Method for sorting lump ore containing minerals with low-magnetic susceptibility and non-magnetic minerals and device for carrying out same

Abstract

A method and device for sorting lump ore relate to the mining and processing industry, and more particularly to technology for pre-processing ores containing a valuable component that has a low concentration and low mass fraction in the rock mass which correlate with the distribution of the component, or for pre-processing ores containing minerals with low magnetic susceptibility or non-magnetic minerals. The working of the device and the method are based on a 3D electromagnetic method which utilizes two systems: a 3D scanner (1) and an inductive sensor system (3) with electromagnetic coils. The two systems operate in a consolidated manner, with the 3D scanner (1) system acting as a master system and the inductive sensor system (3) acting as a slave system. The inductive sensor system (3) is configured in the form of a matrix (6) of coils, the parameters of which are stored in a computing unit (10). The 3D scanner (1) scans lumps of ore and generates a data array which is also supplied to the computing unit (10), which processes the data array and determines the order of activation of individual sensors.

Description

[0001] Method for sorting lump ore containing minerals with weak magnetic susceptibility and non-magnetic minerals, and device for implementing the same

[0002] An interrelated group of inventions relates to the mining and processing industry, in particular to the technology of preliminary enrichment of ores containing a useful component which, along with a low concentration and a small mass fraction in the rock mass, has a correlation connection in its distribution either with minerals with weak magnetic susceptibility or with non-magnetic minerals.

[0003] The claimed group of inventions is intended for the implementation of a part of the technological process of mineral enrichment, which is carried out for sorting the extracted ore mass with the subsequent separation of pieces of ore containing a useful component from pieces of waste rock.

[0004] The group of inventions can be used for processing raw materials obtained from man-made deposits formed during the mass storage of non-ferrous, precious and rare metal ores in waste heaps, as well as substandard ores, the enrichment of which is unprofitable using traditional technological schemes.

[0005] The group of inventions can be implemented in a chain of beneficiation process units, which can be implemented stationary in the workshops of a mining and processing plant, as well as directly in the area of ​​the deposit location as a section for preliminary beneficiation of raw materials that are fed to the main beneficiation process.

[0006] The group of inventions can be used especially effectively for the process of sorting ores with paramagnetic properties, distinguished by a particularly low magnetic susceptibility. The ore mass containing a useful component correlated with paramagnetics, or correlated with non-magnetic ore minerals located in paramagnetic gangue, is practically not separated and sorted using traditional means and devices used in mining and processing plants.

[0007] A method of photometric sorting of ore mass is known, which provides for the dosed supply of ore mass to a continuously moving conveyor, on which individual pieces are distributed evenly, without forming heaps. The incoming pieces are irrigated with water from nozzles to remove dust on individual pieces, which enter the laser irradiation zone. Irradiation is carried out at a given angle, allowing the beam reflected from the useful component to be captured, which is captured by a highly sensitive photomultiplier. The coordinates of the piece from which the reflected laser beam came, are sent to a computing device, with the help of which the spatial coordinates of the piece are recorded.

[0008] When a piece enters the sorting area, an executive command is sent to one of the nozzles, through which, using an air stream, the piece enters one of the receiving bins, in one of which the ore mass containing the useful component is stored, and in the other bin, waste rock is placed, which is then sent to the dump [!]• The disadvantage of the known method is that its use provides for a fairly narrow range of application in the mining and processing industry. According to known information, the use of a laser is based on the fact that the sample under study must contain a useful component, the physical state of which predetermines the possibility of reflecting the laser beam and its subsequent recording. In essence, the known method records the presence of a useful component in a piece of rock, but not its quantity.

[0009] A significant disadvantage of the known method is that a piece of ore mass spontaneously enters the laser beam zone and can be located so that the photomultiplier will not record the presence of a useful component, since the useful component is on the side where there is no laser beam, or the useful component is not in the laser beam zone. In addition, the device is not able to record the presence of a useful component in a piece of rock if the useful component is inside the piece of rock.

[0010] The implementation of the method leads to significant losses of the useful component, which, together with waste rock, ends up in the waste heap, which leads to an increase in the cost of enriching the ore mass and, accordingly, an increase in the cost of the marketable product.

[0011] A significant disadvantage of the known method is that the process of identifying the useful component is complicated by the fact that the area of ​​the useful component mirror and its angle of inclination in relation to the laser beam can be different, which requires appropriate settings and adjustments in the process of sorting raw materials, which affects the productivity of the enrichment process.

[0012] A method for separating contaminants during mining is known. The mined rock mass is a mixture of pieces of different geometric parameters. To implement the process, the boundary parameters of individual pieces are set from their minimum to maximum sizes. The purpose of the method is to sort the pieces of rock mass depending on the degree of absorption of X-ray radiation. The separation of pieces is carried out by their X-ray irradiation, and the degree of absorption is used to judge which category a particular piece belongs to, which is subjected to ejection, by means of which the piece is sent to a particular receiving container.

[0013] The ejection threshold is determined by first irradiating the largest piece of the sample or the thickest section of the layer with a range of X-ray energies and using the maximum signals to calibrate the pixels in the detector array. In certain embodiments, the detector threshold may be specified as a percentage of the signal voltage from the thickest areas of the sample without any contaminant inclusions. The ejection threshold is then specified as the percentage of pixel readings during the measurement cycle that have signals less than the detector threshold. The number of pixel signals with levels less than the threshold sets the minimum size of the contaminant to be ejected. Ejection by one low pixel reading can reduce the contaminant content to 100 parts per million.The sample entering the detection zone is irradiated, thus measuring the X-ray transmission. After measuring the X-ray transmission, the next step is to determine whether the ejection threshold has been reached. If the ejection threshold has been reached, the sample is ejected. If the ejection threshold has not been reached, the sample is not ejected [2].

[0014] The disadvantage of the known method is that it will not work effectively enough if minerals with a low atomic mass are used for sorting, or the concentration of the useful component is low.

[0015] A significant disadvantage of the known method is that increasing the productivity of the equipment, especially when sorting large pieces, requires increasing the intensity of X-ray radiation, which requires additional material and labor costs to ensure the safety of operating personnel.

[0016] The closest solution, selected as a prototype of the proposed method, is a method for sorting lump ore containing minerals with weak magnetic susceptibility and non-magnetic minerals, including the metered supply of mineral lump mass to a conveyor, electromagnetic action on pieces of raw material, identification of pieces of raw material by the criterion of the presence of a useful component, comparison of the indicator of the presence of a useful component in a piece with its boundary value, formation of streams, one of which contains a useful component, and the other is waste rock [3].

[0017] To implement the above-mentioned method, a piece of raw material containing a useful component and waste rock with different electrical, magnetic and thermal properties is irradiated with an ultra-high-frequency electromagnetic field. The radiation frequency is selected so that the penetration depth of the electromagnetic wave is greater than the maximum linear size of the piece at maximum attenuation of the electromagnetic wave, which depends on the properties of the piece material. The ultra-high-frequency energy of electromagnetic radiation absorbed by the piece material causes the heating of the components of the piece to a temperature determined by their electrical, magnetic and thermal properties. In this case, the component with the highest electrical conductivity will absorb more ultra-high-frequency energy in the same period of time than the component with lower electrical conductivity. As a result, the heating temperature of the useful component and waste rock, after the end of the ultra-high-frequency irradiation, will be different.

[0018] After the end of the electromagnetic radiation, thermal energy is transferred from the hotter component to the cooler one for some time. The nature of the change in the temperature of the piece will depend on the ratio of components with different electrical, magnetic and thermal properties in the piece. The nature of the change in the temperature of the piece over time can be recorded by a thermographic system. The method in real time converts the thermal secondary radiation from individual adjacent sections of the thermal radiation source into a corresponding signal, which is a thermal picture of the thermal radiation source, the value of which could be entered into a computing device for processing.

[0019] The disadvantage of the known method is that when implementing it, it is necessary to carry out measures to reduce the negative impact of ultra-high frequency radiation on the process personnel who are engaged in the operation of the installation implementing the method.

[0020] A significant disadvantage of the known method is its low productivity, due to the fact that the transfer of thermal energy from a hotter section of the piece to a less hot section does not occur instantly, but requires some time.

[0021] To ensure high separation performance, it is necessary to increase the power of the ultra-high frequency radiation source, which requires significant energy costs, which increase the cost of finished products.

[0022] The specified method does not allow for effective separation in relation to lump rock mass, which contains a finely disseminated useful component in a very small concentration in the ore lump. In this case, processing the lump with ultra-high frequency radiation does not allow for obtaining a highly accurate thermal picture, by means of which, based on the accepted criteria, it is possible to identify the lumps and divide them into two streams, one of which contains the useful component, and the other - waste rock.

[0023] A device is known for sorting ore mass, which is an X-ray luminescent separator containing a means for transporting the separated material, a source of pulsed exciting X-ray radiation located above the surface of the transported material with the possibility of irradiating it in the section of the trajectory of the free fall of the material near the place where it leaves the means of transport, a photodetector for recording luminescence, located on one side with the source of pulsed exciting X-ray radiation relative to the irradiated surface of the transported material with the possibility of combining the area of ​​recording the luminescence of the transported material in the section of its free fall trajectory coinciding with the irradiation area, a threshold value setter for the luminescence signal intensity and threshold values ​​of the separation parameters, a synchronization unit, a device for digitally processing the luminescence signal,equipped with functions for determining separation parameters, comparing the obtained parameter values ​​with the corresponding specified threshold values ​​and generating a command to the actuator, the actuator and receivers of the enriched and tail products.

[0024] The photodetector is designed with the possibility of simultaneous amplification of the registered signal with different amplification factors. The following luminescence signal characteristics can be defined as separation parameters in the digital luminescence signal processing device: the normalized autocorrelation function, the ratio of the total intensity of the fast and slow signal components to the intensity of its slow component, and the luminescence decay time constant after completion of the exciting pulse, as well as the intensity value of the fast component of the luminescence signal [4].

[0025] The disadvantage of the known device is that when extracting weakly luminescent minerals, the luminescence intensity of the slow component of which is below the threshold value, the selectivity is not high enough. This is due to the fact that the photodetector registers the total intensity of the luminescence occurring during the action of the X-ray pulse, which includes both the intensity of the fast component of the mineral luminescence and the intensity of the light signal of air, various vapors, rock particles and associated minerals. The intensity of this light signal has a high fluctuation, which determines a relatively high threshold value of the intensity of the fast component of the luminescence signal. A device is known for sorting mineral lump raw materials for dry preliminary selection and the process of sorting ferrous and non-ferrous metal ores, as well as other types of ores and raw materials.

[0026] The design provides for the presence of a receiving bin-storage unit, into which lump ore is loaded, which is fed to a conveyor-type transporting organ using a feeder. The design of the feeder is based on the fact that it must ensure uniform, without heaps, distribution of lump raw materials on the conveyor belt. In the area of ​​horizontal movement of the pieces, perpendicular to the plane of the conveyor belt, an X-ray emitter is located, and under the conveyor belt there is an X-ray receiver.

