Title

Automated Core Logger and Mine Face Scanning for Exploration and Mining of Iron Ore

Automated Core Logger and Mine Face Scanning for Exploration and Mining of Iron Ore

Authorship

RAMANAIDOU, E.; WELLS, M.; CONNOR, P.

RAMANAIDOU, E.

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WELLS, M.

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CONNOR, P.

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DOI

10.5151/2594-357x-6MinFe-706-712

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Abstract

Iron ore is a key source of export revenue for Australia. Nowadays, steel mills require iron ore with consistent chemical, mineralogical and metallurgical grade. Improved ore characterization is essential to respond to these increasingly stringent requirements. To address this problem two innovative spectral systems have been recently developed by CSIRO Exploration and Mining: (1) a continuous core logging system or “Core Logger” and (2) a mine face imaging system or “Minesight”. Both systems are based on reflectance spectroscopy in the Visible-Near Infrared (VNIR) and Short-Wave-Infrared (SWIR) wavelength range. Reflectance spectroscopy between 400 and 2500 nm is now an established technique for mineral analysis in both exploration and mining. The Core Logger measures reflected light from a small area on standard drill core or chip trays which are moved by an automated X-Y table. Continuous spectral measurements are taken as the tray is translated in both X and Y directions under a mounted spectrometer. Minesight consists of a spectrometer with an optic fibre which is mounted on a double axis rotating stage with a 1 degree field of view telescope and custom software. Detailed spectral analyses of the various iron oxides and clay minerals found in both exploration cores and within a mine face allows the qualification and quantification of the abundance of iron oxides and kaolinite

Iron ore is a key source of export revenue for Australia. Nowadays, steel mills require iron ore with consistent chemical, mineralogical and metallurgical grade. Improved ore characterization is essential to respond to these increasingly stringent requirements. To address this problem two innovative spectral systems have been recently developed by CSIRO Exploration and Mining: (1) a continuous core logging system or “Core Logger” and (2) a mine face imaging system or “Minesight”. Both systems are based on reflectance spectroscopy in the Visible-Near Infrared (VNIR) and Short-Wave-Infrared (SWIR) wavelength range. Reflectance spectroscopy between 400 and 2500 nm is now an established technique for mineral analysis in both exploration and mining. The Core Logger measures reflected light from a small area on standard drill core or chip trays which are moved by an automated X-Y table. Continuous spectral measurements are taken as the tray is translated in both X and Y directions under a mounted spectrometer. Minesight consists of a spectrometer with an optic fibre which is mounted on a double axis rotating stage with a 1 degree field of view telescope and custom software. Detailed spectral analyses of the various iron oxides and clay minerals found in both exploration cores and within a mine face allows the qualification and quantification of the abundance of iron oxides and kaolinite

Keywords

Iron ore, Minesight, HyLogger

Iron ore, Minesight, HyLogger