and denoted as follows: , , , where i represents the i-th optical sheet, i = 1, 2, ..., N, and N is the total number of optical sheets; Calculate the area occupancy rate of various embedded features in each optical sheet; Localized enrichment occupancy: ; Prevalence of vein-like patterns: ; in, Let i be the total area of the i-th optical sheet; Calculate the average occupancy of locally enriched patterns and the average occupancy of pulse patterns in all optical sheets; Locally enriched overall market share: ; Overall prevalence of vein-like patterns: ; The pre-enrichment percentage is obtained by adding the average occupancy of locally enriched patterns in all optical sheets to the average occupancy of pulse patterns in all optical sheets. 。 2. The method for determining pre-tailing methods based on the embedding characteristics of useful minerals according to claim 1, characterized in that, Making multiple optical discs from a raw ore sample includes: crushing the raw ore sample to achieve a target particle size in the crushed product, reducing the size of the representative sample from the crushed product, and using the representative sample to prepare an optical disc. And / or, the target particle size is 20~50 mm; And / or, the number of the light sheets is greater than or equal to 30.
3. The method for determining pre-tailing patterns based on the embedding characteristics of useful minerals according to claim 1, characterized in that, The analysis of the light sheet using optical microscopy and image analysis technology includes: using image analysis software to analyze the images acquired by the optical microscope, identifying useful mineral particles in the light sheet, and obtaining the area, length, and width of the useful mineral particles.
4. The method for determining pre-tailing patterns based on useful mineral embedding characteristics according to claim 1, characterized in that, The area of the standard region is 1 cm². 2 .
5. The method for determining pre-tailing methods based on the embedding characteristics of useful minerals according to claim 1, characterized in that, The classification of the embedding characteristics of useful minerals in the light section includes: Vein-type determination: Calculate the aspect ratio and length of useful mineral particles in each standard area. If the aspect ratio of at least one useful mineral particle in the standard area is greater than the first threshold and the length of the useful mineral particle is greater than or equal to the second threshold, then the useful mineral in that area is vein-type. Local enrichment type determination: For areas not classified as vein-type, calculate the area occupancy rate of useful minerals in the standard area. If the occupancy rate of useful minerals in the standard area is greater than the third threshold, then the useful minerals in the area are locally enriched. Sparse type determination: For areas not classified as vein type and not classified as locally enriched type, calculate the overall useful mineral area occupancy rate and the average spacing between useful mineral particles in the light slice. If the total useful mineral area occupancy rate in the light slice is less than or equal to the fourth threshold, and the average spacing between useful mineral particles in the light slice is greater than the fifth threshold, then the useful minerals in the light slice are sparse type.
6. The method for determining pre-tailing methods based on useful mineral embedding characteristics according to claim 5, characterized in that, In the pulse pattern determination, the first threshold is 5:1, and the second threshold is 2mm; And / or, in the local enrichment type judgment, the third threshold is 10%.
7. The method for determining pre-tailing methods based on the embedding characteristics of useful minerals according to claim 5, characterized in that, In the sparseness determination, the fourth threshold is 3% and the fifth threshold is 2 mm.
8. The method for determining pre-tailing patterns based on useful mineral embedding characteristics according to claim 1, characterized in that, The preset threshold is 80%.
9. The method for determining pre-tailing patterns based on useful mineral embedding characteristics according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, When there are two or more types of useful minerals in the raw ore sample, all types of useful minerals are considered as a single aggregate for analysis and classification.