[0027] When X-rays are applied to ore pieces on a conveyor belt, each piece partially absorbs the radiation. Depending on the mass fraction of the useful component in the piece, the degree of X-ray absorption varies. The degree of radiation is used to judge the mass fraction of the useful component in the ore piece. If the mass fraction of the useful component in the piece is less than a specified threshold value, then, based on the control command, the piece is exposed to a directed air flow, separating the piece of waste rock into the appropriate bin. If the mass fraction of the useful component is not less than the threshold value, then the piece of ore is not exposed to the air flow and does not change its trajectory after leaving the conveyor, entering the bin with the enriched product [5].

[0028] The disadvantage of the known device is that the presence of X-ray radiation predetermines the need for a set of measures to ensure the safety of the operating personnel. To obtain a correct picture of the mass fraction of the useful component, its uniform distribution in the piece of ore is necessary, and it is also necessary to adhere to a strictly specified range of the granulometric composition of the separated material.

[0029] Recording the degree of absorption through the conveyor belt introduces errors in the measurements of the mass fraction of the useful component in a piece of ore.

[0030] The closest solution, chosen as a prototype for the proposed device, is a device for separating lump raw materials, which includes a device for metered feeding of raw material pieces onto a conveyor, a device for preliminary electromagnetic action on raw material pieces, a system for identifying raw material pieces, and a system for separating raw material pieces into streams, one of which contains a useful component, and the other is waste rock [6].

[0031] The device includes a device for metered feeding of pieces of primary raw material, containing: a receiving bin, a feeder with an electric drive and a control system for the feeder electric drive and a roller spreader; a conveyor with an electric drive and a control system for the conveyor electric drive; a microwave radiation unit with a control system and a microwave heating chamber; a thermographic system with temperature sensors; an input interface; a computing device; an output interface; a pulse former for controlling an electro-pneumatic valve, a time delay unit, a comparison device; a narrow-beam light emitter, a photodetector; a position sensor; a separating device with receivers for waste rock and concentrate.In this case, the output of the thermographic system is connected to the first input of the input interface, the output of which is connected via a computing device to the input of the output interface; the first and output of the output interface are connected to the first input of the comparison device, the second input of which is connected to the output of the photodetector of the light emitter, and the output is connected via a time delay unit and a pulse former to the input of the electro-pneumatic valve; the second output of the output interface is connected to the control system of the feeder electric drive of the device for metered feeding of pieces of primary raw material, the third output of the output interface is connected via a control system to the input of the microwave radiation installation connected to the microwave heating chamber; the fourth output of the output interface is connected to the control system of the conveyor electric drive, on the shaft of which a position sensor is installed, connected to the second input of the input interface.Pieces of primary raw material consisting of a useful component and waste rock are irradiated with an electromagnetic field in a microwave heating chamber. During the heating time, the useful component and waste rock are heated to different temperatures. After the effect of the electromagnetic microwave field ceases, the heat exchange process between the useful component and waste rock will be aimed at equalizing the temperatures between the useful component and waste rock. The nature of this process and its parameters will be determined by the properties of the useful component and waste rock and the ratio of their mass fractions. By measuring the characteristics of the heat exchange process using temperature sensors and a thermographic system, the mass fraction of the useful component in the controlled piece is determined and compared with the limit value. Based on the comparison result, a corresponding sorting effect on the controlled piece is formed.

[0032] The disadvantage of the known device is the low productivity of the process, due to the time required to process a piece of ore with ultra-high frequency radiation, as well as the time required for heat exchange processes to establish a thermal picture.

[0033] Efficient operation of the device is ensured with the narrowest possible range of granulometric composition of the ore mass to be separated, to ensure uniform heating of the pieces in the zone of irradiation with ultra-high frequency radiation.

[0034] High productivity of the device requires increased energy costs for the implementation of the separation process. The device requires the implementation of measures to ensure the safety of work and the protection of personnel from exposure to ultra-high frequency radiation.

[0035] The efficiency of the device is limited to ores where the useful component has clearly expressed physical properties that differ from the physical properties of rocks.

[0036] The use of the device is difficult when separating ores where the useful component is finely disseminated and in low concentration, since determining its mass fraction when irradiated with ultra-high frequency radiation is complicated.

[0037] The first of the group of inventions is based on the task of improving the method for sorting lump ore containing minerals with weak magnetic susceptibility and non-magnetic minerals due to:

[0038] - use of a special matrix of electromagnetic (EM) sensors based on induction coils, the parameters of which are stored in the sorting controller;

[0039] - using a 3D laser to create an array of initial data on the geometric dimensions and position of ore pieces relative to the centers of the sensor block coils; - controlling the sequence of measurements by individual sensors of the sensor block based on the geometric parameters of the matrix and data from the 3D laser, taking into account the control time shifts when activating the induction coils;

[0040] - ensuring the measurement mode with only one coil, while preventing simultaneous measurement on adjacent induction coils that are in the same row with it and that can have an electromagnetic effect of one coil on another;

[0041] - application of the pulse measurement method, in which, after activation of the coil, a measuring interval is formed, which is then filled with stable high-frequency pulses, the number of which is a quantitative assessment of the signal level;

[0042] - measuring the level of magnetic susceptibility of a piece of ore as the difference between two signals: the signal from the piece of ore and the signal from the electromagnetic background measured by the same coil in the absence of pieces on it;

[0043] - application of digital signal processing to reduce the level of electromagnetic background separately for the low-frequency and high-frequency sections of its spectrum;

[0044] - creation of conditions for the consolidated operation of the 3D laser and the EM sensor array, due to which a precision 3D EM sorting system is implemented, possessing new qualities: extremely high sensitivity, high measurement accuracy and high productivity, the use of which makes it possible to involve in the processing process not only ores with weakly magnetic and non-magnetic minerals, but also a number of types of ores with strong and weak paramagnets, with diamagnets and non-magnetic minerals, which were previously either not enriched at all, or the results of their enrichment were ineffective, these include: a) ores containing minerals with close atomic masses, for the sorting of which a tool with high resolution is required, for example, ferromanganese ores of massive texture, b) ores with an extremely low concentration of a useful component that is correlated with non-magnetic or weakly magnetic separated minerals, for example, fine gold,dislocated in deposits with narrow quartz veins, c) ores containing separable minerals with a low atomic mass of the useful component, for example, a mineral resource for which X-RAY methods show insufficient efficiency, d) rare earth metal (REM) ores in which the useful component is correlated with the disseminated or vein texture of minerals dislocated in acidic or ultra-acidic gangue rocks, for the sorting of which an instrument with extremely high sensitivity is required, for example, REE in pegmatite ores.

[0045] The second of the group of inventions is based on the task of improving the device for sorting using the example of lump ore containing minerals with weak magnetic susceptibility and non-magnetic minerals due to:

[0046] - using a 3D laser to create an array of initial data for the purpose of identifying each piece of ore mass based on the criterion of their geometric parameters and spatial coordinates of the geometric centers of the pieces relative to the system of coils of the sensor block; - using as a measuring device a system of electromagnetic sensors with a system of induction coils combined into a matrix in which the coils are arranged in rows, perpendicular to the direction of movement of the belt, the coils of the next row are shifted diagonally relative to the coils of the previous row in relation to the direction of movement of the belt, while the distance between the coils in each row and along the diagonals is determined by using a special matrix;measurements of magnetic susceptibility based on a pulse method using an autogenerator, wherein the 3D laser data array is the control array, on the basis of which measurements are controlled by individual matrix sensors, and the sensor matrix data array is the controlled one;

[0047] - obtaining a measurement result formed as the difference between two signals: from the measurement of a piece of ore and from the measurement of the electromagnetic background in the absence of a piece, while special methods of digital signal processing are used to suppress the background.

[0048] The first task is solved due to the fact that the method of sorting lump ore containing minerals with weak magnetic susceptibility and non-magnetic minerals includes the metered supply of mineral lump mass to a conveyor, electromagnetic action on pieces of raw material, identification of pieces of raw material by the criterion of the presence of a useful component, comparison of the indicator of the presence of a useful component in a piece with its limit value, formation of flows, one of which contains a useful component, and the other is waste rock.

[0049] According to the invention, information about the geometric parameters of the matrix of the arrangement of the induction coils included in the sensors of the sensor block, the speed of movement of the ore pieces along the conveyor belt, synchronization cycles in the form of a sequence of pulses recording the connection between the movement of the conveyor belt and the data on the ore pieces, normalized corrective functions for reducing the output signal of the sensor depending on the size of the sorted pieces, the distance of the geometric center of the piece from the center of the induction coil, the geometric location of the axis of the ore piece relative to the measuring axis of the induction coil, the features of the geometric parameters of the piece and the fractional composition of the ore by size classes, as well as by the sorting criteria taking into account the threshold or lower and upper value of the magnetic susceptibility of the ore piece, is entered into the memory of the computing device in the form of the sorting controller.wherein the sensors in the sensor block are placed based on the required sensitivity of a single induction coil, and the coils are installed in rows perpendicular to the direction of movement of the conveyor belt at a distance between the edges of the coils in the rows of the matrix, determined by the dependence,

[0050] C = R1-D / 2, where C is the distance between the edges of the coils in adjacent rows of the matrix;

[0051] Ri is the radius that determines the area of ​​the circle within which, during the active state of the "-coil, the adjacent coils located in the same row must be inactive;

[0052] D is the outer diameter of the induction coil, and the coils in each row of the matrix are placed at a distance between the edges of adjacent coils, determined by the dependence

[0053] WITH i= (2R, - 3D) / 4, where Ci is the distance between the edges of adjacent coils in one row, while the coils in each subsequent row are placed relative to the previous row with an offset relative to the direction of movement of the conveyor belt with a step based on the condition

[0054] B < 0.3 D, where B is the step of displacement of adjacent coils along the diagonal of the matrix, while the geometric parameters of the matrix are associated with the size of the sorted ore by the conditions

