A REAL-TIME COAL CONTENT/ORE GRADE (C2OC) SENSOR
This is the final report of a three year DOE funded project titled ''A real-time coal content/ore grade (C{sub 2}OG) sensor''. The sensor, which is based on hyperspectral imaging technology, was designed to give a machine vision assay of ore or coal. Sensors were designed and built at Resonon, Inc., and then deployed at the Stillwater Mining Company core room in southcentral Montana for analyzing platinum/palladium ore and at the Montana Tech Spectroscopy Lab for analyzing coal and other materials. The Stillwater sensor imaged 91' of core and analyzed this data for surface sulfides which are considered to be pathfinder minerals for platinum/palladium at this mine. Our results indicate that the sensor could deliver a relative ore grade provided tool markings and iron oxidation were kept to a minimum. Coal, talc, and titanium sponge samples were also imaged and analyzed for content and grade with promising results. This research has led directly to a DOE SBIR Phase II award for Resonon to develop a down-hole imaging spectrometer based on the same imaging technology used in the Stillwater core room C{sub 2}OG sensor. The Stillwater Mining Company has estimated that this type of imaging system could lead to a 10% reduction in waste rock from their mine and provide a $650,000 benefit per year. The proposed system may also lead to an additional 10% of ore tonnage, which would provide a total economic benefit of more than $3.1 million per year. If this benefit could be realized on other metal ores for which the proposed technology is suitable, the possible economic benefits to U.S. mines is over $70 million per year. In addition to these currently lost economic benefits, there are also major energy losses from mining waste rock and environmental impacts from mining, processing, and disposing of waste rock.
- Research Organization:
- Resonon, Inc. (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FC26-01NT41057
- OSTI ID:
- 841591
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 1 Apr 2005
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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