CSIRO technology that allows rapid identification of minerals and improves the efficiency of mining operations has recently been installed at Brazil’s largest mining company.
The installation of QemSCAN at Companhia Valedo Rio Doce’s (CVRD) Belo Horizonte facility in Brazil completes the system’s penetration of the world’s four largest mining companies. CVRD is the largest diversified mining company in the Americas, with market capitalisation of US$11bn.
CSIRO’s Calvin Treacy says CVRD now has access to the world’s leading analytical mineralogical and metallurgy system.
“The technology is expected to recoup the million plus A$ dollar investment by CVRD in less than 18 months by providing the company with a deeper understanding of their ores and refining processes,” Treacy says.
“This is the twenty-third commercial QemSCAN system in operation around the world. The technology is currently employed at BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Anglo American subsidiary Anglo Platinum.”
QemSCAN, part of CSIRO Minerals, has developed and sold leading edge technology to major mining companies for the past 15 years. The technology involves the automation of a scanning electron microscope to rapidly measure particles, identifying the mineral species present.
“Mineral identification is based largely on chemical composition information obtained from x-ray emission, which are generated as an electron beam scans over the ore sample,” Treacy says.
“This technique provides detailed information on ores and concentrates that was previously not available by any other means.
Head of Electron Microscopy and Image Analysis at CVRD Rogerio Kwitko-Ribeiro says the system will be used primarily in the areas of ore characterisation and process optimisation in the base and precious metals areas of the business.
“The installation, commissioning and basic training of QemSCAN was completed in record time, taking only 10 working days from start to finish. I was impressed with the ease of commissioning and how quickly the system was up and running,” Kwitko-Ribeiro says.
“We have seen what other companies have done with this technology and we are confident that with this tool we can make significant improvements to our operations.”
In addition to the four resource giants mentioned above, the system has been installed by Phelps Dodge, Falconbridge, SGS-Lakefield and Mintek.