[0055] In <1.4'F min ,

[0056] C > 1, 1-F max , where F min , F max- minimum and maximum ore sizes, wherein the lump ore is fed by a feeder onto a conveyor belt, after which, in the zone where the speed of the ore pieces corresponds to the speed of the conveyor belt, the geometric parameters of each piece are recorded using a 3D scanner and, by means of a sorting controller, an array of data is calculated, which includes the area of ​​each piece, its volume, geometric centers, other geometric parameters of its rectangular model and its spatial position on the conveyor belt, on the basis of which, as well as on the basis of an array of data on the geometric parameters of the sensor block matrix, the sequence of measurements of the magnetic susceptibility of individual pieces is determined by means of a sorting controller, taking into account the activation delays of individual coils according to the formula where ΔZ i - absolute displacement of the center of the z-piece of ore relative to the center of the n-coil; ±ΔΥ i- coordinates of the control shift relative to the Y axis n, which has a minus sign when delaying the coil activation command and a plus sign when leading the activation command, the number of the activated induction coil for measurement, and also generate control commands for measuring the magnetic susceptibility of ore pieces and the electromagnetic background, which are transmitted to the sensor unit, wherein when generating a command for measuring the magnetic susceptibility of an ore piece, the coordinates of its geometric center relative to the centers of the coils, the coordinates of the coil activation delays and the number of synchronization cycles of the movement of the ore piece on the belt above the induction coils are taken into account, as well as the number of the sensor that must be activated, and the numbers of the clock signal at which it is necessary to activate the sensor, and after counting the synchronization cycles, the necessary sensor for the measurement process is activated, wherein the measurement of the signal from the piece by the n-coil of the sensor is performed with the adjacent coils located with it in the same row of the matrix deactivated,and are carried out in pulses over a specified duration of time, which is determined based on the activation duration of the "-coil taking into account the size of the pieces and their number located per unit area of ​​the tape, and in order to measure a piece of ore in the zone of its interaction with the induction coil, its activation is carried out using an autogenerator, which generates sinusoidal signals with a frequency of 5-10 kHz, and in order to prevent errors due to amplitude and frequency instability, 7-10 starting oscillations and 5-7 damped oscillations after the command to stop the autogenerator are not taken into account, but only a packet of 5-30 measuring sinusoidal oscillations is used, which are converted into rectangular pulses using a Schmidt trigger, from which a specified measuring interval of direct measurement is formed, which is filled with high-frequency pulses of 0.3-1.5 GHz, and according to the number of high-frequency pulses proportional to the magnetic susceptibility of the piece,determine the signal from the measurement of a piece of ore, which is corrected according to the expression to ensure high measurement accuracy,

[0057] U s = f (K1, K2, K3, K4, K5) • u s , where U s - corrected signal from the measured piece of ore,

[0058] U s - signal from the measured piece of ore, before its correction operations, K1 - function of dependence on the size of the piece,

[0059] K2 is a function depending on the distance of the geometric center of the piece from the center of the coil,

[0060] K3 is a function depending on the geometric position of the axis of the piece relative to the measuring axis of the coil,

[0061] K4 is a function depending on the features of the geometric shape of a piece,

[0062] K5 is a function of dependence on the influence of neighboring pieces located near the measured piece when it is measured by an n-coil, while the minimum value of the electromagnetic background signal measurement by the n-coil is ensured by deactivating adjacent coils located with it in the same row of the matrix within the radius R l by determining the area of ​​a region on a moving belt with minimal influence from other pieces due to the diameter of the circle according to the expression

[0063] D2> 1.15 D where D2 is the diameter of the circle defining the area of ​​the region within which there should not be whole pieces of ore or parts of them on the moving belt, as well as a reduction in the low-frequency component of the background spectrum due to the fulfillment of the condition according to which the time between measurements of the signal from a piece of ore and the signal from the electromagnetic background should be minimal, limited by a section of the conveyor belt according to the formula

[0064] E = D + C, where E is the length of the section on the conveyor belt that limits the area within which the electromagnetic background is measured; and by reducing the high-frequency component of the background spectrum by using a digital exponential filter, for which several measurements are taken before and after measuring the piece, and the measurement with the minimum value is selected from them, which is taken as the current background value, which, together with the previous measurements, is used to calculate the current average background value, which is taken as the resulting signal of the electromagnetic background value according to the formula where U b (i) - the current average value of the electromagnetic background, related to the time of measurement of the z-piece of ore by the n-coil; m in (U b (i)) - the minimum background value from the last few measurements by the n-coil, performed before and after measuring the z-th piece of ore;

[0065] Ub(il) ~ the average value of the electromagnetic background, related to the time of measurement by the n-coil of the previous (i-1) piece of ore; a is the smoothing coefficient of the exponential filter (0 < α < 1), corresponding to a certain number of high-frequency pulses proportional to the magnetic susceptibility of the environment, including the conveyor belt, after which the actual value of the magnetic susceptibility of the piece of ore, corresponding to the maximum sensitivity and accuracy of the measurement system, is determined as the difference between two signals according to the expression

[0066] ΔU = U S - u b where ΔU is the signal of the actual value of the magnetic susceptibility of the piece,

[0067] U s - corrected signal from the measurement of a piece of ore by a n-coil,

[0068] U b- the electromagnetic background signal measured by the same coil in the absence of the measured piece above it and at a minimum level of influence of electromagnetic factors, and after calculating the difference from the corrected signal from the piece of ore and the signal of the minimum value of the electromagnetic background, a signal of the actual value of the magnetic susceptibility of the piece is obtained and, accordingly, a correlated or uncorrelated mass fraction of the useful component, which is compared with the sorting criteria and, depending on the result, control commands for sorting are generated for the pneumatic valve system, and if the piece does not meet the sorting criteria, then the piece is sent to the dump, and if the piece meets the sorting criteria, then control commands are generated by means of which, by supplying compressed air, the pieces are ejected into the receiving bin, and the control command to the pneumatic valve is given based on its position relative to the conveyor belt, the speed of its movement,the time of movement of the piece along the free fall trajectory, the size of the piece, the pneumatic valve number, the synchronization cycle number, which corresponds to the moment of opening of the valve, the duration of its stay in the open state, which ensures the ejection of the piece by means of compressed air and directs it into the corresponding sorting product bin.,

[0069] The technical result from the implementation of the method for sorting lump ore containing minerals with weak magnetic susceptibility and non-magnetic minerals is that the sorting system is precise due to high sensitivity and high accuracy of measuring the magnetic susceptibility of ore pieces, as well as while maintaining high sorting productivity.

[0070] High sensitivity of measuring the magnetic susceptibility of a piece of ore is ensured by:

[0071] - use of a special matrix of induction coils;

[0072] - using a 3D laser to create an array of initial data on the geometric dimensions and position of ore pieces relative to the centers of the sensor block coils;

[0073] - control of the sequence of measurements by individual sensors, taking into account control time shifts when activating coils;

[0074] - ensuring the measurement mode with only one coil while preventing simultaneous measurement on adjacent coils that are in the same row;

[0075] - application of the pulse measurement method, in which a measurement interval is formed, which is then filled with stable high-frequency pulses, the number of which is a quantitative assessment of the signal level;

[0076] - measuring the level of magnetic susceptibility of a piece of ore as the difference between two signals: the signal from the piece of ore and the signal of the electromagnetic background measured by the same coil in the absence of pieces on it; - using digital signal processing methods to reduce the level of the electromagnetic background separately for the low-frequency and high-frequency sections of its spectrum.

[0077] High accuracy of magnetic susceptibility measurement is ensured by introducing correction functions to the measured signal value:

[0078] - the function of adjusting the measurement depending on the actual volume of the piece - is implemented according to a monotonically decreasing dependence on the measured volume of the piece, with normalization to the volume of the piece corresponding to the maximum size;

[0079] - the function of correcting the measurement depending on the deviation caused by the fact that the actual coordinates of the geometric center of the piece do not coincide with the coordinates of the center of the induction coil - is implemented according to a monotonically decreasing dependence on the measured deviation, with normalization to the geometric location of the ideal coincidence of both centers;

[0080] - measurement correction function depending on the geometrical arrangement of the longitudinal axis of the piece and the measuring axis of the coil;

[0081] - functions for adjusting measurements depending on the features of the geometric shape of a piece of ore;

[0082] - functions for minimizing the influence of magnetic properties of other pieces of ore located near the measured piece.

[0083] High productivity is due to the introduction of the function of correction from the volume of the piece, which achieves the operation of the sorting system in a wide range of the size of the ore pieces. Also, high productivity is achieved by controlling the moment of activation of the coils for measuring the ore pieces located in close proximity, which allows increasing the density (number of pieces per unit area of ​​the conveyor belt) of their placement on the conveyor belt.

[0084] During the patent information research conducted in preparation of this application, the author did not identify methods for sorting pieces of ores containing minerals with weak magnetic susceptibility and non-magnetic minerals, as well as designs of devices that implement the said method, including the sets of essential features listed in the formulas of the proposed inventions, which allows us to declare the possibility of recognizing them as those that meet the patentability criterion of “novelty”.

[0085] The technical result obtained as a result of implementing the proposed method consists in creating conditions for increasing the sensitivity of measuring the magnetic susceptibility of an individual piece of ore by means of interconnected (consolidated) operation of a 3D laser and an array (EM) of sensors due to: using a special array of induction coils; using a 3D laser to create an array of initial data on the geometric dimensions and position of ore pieces relative to the centers of the coils of the sensor unit; controlling the sequence of measurements by individual sensors taking into account the control time shifts when activating the coils; ensuring a measurement mode with only one coil while preventing simultaneous measurement on adjacent coils that are in the same row with it; using a pulsed measurement method, by means of which a measurement interval is formed, which is then filled with stable high-frequency pulses, the number of which is an estimate of the signal level;the possibility of measuring the level of magnetic susceptibility of a piece of ore as the difference between two signals: the signal from the piece of ore and the signal of the electromagnetic background measured by the same coil in the absence of pieces on it; the use of digital signal processing methods to reduce the level of the electromagnetic background separately for the low-frequency and high-frequency sections of its spectrum.

[0086] The accuracy of magnetic susceptibility measurement is improved by introducing correction functions for the measured signal value: the measurement correction function depending on the actual volume of the piece - implemented according to a monotonically decreasing dependence on the measured volume of the piece, with normalization to the volume of the piece corresponding to the maximum size; the measurement correction function depending on the deviation caused by the fact that the actual coordinates of the geometric center of the piece do not coincide with the coordinates of the center of the induction coil - implemented according to a monotonically decreasing dependence on the measured deviation, with normalization to the geometric location of the ideal coincidence of both centers; the measurement correction function depending on the geometric location of the longitudinal axis of the piece and the measuring axis of the coil; the measurement correction functions depending on the features of the geometric shape of the piece of ore;functions of minimizing the influence of magnetic properties of other pieces of ore located near the measured piece. The said technical result in the known technical solutions that have entered the state of the art has not been identified by the author, therefore the proposed method and device can be recognized as those that meet the patentability criterion of “inventive step”.;

[0087] To implement the proposed method, currently known technological methods, means and materials are used, and the proposed device consists of structural elements, for the manufacture of which currently known technological methods, means and materials are used.The said method of sorting lump ore containing minerals with weak magnetic susceptibility and non-magnetic minerals, as well as the device implementing the said method, can be used in the mining and processing industry, as well as in scientific works on the study of ores containing a useful component, which, along with a low concentration and a small mass fraction in the rock mass, has a correlation connection in its distribution either with minerals with weak magnetic susceptibility or with non-magnetic minerals, for the purpose of assessing the possibility of their preliminary enrichment, that is, they relate to different sectors of the national economy, and therefore it can be concluded that the proposed solutions meet the patentability criterion of “industrial applicability”.

[0088] The essence of the proposed method and device are illustrated in the diagrams, where: Fig. 1 shows the arrangement of the induction coils in the matrix of the sensor block using the example of a z-piece and a measuring n-coil (in order to improve the perception of the graphic illustration, the coordinate X n is considered in two equivalent locations); in Fig. 2 - (fragment of Fig. 1) the geometric coordinates of activation and deactivation of the n-coil and the geometric position of the model of the / -piece relative to the system of induction coils are designated; in Fig. 3 - (fragment of Fig. 2) the operation of an additional shift of the coordinate along the Y axis of the moment of activation of the n-coil is illustrated when introducing a temporary control shift; in Fig. 4 - the region of the moving conveyor belt is shown, within which the measurement of the electromagnetic background is performed by the n-coil; in Figs. 5, 6 - the time diagrams of the formation of the measuring interval during the operation of the electronic elements of the sensor are shown.

[0089] Conventional designations shown in Fig. No. 1 - 6:

[0090] X - current coordinates along the abscissa axis, perpendicular to the direction of movement of the piece;

[0091] Y - current coordinates along the ordinate axis, parallel to the direction of movement of the piece;

[0092] Y n - the coordinate of the n-coil along the ordinate axis, which is called the measuring axis and serves as the reference point for the coordinate l (п), Y 2(n)< Y A , Y A ", ΔY h Y 2(n.5) , Y 1n , Y 2n , angle and also provides measurement of the maximum signal from a piece of U s , while the number of measuring axes is equal to the number of rows of coils (Fig. 4);

[0093] X n n-coil coordinate along the X axis; n is the number of the coil that is activated to measure the magnetic susceptibility of the piece;

[0094] / - the number of the piece to be measured;

[0095] X, - coordinate of the / -piece along the X axis;

[0096] Y is the coordinate of the geometric center A of the z-piece model along the Y axis; D is the outer diameter of the induction coil;

[0097] B - step of displacement of adjacent coils diagonally;

[0098] C - the distance between the edges of the coils located in adjacent rows;

[0099] C l - the distance between the edges of adjacent coils located in one row;

[0100] R1 is the radius that determines the area of ​​the circle within which, during the active state of the n-coil, the adjacent coils located in the same row must be inactive;

[0101] D2 - the diameter of the circle that determines the area of ​​the conveyor belt region within which, when measuring the electromagnetic background, there should not be other whole pieces of ore or their parts;

[0102] E is the length of the area on the conveyor belt within which the electromagnetic background level is measured for the n-coil before and after measuring the z-piece with the z-coil;

[0103] V is the speed of movement of the / piece on the conveyor belt;

[0104] Si is the area of ​​the rectangular model of the / -piece, which is equal to the area of ​​the projection of the / -piece onto the XY plane (when processing data arrays for the geometric parameters of a piece, the geometric parameters of its rectangular model are taken);

[0105] L i - length of rectangular model / -piece;

[0106] W i — the width of the rectangular model / -piece;

[0107] A is the geometric center of the rectangular model of the / -piece; α i - angle of inclination of the longitudinal axis along L i to the axis with coordinate Y i; n-5 is the serial number of the adjacent coil that precedes the n-coil in the same row with it (using the example of a 5-row matrix); n+5 is the serial number of the adjacent coil that follows the n-coil in the same row with it (using the example of a 5-row matrix); Δ X i - deviation of the X coordinate, z-piece from the X coordinate п n-coils fixed in the state Y,=Y„;

[0108] Y I(n) - coordinate of the start of the w-coil activation (start of the autogenerator);

[0109] Y2( n ) - coordinate of the end of activation of the "-coil (stop of generation of the autogenerator);

[0110] Y A - coordinate of the beginning of direct measurement of magnetic susceptibility;

[0111] Y A " - coordinate of the end of direct measurement of magnetic susceptibility;

[0112] Δ U i - - coordinates of the control time shift in relation to Y„ when delaying the moment of activation of the g-coil;

[0113] Y2( n -5) - coordinate of the end of activation of the p-5 coil;

[0114] U 1n - coordinate of the start of activation of the "-coil taking into account the control shift by Δ Y i (subject to U,UU n );

[0115] Y 2n - coordinate of the end of activation of the "-coil taking into account the control shift on AY i (subject to U i # U n );

[0116] AZ, is the absolute displacement between the geometric centers of the «- coil and the z-piece under the condition Δ Y, > 0 (at AYj=O the condition AZ is automatically satisfied i =ΔX i ).

[0117] Q — area of ​​the conveyor belt region limited by the dimensions D2E, within which the electromagnetic background is measured; and — signal voltage axis; t — current time axis; pos. 34 — oscillogram of the output voltage of the autogenerator; pos. 35 — oscillogram of the output voltage of the Schmidt trigger; Δt — measuring interval (duration of direct measurement);

[0118] Δt1— duration of the autogenerator start signal;

[0119] Δt2 - duration of the generator stop signal;

[0120] Δt i ', Δt2' - durations of a pulse packet that are not taken into account when forming the measuring interval Δt. t п - the duration of a packet of sinusoidal oscillations in the n-coil.

[0121] The claimed method is implemented in the following manner.

[0122] The implementation of the method is considered using the example of sorting lump gold-bearing ore with quartz mineralization. The useful component is fine gold, the size and concentration of which do not allow it to be effectively detected in a lump by direct methods, but gold has a positive correlation with the quartz vein, while both components of the vein (gold and quartz) are non-magnetic. The gangue of the ore is paramagnetic, containing diorites, granitoids, and other minerals with a magnetic susceptibility of / = 10 -6 - 10 -6 SI units.

[0123] The method is implemented by equipment that includes a set of functional units that ensure the determination of the geometric parameters of each piece of ore, the determination of its spatial position relative to the electromagnetic sensor closest to it, the precision measurement of the magnetic susceptibility of the piece, followed by its feeding into the enriched product flow or waste rock flow, depending on the expected concentration of the useful component in the sorting products.

[0124] The method functions as follows. Initially, the following information is entered into the sort controller's memory:

[0125] - geometric parameters of the matrix of coils of the sensor block (Fig. 1),

[0126] - the speed of movement of ore pieces along the conveyor belt, as well as the system synchronization parameters,

[0127] - standardized correction functions for reducing the output signal of the sensor depending on the range of sizes of the sorted pieces, the distance of the geometric center of the piece from the center of the coil, the geometric location of the axis of the piece of ore relative to the measuring axis of the coil and the features of the geometric shape of the piece,

[0128] - fractional composition of ore by size classes,

[0129] - sorting criteria that take into account the threshold value or the lower and upper values ​​of the magnetic susceptibility of a piece of ore based on known correlation functions of the content of mass fractions of the useful component in it.

[0130] The geometric parameters of the sensor block matrix (Fig. 1) are determined by the required sensitivity of a single induction coil, which, given its known diameter D, is determined by the radius R l, within which only the measuring coil can be activated, and during its activation, other coils adjacent to it in the same row must be inactive. The radius R1 is related to the AT coordinates by the relations: along the Y-axis R l =D / 2+C and along the A'-axis Ri=(3D+4C l ) / 2, taking into account which the sensors in the sensor block are placed based on the calculated parameters according to the formulas:

[0131] - distance C between the edges of induction coils located in adjacent rows

[0132] C = R1- D / 2 (1) distance C l between the edges of adjacent coils located in one row

[0133] C i = (2R l - 3D) / 4 (2)

[0134] - condition for step B for the diagonals of the coils:

[0135] B < 0.3 D (3)

[0136] - conditions for the relationship between parameters B, C and the size of the sorted material F min - F max have the form:

[0137] B < l,4-F min , C> l,lF max(4) where B is the displacement step along the X axis between adjacent coils in the diagonals, and the smaller value of B is selected from those calculated using formulas (3) and (4).

[0138] Before feeding the ore for sorting, all equipment systems are switched on and synchronized with the operation of the units. The initial ore is fed using a feeder onto a conveyor belt. The 3D scanner is installed at the beginning of the lumps calming zone, in which the lumps' speed becomes equal to the belt speed. It ensures scanning of the ore lumps on the conveyor and formation of an array of 3D data on the geometric parameters of the lumps, which the sorting controller uses to control the measurements of the sensor unit.The 3D data are fed to the sorting controller, which performs calculations of the data array for each piece, which includes its volume, area, geometric centers, other geometric parameters of their rectangular models and spatial position on the conveyor belt, on the basis of which, as well as on the basis of the data array on the geometric parameters of the sensor block matrix, the sorting controller determines the order of measurements of the magnetic susceptibility of individual pieces, taking into account the activation delays of individual coils and the number of the activated coil for measurement. In this case, the activation of the coils and the formation of activation delays are described in more detail.

[0139] The activation process using the example of coordinates of the activated z-coil and the measured z-piece is illustrated in Fig. 2, which is a fragment of Fig. 1.

[0140] According to the method, the z-piece with the geometric center at point A moves with the speed V perpendicular to the rows of the sensor block. Since AX = \X п - Xj\ is minimal for the n-coil, then it is the coil that must be activated to perform the measurement. The signal from the piece is measured relative to the measuring axis of the zz-coil with coordinates Y n . z-piece with variable Y coordinate i geometric center A of the model piece moves along a constant coordinate X i . When it reaches the Y position i =Y 1(n) perform the beginning of the activation of the zz-coil, which is completed after time t п when the model reaches position Y i =Y2( n )-

[0141] The process of forming the activation delay for the n-coil is illustrated in Fig. 3, which is a fragment of Fig. 2.

[0142] In order to increase the productivity of the sorting system, an operation of shifting the coordinate along the Y axis of the moment of activation of the zz-coil is formed, while it is carried out with a time delay or with an advance. Its essence is as follows. With an increase in the number of pieces per unit area of ​​the conveyor belt, a situation increasingly arises when, when it is necessary to activate the n-coil, for example, the n-5 coil is still in the active state. Simultaneous activation of both coils in a zone of radius R I leads to a violation of the condition that only one measuring n-coil should be active in the Ri zone. That is, to maintain the requirements of this condition, the active modes of the n and n-5 coils are spaced out in time, as illustrated in Fig.3.

[0143] Suppose n-5 coil in coordinate Y2( n-5 ) already becomes deactivated. In this case, the n-coil should begin its activation process only in the Y coordinate ln. In connection with this, the geometric center of the / -piece turns out to be additionally shifted by Δ Y i , as a result of which the absolute displacement of the center of the z-piece of ore relative to the center of the n-coil is calculated using the formula where AZ,- is the absolute displacement of the center of the i-piece of ore relative to the center of the n-coil;

[0144] ±AY i - coordinates of the control shift relative to Y n , which has a minus sign when the coil activation command is delayed and a plus sign when the activation command is advanced.

[0145] The sorting controller also generates tasks for measuring the magnetic susceptibility of ore pieces taking into account absolute displacements, which it transmits to the sensor unit, which generates control commands for performing measurements. Command generation is based on known coordinates of the geometric centers of the pieces relative to the centers of the coils, their absolute displacements, and counting synchronization cycles, which are caused by the movement of the piece on the belt above the coil matrix. The command specifies the number of the sensor that must be activated and the number of the clock signal at which activation must be performed. The synchronization cycles are counted, the required sensor is activated, and the measurement process is started.

[0146] The measurement is carried out by the pulse method, the detailed operation of which is illustrated in Fig. 5, Fig. 6. The activation of the / 7-coil is performed by starting the autogenerator, which generates sinusoidal signals. The specificity of the autogenerator operation is that when it is started at the beginning of generation, amplitude and frequency instabilities occur, which cannot be used in the measurement process. Therefore, the duration of t п is distributed depending on the functional purpose into separate time sections: direct measurement Δt=(Y A > - Y A" ) / V, starting the autogenerator Δt l =(Y 1(n) - Y A ') / V and stop the autogenerator

[0147] Δt2=(Y A ^ -Y 2(n) ) / V.

[0148] Research has shown that the correct measurement mode is obtained when the first 5-10 sinusoidal oscillations (Δt1) after the autogenerator start command and the damped 5-7 oscillations (Δt2) after the autogenerator stop command are not taken into account in the measurement process, and the 5-30 oscillation periods that make up the measuring interval Δt are measured. The choice of the interval value (number of oscillations) depends on the size of the piece and the number of pieces located on a unit area of ​​the tape. Also, determining the value of Δt is an optimization task, since its maximum value allows for maximum sensitivity of the system, and its minimum value allows for maximum productivity. The range Δt = 0.3 - 2.5 milliseconds has been empirically established.

[0149] Autogenerator frequency f lowis approximately 7 - 15 kHz, which is stable during the period Δt and depends on the inductance of the oscillatory circuit of the autogenerator, into which the measuring induction coil is included. In turn, the inductance of the n-coil depends on the magnetic susceptibility of the / -piece of ore, which is above it in motion. Thus, the duration Δt of a packet of sinusoidal oscillations is a function of the magnetic susceptibility of the piece.

[0150] To correctly record the beginning and end of the measuring interval Δt, a packet of sinusoidal oscillations with a duration of t п are fed to a Schmidt trigger, which forms rectangular pulses from them (Fig. 6). The sensor unit forms a measuring interval Δt from a packet of pulses, which is filled with pulses of stable high frequency f high approximately 0.3 - 1.5 GHz, which are counted. The number of high-frequency pulses is the result of measuring the / -piece, which is determined according to the expression

[0151] Us =f(k) (6), where U s - signal from measuring the i-piece of ore by the n-coil, k - number of high-frequency pulses.

[0152] In this way, high sensitivity is achieved when measuring the duration of the measurement interval, and, consequently, the magnetic susceptibility of a piece of ore with paramagnetic and non-magnetic properties of its constituent minerals.

[0153] And to achieve high accuracy of the measured signal U s , its value is corrected by means of empirical coefficients according to the expression where U s — corrected signal from the measured piece of ore, also including the influence of the conveyor belt and the environment;

[0154] U s - signal from the measured piece of ore, before its correction operations, Ki - function of dependence on the size of the piece,

[0155] K2 is a function of dependence on the distance of the geometric center of the piece from the center of the coil (absolute displacement), K3 is a function of dependence on the geometric location of the axis of the piece relative to the measuring axis of the coil,

[0156] K4 is a function depending on the features of the geometric shape of a piece,

[0157] K5 is a function of dependence on the influence of other pieces located near the measured piece when it is measured by a "-coil.

[0158] A detailed description of the essence of the corrective functions is that:

[0159] K1 provides compensation for the geometric size of the piece by means of U correction s according to a monotonically decreasing function depending on its size in the range F max - F min . The meaning of the correction is as follows. Let us assume that two pieces of maximum sizes F max and F min contain the same mineral composition and are placed one after the other at the same point (for example, X = X п) on the Y-axis n for the n-coil. In this case, the measured signal U s for F min will always be less than for F max , although they consist of the same minerals. This fact can lead to an error in making a decision on a piece (useful or waste rock). To compensate for the possible error, a correction factor Kd is introduced

[0160] U S(1) = K; , U s , where K / = f(Fj) is a coefficient changing in a monotonically decreasing dependence on the size of the z-piece, its standardization is carried out to

[0161] 1 F max

[0162] K2 - provides compensation of the output signal U s sensor by a monotonically decreasing function depending on the deviation of the geometric center of the piece from the center of the coil. The meaning of the correction is as follows. Let us assume that the same piece is alternately placed in two different points with coordinates (for example, X п their п +ΔХ ion the measuring axis Y n . In this case, the measured signal U s for the X coordinate n +ΔX i . will always be less than for the X coordinate п , although the same piece is involved in the measurements. This fact can similarly lead to an error in making a decision on the piece. To compensate for the possible error, the correction coefficient K2 is introduced. where K2=f(ΔX i ) is a coefficient changing in a monotonically decreasing dependence on the deviation of the geometric center of the z'-piece from the center of the n-coil, its normalization is performed according to the position of the piece in the coordinates X, = X п ,

[0163] K3 - provides compensation of the output signal U s sensor by a monotonically decreasing function depending on the angle α i tilt of the longitudinal axis Lj of the piece to the Y axis n To compensate for possible errors from the geometric position of the piece, a correction coefficient K3 is introduced:

[0164] U s(3) = K3. U s , where K3=f( α i ) - a coefficient that is a function of the angle α i =|0°±90°|, its normalization is performed to the position of the piece at α i =90°.

[0165] K4 - provides compensation of the output signal U s sensor depending on the features of the flat shape of the piece (ratio of length L and width W i piece) with area D - const. To compensate for possible error, a correction coefficient K4 is introduced:

[0166] U s (4) = K4- U s , where K4=f(L / W i ), its normalization is carried out to the shape of a piece corresponding to the square L i = W i

[0167] K5- provides compensation for the influence of nearby neighboring pieces of ore within a circular area of ​​diameter D2, located near the I-piece. To compensate for a possible error, the correction coefficient K5 is introduced:

[0168] U s(5) = K5- u swhere it ensures the minimization of the influence of another piece ore located near the / -piece.

[0169] A detailed description of the process of mutual influence of the measured I-piece and another (neighboring) closely located piece is as follows.

[0170] In this case, the coefficient is calculated depending on the result of measuring the i-piece U' s under the influence of the neighboring piece and the result of the measurement of the neighboring piece U" s under the influence of the / -piece, as well as the distance between the edges of the pieces Δ z .r How U' s , and U" s represent a bilinear combination of signals from both pieces in the absence of their influence on each other, which allows us to perform calculations in reverse order (by solving a system of two equations) and establish the degree of their mutual influence. In this case, the mutual influence of the pieces of ore weakens with increasing distance Δr between them, which can be empirically expressed by a decreasing exponential function.

[0171] A special feature of the method of sorting ores containing minerals with weak magnetic susceptibility is the measurement and processing of very weak useful signals from paramagnetics in conditions of interference and harmful industrial electromagnetic background. In this case, the signal levels are so weak that they are comparable to the signal from an empty conveyor belt. Therefore, the issues of minimizing the influence of the magnetic properties of the belt and the environment, in particular the suppression of electromagnetic background and interference, become important.

[0172] In parallel (before and after measuring the / -piece) with the operations of measuring the signal from the piece of ore, the signal level from the electromagnetic background is measured, which consists of the sum of the influence of three factors: where U h - electromagnetic background signal;

[0173] U c - a signal caused by the electromagnetic influence of adjacent coils located near the n-coil in the same row;

[0174] Ui is a signal caused by the magnetic properties of other pieces located in the area of ​​the tape within which the background is measured;

[0175] U e - a fluctuation signal of the electromagnetic background caused by the presence of external industrial electromagnetic interference, the spectral characteristic of which consists of low-frequency and high-frequency sections of the spectrum.

[0176] When measuring the background level U h (Fig. 4) for minimal influence of electromagnetic factors U c and U t , which are positioned as interference that increases the overall background level, provide the empirical conditions:

[0177] - for U c : R1= D / 2 + C (9), where R 1 is the radius of the circle within which, when the measuring n7-coil is activated, the adjacent “n-5” and “n+5” coils in the same row (using the example of a 5-row matrix) should be inactive;

[0178] - for Ul .D2> 1.15-D (10), where D2 is the diameter of the circle defining the area of ​​the region on the moving belt within which there should be no other whole pieces of ore or their parts.

[0179] For minimal influence of electromagnetic factor U e conditions for minimal influence of the low-frequency and high-frequency parts of the background spectrum must be ensured. For minimal influence of the low-frequency component of the spectrum U e fulfill the condition that the time between measurements of signals U s and U b must be minimal, limited by the segment E of the tape:

[0180] E = D + C, (11), where E is the length of the conveyor belt segment that limits the area Q within which the electromagnetic background is measured, with measurements being performed along the X coordinate. п along the segment E with coordinates from Y n + (D+C) / 2 to Y n - (D+C) / 2.

[0181] In the general case (for example, to increase the productivity of the sorting system), an increase in the parameter E is allowed, which entails an increase in the low-frequency component of the background spectrum, and, consequently, a decrease in the sensitivity of the system (according to the criterion of the ratio U s / U ь ). But such a task already becomes an optimization one, depending on the required productivity and sensitivity, as well as the background level in the specific conditions of using the method.

[0182] To minimize the influence of the high-frequency component of the background U e use a method of suppressing it by applying an exponential filter according to the recurrent formula: where U b (i) — current (related to the time of measurement of the z-piece of ore by the z-coil) average value of the electromagnetic background; min(U b (i)) - the minimum background value from the last few measurements by the z-coil, performed before and after its measurement of the z-piece of ore;

[0183] U b(i-1) is the average value of the electromagnetic background related to the time of measurement of the previous (i-1) piece of ore by the «-coil; a is the smoothing coefficient of the exponential filter (0 < a < 1), wherein several measurements are performed before and after the measurement of the piece, and the measurement with the minimum value is selected from them, which is taken as the current background value, which, together with the previous measurements, is used to calculate the current average background value corresponding to a certain number of high-frequency pulses proportional to the magnetic susceptibility of the environment, including the conveyor belt.

[0184] To explain in detail the operating principle of the exponential filter, the following explanations are given. Expanding the brackets and regrouping the terms allows us to write the recurrent formula (12) for calculating the current average background value as from which it follows that the smoothing coefficient a represents the ratio of the pulsation level achieved by smoothing to the initial (non-smoothed) pulsation level. Thus, the smaller the value of a is chosen, the more strongly the influence of random electromagnetic factors is suppressed. Multiple application of the recurrent formula for calculating the smoothed average yields the following expression in expanded form for the current average background value: that is, over time the smoothed value becomes a weighted average of an increasing number of previous measurements min(U b (il)), min(U b (i- 2)), ..., min(U b (l)), min(U b (0)), to which the weighting factors a, (1- a), (1- a) are applied 2 , .... (1- a )', forming a geometric progression, which is, in turn, a discrete representation of the exponential function.

[0185] Reducing the coefficient a along with improving the degree of smoothing also increases the influence of previous measurements (in particular, the initial one) on the calculated current value of the smoothed average, which can lead to a delay in the response to a change in the background level. Therefore, a rational choice of the value of the coefficient a is also an optimization task.

[0186] As a result, the actual value of the magnetic susceptibility of a piece of ore, measured taking into account the electromagnetic background, is determined as the difference between two signals: the corrected signal from measuring the piece of ore and the signal from the electromagnetic background with minimal influence of three electromagnetic factors according to the formula where ΔU is the actual value of the magnetic susceptibility of a piece of ore;

[0187] U s - corrected signal from measurement of i-piece of ore;

[0188] U b- a signal from the electromagnetic background measured by the same coil in the absence of a measured piece of ore above it and at a minimal level of influence of electromagnetic factors.

[0189] The obtained calculation data ΔU = f(k) are compared with the sorting criteria and, depending on the comparison result, a decision is made on the necessity of ejecting the ore piece. If the piece does not meet the sorting criteria (e.g., granitoids with weak magnetic susceptibility, typical of paramagnetics), no further actions are taken. If the piece meets the sorting criteria (e.g., non-magnetic mineral quartz, which is correlated with fine gold), then control commands are generated for the pneumatic valve system, by means of which, by supplying compressed air, the ejection of pieces formed from the quartz vein is performed. Control commands are based on the task, which includes the pneumatic valve number, the duration of its stay in the open (active) state and the synchronization cycle number. In this case, all processes from scanning operations, measuring magnetic susceptibility, processing, data transmission and up to ejection are synchronized.Under the influence of compressed air coming out of the activated valves, the piece is directed to the required bin. The sorting process is finished when all pieces are separated according to the sorting criterion and are in the appropriate bins.

[0190] Thus, by using a special matrix of sensor block coils, introducing targeted control tasks during their operation in the consolidated 3D-EM system and a pulse method of measuring signals from a piece of ore and from the electromagnetic background, we achieve the implementation of a precision sorting system with the highest possible indicators of sensitivity and accuracy of magnetic susceptibility measurements with high ore sorting productivity.

[0191] The second task is solved due to the fact that the device for sorting lump ore containing minerals with weak magnetic susceptibility and non-magnetic minerals includes a device for metered feeding of ore pieces onto a conveyor, a device for electromagnetic action on the pieces, a system for identifying pieces of raw material based on the criterion of the presence of a useful component, and a system for dividing the pieces into streams, one of which contains a useful component, and the other is waste rock.

[0192] According to the invention, the device comprises a 3D scanner placed above the conveyor belt and configured to perform preliminary identification action on ore pieces based on their geometric parameters, spatial orientation and coordinate arrangement on the conveyor belt, in addition, the device comprises a sorting controller, a sensor unit, a human-machine interface, an encoder and a pneumatic valve unit, wherein the sensor unit comprises a signal processing unit, a data exchange interface and a sensor matrix in which the sensors are arranged along a special coordinate grid designed to measure the magnetic susceptibility of pieces with paramagnetic properties, wherein each sensor is designed as an induction coil included in a measuring oscillator that is connected to a Schmidt trigger and a signal processing unit that is connected to the oscillator via an activation key, and the sorting controller comprises a computing unit,a valve control unit and a synchronization unit, wherein the computing unit comprises a module for storing initial data and constants, a module for measuring the geometric parameters of pieces and generating coil activation delays, a module for compensating the geometric dimensions of pieces and placing them on a conveyor belt, a module for eliminating the mutual influence of individual pieces and measuring the electromagnetic background, a unit for processing data and control signals for the sensor unit, as well as communication interfaces, wherein the synchronization unit comprises a digital input of a synchronization signal, a unit for processing commands and synchronization signals, digital outputs of synchronization signals, as well as a data exchange interface, wherein the valve control unit comprises a command processing unit and a data exchange interface, and the human-machine interface comprises an input-output interface and a data exchange interface, wherein the SD scanner is connected with the lump ore on the conveyor belt by its optical input,the synchronization input is connected to the digital synchronization outputs of the synchronization unit, and the output is connected through a data exchange interface to the data processing and control signal unit for the sensor unit, wherein in the computing unit the module for storing initial data and constants, the module for measuring the geometric parameters of pieces, the module for compensating the geometric dimensions of pieces and their placement on a conveyor belt, the module for eliminating the mutual influence of individual pieces and measuring the electromagnetic background are connected to the data processing and control signal unit for the sensor unit, which is connected to two data exchange interfaces, one of which is connected to the data exchange interface of the sensor unit, and the other data exchange interface of the computing unit is connected to the output of the 3D scanner and through the data exchange interface is connected to the input-output interface of the human-machine interface,wherein in the synchronization unit the data exchange interface is connected to the data exchange interface of the computing unit, as well as to the command and synchronization signal processing unit, which is connected to the digital outputs of the synchronization signals, as well as to the digital input of the synchronization signal, which is connected to the encoder of the device, which is connected to the conveyor, wherein the data exchange interface of the valve control unit is connected to the data exchange interface of the computing unit, as well as to the command processing unit, which is connected to the digital outputs of the synchronization signals of the synchronization unit, as well as to the pneumatic valve unit, wherein the block of digital outputs of the synchronization signals through the signal processing unit of the sensor unit is connected to the sensor matrix, which interacts with the lump ore on the conveyor belt, wherein the data exchange interface of the sensor unit is connected to the signal processing unit. The technical result from the implementation of the device for sorting ore,containing minerals with weak magnetic susceptibility and non-magnetic minerals is that:,

[0193] - the device allows identifying a useful component correlated in the ore with weakly magnetic or non-magnetic minerals, which allows involving in the process of preliminary enrichment a mineral resource that either was not subject to enrichment at all, or this process was ineffective;

[0194] - the device allows identifying the useful component in a piece regardless of the piece’s weight, its shape and spatial orientation on the conveyor belt;

[0195] - the device has low energy consumption, and its operation has little impact on the cost of mineral enrichment;

[0196] - the device operates in a wide range of ore size classes, which allows it to be used effectively in small deposits and ore occurrences, which are characterized by small flows of mineral raw material processing;

[0197] - the device allows for the enrichment of raw materials extracted from deposits of natural and man-made origin;

[0198] - high productivity of the device is ensured due to the short period of time required to make a decision on whether a piece of ore is useful or empty based on an assessment of the content of weakly magnetic or non-magnetic minerals in the piece;

[0199] - the device allows its use in a chain of process units for enrichment of ores with weakly magnetic properties, characteristic of paramagnetic minerals or non-magnetic properties, such as diamagnetics, as well as for ferromagnetic ores; - depending on the required productivity and location of the mineral resource deposit, the device can be made in a stationary or mobile form.

[0200] The device is illustrated by diagrams, where: Fig. 7 shows a layout diagram of the interaction of the device nodes; Fig. 8 shows a structural diagram of the device; Figs. 9 and 10 show a block diagram of the device; Fig. 1 1 is a block diagram of the electronic elements of the sensor.

[0201] The device for separating lump ores with weak magnetic susceptibility includes a feeder for metered feeding of ore pieces onto a conveyor 27, a sorting system including a 3D scanner 1, a sorting controller 2 and a sensor unit 3, a human-machine interface 4, as well as a separation system in the form of a block of pneumatic valves 28, which are intended for separating the ore into concentrate and waste rock. The 3D scanner 1 of the device is located above the conveyor 27, at the beginning of the section after the pieces have calmed down on the belt, the sensor unit is located under the conveyor 27, at the beginning of the belt section on which the 3D scanner has already scanned the calmed pieces. In this case, the human-machine interface 4 contains an interface 8 for input / output of information and an interface 9 for data exchange.

[0202] The sorting controller 2 contains a computing unit 10, a valve control unit 18 and a synchronization unit 21.

[0203] The computing unit 10 comprises a module 1 1 for storing initial data and constants, a module 12 for measuring geometric parameters of pieces and generating coil activation delays, a module 13 for compensating geometric parameters of pieces and placing them on a conveyor belt, a module 14 for eliminating mutual influence of individual pieces and measuring electromagnetic background, which are connected to a unit 15 for processing data and control signals for a sensor unit, which is connected to two interfaces 16, 17 for exchanging data. Interface 16 is connected to interface 7 for exchanging data of sensor unit 3. Interface 17 is connected to 3D scanner 1 and interface 9 for exchanging data, which is connected to interface 8 for input-output of human-machine interface 4.

[0204] The synchronization unit 21 comprises a unit 23 of digital synchronization signal outputs, a unit 24 of processing commands and synchronization signals, a unit 25 of digital synchronization signal input, and a data exchange interface 22. The data exchange interface 22 of the synchronization unit 21 is connected via the unit 24 of processing commands and synchronization signals with the unit 25, the digital input of which is connected to the encoder 26, mechanically connected to the conveyor roller axis.

[0205] The valve control unit 18 comprises a command processing unit 20 and a data exchange interface 19. The data exchange interface 19 of the valve control unit 18 is connected to the command processing unit 20, which is connected to the digital output unit 23 of the synchronization signals of the synchronization unit 21, as well as to the pneumatic valve unit 28. The digital output unit 23 of the synchronization signals is connected to the matrix of sensors 6, which interact with the lump ore on the conveyor belt. The data exchange interface 7 of the sensor unit 3 is connected to the signal processing unit 5.

[0206] The 3D scanner 1 is connected to the ore pieces via an optical input, is connected to the digital output block 23 of synchronization signals via a synchronization input, is connected to the data exchange interface 17 by its output and registers the position of the ore pieces on the conveyor belt. In this case, the data exchange interface 16 of the computing unit 10 is connected to the data exchange interface 22 of the synchronization unit 21 and to the data exchange interface 19 of the valve control unit 18.

[0207] The sensor unit 3 contains a signal processing unit 5, a sensor matrix 6 and a data exchange interface 7. In this case, the signal processing unit 5 is connected via the data exchange interface 7 to the computing unit 10 and to the synchronization unit 21.

[0208] The human-machine interface 4 comprises an input-output interface 8 and a data exchange interface 9. In this case, the interface 8 is connected to the interface 9, which is connected via the interface 17 to the data and control signal processing unit 15 for the sensor unit.

[0209] In the device for separating ores with weak magnetic susceptibility, the main functional elements have the following purpose:

[0210] The ZP-scanner 1 scans ore pieces transported by the conveyor and has the following external communications: optical input, synchronization input and digital data output.

[0211] Sorting controller 2 consists of the following main parts:

[0212] The computing unit 10 processes data from the 3D scanner 1, controls the operation of the sensor unit 3, the valve control unit 18 and the synchronization unit 21, and also performs mathematical calculations.

[0213] Module 11 of initial data and constants is intended for storing primary information for performing calculations.

[0214] Module 12 for measuring geometric parameters of pieces and generating delays (or advances) in the activation of coils performs calculations of geometric parameters of ore pieces and their rectangular models, determines the numbers of activated sensors, and delays or advances in the activation of other sensors.

[0215] Module 13 for compensating the geometric dimensions of pieces and their placement corrects the measured value of magnetic susceptibility depending on: the volume of the pieces, the distance between the center of the piece and the center of the sensor coil, the planar arrangement and the shape features of the pieces.

[0216] Module 14 for eliminating the mutual influence of individual pieces and measuring the electromagnetic background compensates for the influence of nearby neighboring pieces of ore on the piece being measured, measures the electromagnetic background and performs calculations to ensure its minimum value.

[0217] The data and control signal processing unit 15 for the sensor unit is the main device of the computing unit 10. It performs current calculations, coordinates the operation of the auxiliary computing devices (modules 11-14), and is also responsible for analyzing the data and making decisions on sorting in accordance with its criteria.

[0218] The RS-422 data exchange interface performs the function of exchanging data within the sorting controller 2, with the computing unit 10, as well as between the sensor unit 3, the valve control unit 18 and the synchronization unit 21.

[0219] The Ethernet data exchange interface is designed for data exchange within the sorting controller 2, with the 3D scanner 1 and the human-machine interface 4.

[0220] The valve control unit 18 is part of the sorting controller 2 and controls the operation of the pneumatic valve unit 28.

[0221] Command processing unit 20 is responsible for controlling the operation of the pneumatic valves. Synchronization unit 21 is part of the sorting controller 2 and generates synchronization signals (clocking) for the entire sorting system.

[0222] Digital outputs 23 synchronization signals - synchronization (clocking) outputs for sensor unit 3, valve control unit 18 and 3D scanner 1.

[0223] Block 24 for processing commands and synchronization signals reads the numbers of clock signals from encoder 26 and, if necessary, can generate test synchronization signals.

[0224] Digital input 25 of the synchronization signal is an input for connecting an encoder.

[0225] The sensor unit 3 measures the magnetic susceptibility of ore pieces moving on the conveyor belt and consists of the following main parts:

[0226] 1). The signal processing unit 5 is designed to control the sensors of the sensor unit 3, digitally process signals from the sensors, store measurement data and communicate with the sorting controller 2. It provides:

[0227] - formation, transmission and receipt of measurement commands from sorting controller 2, formation of a task consisting of a cycle number from synchronization unit 21 and a sensor number;

[0228] - counting high-frequency pulses during the direct measurement interval, storing measurement results in RAM until a command is received to read them.

[0229] 2). Sensor matrix 6 - a system of inductive sensors, the coils of which are located on a special coordinate grid, which is designed to measure the magnetic susceptibility of ore pieces with paramagnetic properties. Sensor 29 consists of the following functional elements:

[0230] - Induction coil 30 is a component of the resonant oscillatory circuit that determines the frequency of autogenerator 31.

[0231] - Autogenerator 31 generates a signal close to harmonic in form. If there is a piece of ore with paramagnetic properties above the coil, the coil inductance changes, which leads to a change in the frequency of the autogenerator.

[0232] - Activation key 32 is responsible for activating autogenerator 31 and the entire sensor upon command from signal processing unit 5.

[0233] - Schmidt trigger 33 generates pulse signals for subsequent transmission to signal processing block 5.

[0234] The human-machine interface 4 performs the functions of setting sorting criteria, monitoring and controlling the operation of the device's blocks and modules.

[0235] The 8 input / output interface is used to display service information, enter system parameters and sorting criteria.

[0236] Encoder 26 generates the system synchronization signals.

[0237] The conveyor performs the function of transporting pieces of ore.

[0238] The pneumatic valve block 28 uses compressed air to change the trajectory of movement of ore pieces.

[0239] The sorting device is designed for sorting lump ores with paramagnetic properties depending on the sorting criterion - the magnetic susceptibility of individual pieces of ore.

[0240] The device is implemented using the following equipment as an example:

[0241] - ZP-scanner 1 based on Gorator 2491 A lasers;

[0242] - computing unit 10: data and signal processing unit 15 for controlling the sensor unit based on the Matrix MVP-5101 / M16G computer; auxiliary computing modules 11 - 14 based on STM32F103 microcontrollers;

[0243] - block 5 for signal processing, consists of two subblocks: command generation and transmission based on STM32F103 and high-frequency pulse counting based on FPGA Cyclone IV.

[0244] - sensor matrix 6: using the example of sorted ore of size 10 - 80 mm on a belt 1500 mm wide, it is a flat structure consisting of 96 coils forming 5 rows and arranged in 18 full diagonals of 5 coils and 2 incomplete diagonals of 3 coils (the matrix parameters (Fig. 1) are as follows: D = 48.0 mm, B = 14.0 mm, Rj = 113.2 mm, C = 89.2 mm, C / = 20.6 mm, D2 = 55.2 mm, E = 137.2 mm); wherein each coil is connected to electronic elements - as shown in Fig. 11, where induction coil 30 is connected to electronic elements 31 - 33, which together form sensor 29;

[0245] - induction coil 30 has a round shape, the coil is wound with thin copper wire and installed on a ferrite core.

[0246] Let us consider the operation of the device using the example of a "-coil" (Fig. 2 - 11), which must measure a z-piece of ore (we assume that the distance between the center of the "-coil and the center of the z-piece is minimal).

[0247] The operation of all functional units is synchronized using synchronization signals from synchronization unit 21. Encoder 26 is connected to the axis of conveyor roller 27, which generates synchronization signals coming through the digital input of synchronization unit 25. Unit 23 of output synchronization signals synchronizes the operation of the 3D scanner, sensor unit 3 and valve control unit. Each functional unit counts synchronization pulses (cycles), which allows tracking pieces on the conveyor. Computing unit 10 does not have a synchronization signal input in its composition; the synchronization cycle number is transmitted to it by unit 24 of processing commands and synchronization signals through data exchange interface 22.

[0248] The sorting process begins with loading ore pieces onto conveyor 27. ZP scanner 1 scans ore pieces on the conveyor and forms a structure of ZP data that enter block 15 of computing unit 10 via data exchange interface 17. Block 15 reads initial data from module 11, then transmits them together with data received from the ZP scanner to module 12 for calculating the geometric parameters of the pieces and the values ​​of the coil activation delays. After performing the calculations, module 12 transmits their results to block 15, which, based on the results received from module 12, forms a task for measuring the magnetic susceptibility of the pieces, transmitted to sensor unit 3 via data exchange interface 16. The measurement task enters signal processing block 5 and consists of the number of the sensor that must be activated and the number of the clock signal on which the activation must be performed.

[0249] U signal measurement s =f(k) occurs as follows.

[0250] When a task is received by the signal processing unit 5, its control subunit generates a command to activate the n-coil of the sensor 29 using the activation key 32 (Fig. 11). The start of the autogenerator 31 and the generation of sinusoidal signals with a frequency f begins. low =9.2 kHz (Fig. 5), fed to the input of the Schmidt trigger 33, which generates pulses (Fig. 6). In this case, the active state of the sensor 29 is maintained for 32 periods of oscillations of the autogenerator 31. The initial 7 periods are not taken into account in the measurements and are considered starting, since during the process of starting the autogenerator 31 its frequency and amplitude are unstable. The following 17 periods are used to measure the magnetic susceptibility, and the last 8 periods correspond to the attenuation mode of the oscillations of the autogenerator 31 and are also not taken into account.

[0251] Also, the control sub-block of block 5 upon the occurrence of the front of the 6th pulse (duration Δt i' ) from the Schmidt trigger 33, forms and transmits a command with the number of the sensor included for measurement to the high-frequency pulse counting subblock f high . The pulse counting subblock of block 5 counts the number of high-frequency pulses (f) for 17 periods (measuring interval Δt). high =470 MHz, stabilized by a quartz generator). The result of the U calculation s =f(k) is stored in the RAM until the command to read the data is received from the control subunit of block 5, which is sent to block 15 via interfaces 7 and 16 (one pulse counting subunit can service 16 sensors). In this case, the fronts of the 24th and 25th pulses (with a duration of Δt2') also do not participate in measuring the interval Δt, since upon receiving the 24th pulse, the control subunit of block 5 switches off the autogenerator 31 and the process of measuring U s is ending.

[0252] Further, in order to ensure high measurement accuracy, the signal U sis corrected. For this, block 15 transmits the measurement results to module 13 and module 14. In this case, module 13 performs correction using coefficients K1, K2, K3, K4, which are functions of, respectively: the volume of the piece, its deviation from the center of the coil, the angle of inclination to the measuring axis, and the features of the geometric shape. Module 14 performs correction using coefficient K5, which is a function of compensation for the influence of pieces located near the z-piece. After performing all the correction calculations, a signal is generated

[0253] U signal measurement b=f(k) occurs as follows. Module 12, due to activation delays, excludes the active state of the adjacent coils in the row n-5 and n+5. Module 14 calculates the region Q (Fig. 4), which is maximally free from the presence of other pieces on it. To minimize the influence of the low-frequency component of the electromagnetic background spectrum, measurements are performed in the minimum time interval before and after measuring the signal U s . Several measurements of U are performed b , and the minimum of them is selected, which is taken as the current background value. To reduce the high-frequency component of the background, calculations are performed using a digital exponential filter. In this case, the current background value is summed up with the results of background measurements in previous measurements (taking into account their weighting factors) to calculate and update the current average value of the electromagnetic background U bThe operation of the exponential filter during the first measurement is ensured by the fact that when the sorting system is turned on, several background measurements are made on an empty conveyor belt, as a result of which the exponential filter is filled with the initial data.

[0254] The result of measuring the magnetic susceptibility of a piece of ore ΔU is calculated by block 15 as the difference between two signals: U s , obtained on the n-coil in the presence of the z-piece and U b, obtained on the same reel in the Q area of ​​the conveyor belt. These calculations provide high parameters for sensitivity and measurement accuracy, which implements precision measurement of the magnetic susceptibility of paramagnetic ores. Then, block 15 compares the measurement result with the sorting criteria specified in the human-machine interface 4. If the piece does not meet the sorting criteria, no further actions are performed. If the piece meets the sorting criteria, then a task is generated for the valve control unit 18, transmitted via data exchange interfaces 16 and 19.

[0255] The valve control unit 18 receives a sorting task from the computing unit 10 via the data exchange interface 19. The task consists of the pneumatic valve number, the duration of its stay in the open (active) state and the synchronization cycle number corresponding to the moment of opening of the valve. The synchronization cycles are counted by the command processing unit 20, and when the cycle number coincides with the cycle number according to the task, the activation of the corresponding valves in the pneumatic valve unit 28 is performed taking into account the time of movement of the ore piece along the free fall trajectory and the size of the piece. Under the influence of the compressed air of the activated valves, the ore piece falls into the corresponding bin.

[0256] Sources of information:

[0257] 1. by NJ KEYS, V.E. Met, RJ GORDON and NF PEVERETT "Photometric sorting of ore on a South African gold mine" in "JOURNAL OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGY", SEPTEMBER 1974

[0258] 2. Patent RU No. 2677716 for invention, “Method of sorting materials”, SOMMER Edward J. Jr., RUS Charles I.)

[0259] 3. US Patent 7,541,557 B2 “Method for thermographic lump separation of raw materials (variants) and device for its implementation (variants), Voloshyn Volodymyr M., Zubkevych Viktor Y.

[0260] 4. Patent RU No. 2437725 for invention.

[0261] 5. http: / / goldcilplant.com / Molybdenum-sorting-test-by-XRT-sorter.html 6. (US Patent 7,541,557 B2 “Method of thermographic lump separation of raw materials (variants) and device for its implementation (variants), Voloshyn Volodymyr M., Zubkevych Viktor Y.).

Claims

Invention formula 1. A method for sorting lump ore containing minerals with weak magnetic susceptibility and non-magnetic minerals, including the metered feeding of mineral lump mass onto a conveyor, electromagnetic action on pieces of raw material, identification of pieces of raw material based on the criterion of the presence of a useful component, comparison of the indicator of the presence of a useful component in a piece with its limit value, formation of streams, one of which contains a useful component, and the other is waste rock, characterized in that information on the geometric parameters of the matrix of the arrangement of induction coils, which are included in the sensors of the sensor unit, the speed of movement of pieces of ore along the conveyor belt, synchronization cycles in the form of a sequence of pulses recording the relationship between the movement of the conveyor belt and the data on the pieces of ore, is entered into the memory of a computing device in the form of a sorting controller,normalized correction functions for reducing the output signal of the sensor depending on the size of the sorted pieces, the distance of the geometric center of the piece from the center of the induction coil, the geometric location of the axis of the piece of ore relative to the measuring axis of the induction coil, the features of the geometric parameters of the piece and the fractional composition of the ore by size classes, as well as by the sorting criteria taking into account the threshold or lower and upper values ​​of the magnetic susceptibility of the piece of ore, and the sensors in the sensor block are placed based on the required sensitivity of a single induction coil, while the coils are installed in rows perpendicular to the direction of movement of the conveyor belt on, the distance between the edges of the coils in the rows of the matrix, determined by the dependence C - R1- D / 2, where C is the distance between the edges of the coils in adjacent rows of the matrix; R1 is the radius that determines the area of ​​the circle within which, during the active state of the n-coil, the adjacent coils located in the same row must be inactive; D is the outer diameter of the induction coil, and the coils in each row of the matrix are placed at a distance between the edges of adjacent coils, determined by the relationship WITH l = (2 l , - 3D) / 4, where Ci is the distance between the edges of adjacent coils in one row, while the coils in each subsequent row are placed relative to the previous row with an offset relative to the direction of movement of the conveyor belt in increments based on the condition B < 0.3 D, where B is the step of displacement of adjacent coils along the diagonal of the matrix, while the geometric parameters of the matrix are related to the size of the sorted ore by the conditions where F min , F max- the minimum and maximum size of the sorted ORE, whereby the lump ore is fed using a feeder onto a conveyor belt, after which, in the zone where the speed of the ore pieces corresponds to the speed of the conveyor belt, the geometric parameters of each piece are recorded using a 3D scanner, and the sorting controller calculates an array of data, in which includes the area of ​​each piece, its volume, geometric centers, other geometric parameters of its rectangular model and its spatial position on the conveyor belt, on the basis of which, as well as on the basis of an array of data on the geometric parameters of the sensor block matrix, the sorting controller determines the order of measurements of the magnetic susceptibility of individual pieces, taking into account delays or advances in the activation of individual coils according to the formula where ΔZ i - absolute displacement of the center of the z-piece of ore relative to the center of the n-coil; ±ΔU i - coordinates of the control shift relative to the Y„ axis, which has a minus sign when there is a delay in the coil activation command and a plus sign when there is an advance of the activation command, the number of the activated induction coil for measurement, and also generate control commands for measuring the magnetic susceptibility of ore pieces and the electromagnetic background, which are transmitted to the sensor unit, wherein when generating a command for measuring the magnetic susceptibility of an ore piece, the coordinates of its geometric center relative to the centers of the coils, the coordinates of the delays or advances of the coil activation and the number of synchronization cycles of the movement of an ore piece on the belt above the induction coils are taken into account, as well as the number of the sensor that must be activated, and the numbers of the clock signal at which it is necessary to activate the sensor, and after counting the synchronization cycles, the required sensor for the measurement process is activated, wherein the measurement of the signal from the piece by the n-coil of the sensor is performed at deactivated adjacent coils located with it in the same row of the matrix and are carried out in pulses for a given duration of time, which is determined based on the duration of activation of the n-coil taking into account the size of the pieces and their number located per unit area of ​​the tape, and in order to measure a piece of ore in the zone of its interaction with the induction coil, its activation is carried out using an autogenerator, which generates sinusoidal signals with a frequency of 5-10 kHz, and in order to prevent errors due to amplitude and frequency instability, 5-10 starting oscillations and 5-7 damped oscillations after the command to stop the autogenerator are not taken into account, but only a packet of 5-30 measured sinusoidal oscillations is used, which, using a Schmidt trigger, are converted into pulses, from which a given measuring interval of direct measurement is formed, which is filled with high-frequency pulses of 0.3 -1.5 GHz, and according to the number of high-frequency pulses,proportional to the magnetic susceptibility of the piece, determine the signal from the measurement of the piece of ore, which, to ensure high measurement accuracy, is corrected according to the expression, U s =f(K1K2, K3, K4, K5) • u s , where U s - corrected signal from the measured piece of ore, also including the influence of the magnetic properties of the conveyor belt and the environment; U s - signal from the measured piece of ore, before its correction operations, K1 - function of dependence on the size of the piece, K2 is a function depending on the distance of the geometric center of the piece from the center of the coil, K3 is a function depending on the geometric position of the axis of the piece relative to the measuring axis of the coil, K4 is a function depending on the features of the geometric shape of the piece, K5 is a function of the dependence on the influence of neighboring pieces located near the piece being measured when it is measured by an n-coil; at the same time, the minimum value of the electromagnetic background signal measurement by the n-coil is ensured by deactivating adjacent coils located with it in the same row of the matrix within the radius R1, determining the area of ​​the region on the tape with the minimum influence of other pieces due to the diameter of the circle according to the expression D2> 1.15 D where D2 is the diameter of the circle defining the area of ​​the region within which there should not be whole pieces of ore or parts of them on the moving belt, as well as a reduction in the low-frequency component of the background spectrum due to the fulfillment of the condition according to which the time between measurements of the signal from a piece of ore and the signal from the electromagnetic background should be minimal, limited by a section of the belt according to the formula E = D + C, where E is the length of the conveyor belt section that limits the area within which the electromagnetic background is measured; and a reduction in the high-frequency component of the background spectrum by using a digital exponential filter, with several measurements being taken before and after the measurement of the piece, and the measurement with the minimum value being selected from them, which is taken as the current background value, which, together with the previous measurements, is used to calculate the current average background value, which is taken as the resulting signal of the electromagnetic background value according to the formula U b (i)=a-min(U b (i))+(la)-U b (il) , where U b (i) - the current average value of the electromagnetic background related to the time of measurement of the i-piece of ore by the n-coil; min(U b (i)) - the minimum background value from the last few measurements by the n-coil, performed before and after measuring the z-piece of ore; Ub(il) is the average value of the electromagnetic background related to the time of measurement of the previous (i-1) piece of ore by the n-coil; a is the smoothing coefficient of the exponential filter (0 < a < 1) corresponding to a certain number of high-frequency pulses proportional to the magnetic susceptibility of the environment, including the conveyor belt, after which the actual value of the magnetic susceptibility of the piece of ore, corresponding to the maximum sensitivity and accuracy of the measurement system, is determined as the difference between the two signals according to the expression ΔU = U S - And ь where Δ U is the signal of the actual value of the magnetic susceptibility of the piece, U s - corrected signal from the measurement of a piece of ore by a p-coil, U b- the electromagnetic background signal measured by the same coil in the absence of the measured piece above it and at a minimum level of influence of electromagnetic factors, and after calculating the difference between the corrected signal from the piece of ore and the signal of the minimum value of the electromagnetic background, a signal of the actual value of the magnetic susceptibility of the piece and, accordingly, the mass fraction of the useful component correlated or not correlated with it are received, which is compared with the sorting criteria and, depending on the result, control commands for sorting are generated for the pneumatic valve system, and if the piece does not meet the sorting criteria, then the piece is sent to the waste heap, if the piece meets the sorting criteria, then control commands are generated by means of which, by supplying compressed air, the pieces are ejected into the receiving bin, and the control command to the pneumatic valve is given based on its position relative to the conveyor belt, the speed of its movement, the time of movement of the piece along the trajectory of free fall, the size of the piece, the number of the pneumatic valve, the number of the synchronization cycle, which corresponds to the moment of opening of the valve, the duration of its stay in the open state,which, by means of compressed air, ejects the piece and directs it into the corresponding sorting product bin.

2. A device for sorting lump ore containing minerals with weak magnetic susceptibility and non-magnetic minerals, including a device for metered feeding of ore pieces onto a conveyor, a device for electromagnetic action on the pieces, a system for identifying pieces of raw material based on the criterion of the presence of a useful component and a system for separating the pieces into streams, one of which contains a useful component, and the other is waste rock, characterized in that the device contains a 3D scanner placed above the conveyor belt and functioning with the possibility of preliminary identification action on the pieces of ore based on the criterion of their geometric parameters, spatial orientation and coordinate arrangement on a conveyor belt, in addition, the device contains a sorting controller, a sensor unit, a human-machine interface, an encoder and a pneumatic valve unit, wherein the sensor unit contains a signal processing unit, a data exchange interface and a sensor matrix, in which the sensors are located along a special coordinate grid, designed to measure the magnetic susceptibility of pieces with paramagnetic properties, wherein each sensor is made in the form of an induction coil included in a measuring oscillator, which is connected to a Schmidt trigger and a signal processing unit, which is connected to the oscillator via an activation key, and the sorting controller contains a computing unit, a valve control unit and a synchronization unit, wherein the computing unit contains a module for storing initial data and constants, a module for measuring the geometric parameters of pieces and generating coil activation delays,a module for compensating the geometric dimensions of the pieces and their placement on the conveyor belt, a module for eliminating the mutual influence of individual pieces and measuring the electromagnetic background, a unit for processing data and control signals for the sensor unit, as well as communication interfaces, wherein the synchronization unit contains a digital input of the synchronization signal, a unit for processing commands and synchronization signals, digital outputs of the synchronization signals, as well as a data exchange interface, wherein the valve control unit contains a unit for processing commands and a data exchange interface, and the human-machine interface contains an input-output interface and a data exchange interface, wherein the 3D scanner is connected with the lump ore on the conveyor belt by an optical input, the synchronization input is connected with the digital synchronization outputs of the synchronization unit, and the output is connected through a data exchange interface with, a data processing and control signal unit for the sensor unit, wherein in the computing unit the module for storing initial data and constants, the module for measuring the geometric parameters of pieces, the module for compensating the geometric dimensions of pieces and their placement on the conveyor belt, the module for eliminating the mutual influence of individual pieces and measuring the electromagnetic background are connected with the data processing and control signal unit for the sensor unit, which is connected to two data exchange interfaces, one of which is connected to the data exchange interface of the sensor unit, and the other data exchange interface of the computing unit is connected to the output of the 3D scanner and is connected through the data exchange interface to the input-output interface of the human-machine interface, wherein in the synchronization unit the data exchange interface is connected to the data exchange interface of the computing unit, as well as a command and synchronization signal processing unit, which is connected to the digital outputs of the synchronization signals,and also a digital input of the synchronization signal, which is connected to the encoder of the device, which is connected to the conveyor, and the data exchange interface of the valve control unit is connected to the data exchange interface of the computing unit, as well as to the command processing unit, which is connected to the digital outputs of the synchronization signals of the synchronization unit, as well as to the pneumatic valve unit, and the block of digital outputs of the synchronization signals through the signal processing unit of the sensor unit is connected to the sensor matrix, which interacts with the lump ore on the conveyor belt, and the data exchange interface of the sensor unit is connected to the signal processing unit.,

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