JPH04186157A - Mineral separator device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make fine segregation according to the nature which can appear differently, enhance the degree of segregating and refining, and also introduce automation by making discrimination and separation of mineral sorts on the basis of features on chemical composition or optical features obtained by a sensor part. CONSTITUTION:Granular minerals 2 obtained by crushing rocks and/or ores are put in a hopper 10 fully, supplied little by little to a mineral feeding device of vibrative type 11, and fed to the inlet of a selecting chamber 3 continuously one grain after another. The minerals 2 fall into this selecting chamber 3 one after another and pass in front of a sensor part 4, which grasps the features on chemical composition or optical features of each sort of mineral, and on the basis of this data obtained, a data processing/judging part 6 judges which sort of mineral it is. On the basis of the result from judgement, the minerals 2 are separated by a separator 20 of a separation part 5, distributed sort by sort to passages 3a, 3b, and accommodated in a mineral receptacle 13. Thus minerals having different features are segregated, and the degree of separateness and refinement can be enhanced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a mineral separation device that separates minerals based on their chemical composition or optical characteristics.

[Conventional technology] For example, in the field of earth science research, it is necessary to separate and refine mineral samples by mineral type as pretreatment for analysis, and in the field of mineral resources, it is necessary to separate and refine mineral samples by mineral type during the ore beneficiation process in mines. It is necessary to separate them accordingly.

Such mineral separation has conventionally been carried out based on differences in the physical properties of minerals, such as an electromagnetic separation method that takes advantage of differences in magnetism, and a heavy liquid separation method that takes advantage of differences in specific gravity. In all of these methods, the separation is based on differences in physical properties depending on the mineral species, so in order to actually perform separation and purification, it was necessary to repeat the process to increase the degree of purification.

On the other hand, although there are differences in chemical composition properties and optical properties, which are one of the essential properties of minerals, it is difficult to connect them to the effect of separation, and for this reason, in the past, such chemical composition properties and optical properties Mineral separation using chemical compositional properties or optical properties has rarely been carried out.

However, if it were possible to separate minerals using their chemical compositional properties and optical properties, it would be possible to separate minerals, which was difficult with conventional separation methods based on differences in specific gravity and magnetic properties, and to separate various properties. It becomes possible to perform fine separation according to the requirements, and the degree of separation and purification can also be increased. For this reason, it is necessary to provide an apparatus that enables mineral separation using chemical compositional properties and optical properties, and a separation apparatus that can perform mineral separation using optical properties.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the mineral separation device of the present invention includes a sensor unit that captures the chemical compositional or optical characteristics of minerals, and a sensor unit that detects the chemical composition or optical characteristics of minerals, and a The present invention is characterized by comprising a data processing/discrimination section that discriminates mineral types based on the discrimination results, and a separation section that separates minerals based on the discrimination results.

[Function] When the chemical composition or optical characteristics of a mineral are captured by the sensor unit, the data is sent to the data processing/discrimination unit, where the mineral type is determined, and the separation unit uses the determination result. The minerals are separated.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, 15■ is a supply means for supplying a predetermined amount of granular minerals 2, 3 is a sorting chamber for dropping the supplied minerals 2, and along with this sorting chamber 3, the minerals 2 are A sensor unit 4 that captures the chemical composition or optical characteristics of
A separation unit 5 for separating minerals 2 is provided, and these sensor unit 4 and separation unit 5 are connected to a data processing/discrimination unit 6 for discriminating mineral types based on information obtained by the sensor unit 4.
It is configured such that the mineral 2 is separated by the separation section 5 based on the determination result.

A vibrating mineral feeder 11 is provided, and the sorting chamber 3 is placed upright at the tip of the feeder 11, and the lower end of the sorting chamber 3 branches into a plurality of passages 3a and 3b. A mineral receiver 13 is placed in each passage 3a, 3b, and the sensor section 4 and separation section 5 are provided near the branch point of the sorting chamber 3. Note that 14 is a vibration means for vibrating the mineral feeder 11, and by adjusting the frequency r, the amount of the mineral 2 fed can be changed.

The sensor unit 4 captures the chemical composition or optical properties of the mineral 2 using an X-ray analysis method or an optical method,
It is equipped with a projector 17 that projects X-rays or light onto the mineral 2, and a detector 18 that detects secondary X-rays (fluorescent X-rays) or reflected light generated from the mineral 2. This is used when the combination of mineral species contained in the mineral 2 can be easily distinguished by the shade of color of the mineral 2. When the detector 18 detects the intensity of reflected light from the mineral 2, the information is processed and processed.
The data is sent to the discrimination section 6 and discrimination data is obtained.

In addition, if it is difficult to distinguish based on color shading alone, a detector with reflected light spectroscopy function is used, and the data processing and discrimination section uses the light intensity at the position of the light spectrum characteristic of 21 minerals. 6. Obtain the necessary data. In this case, by obtaining the light intensities at two or more positions on the spectrum, the mineral type can be determined more accurately, and if the data such as the intensity ratio is used to determine the size of mineral 2, that is, the reflective surface. 1. is narrowed down by the X-ray introduction tube and irradiated to the mineral 2 without being affected by intensity changes depending on the size of the mineral 2.

The secondary X-rays or fluorescent X-rays generated from the mineral 2 are detected by the detector 1, which detects the X-ray spectrum and intensity corresponding to the type of element contained in the mineral and its concentration, that is, the chemical composition.
Detected at 8. Then, data from these spectrometers set to measure X-rays characteristic of the elements contained in the mineral 2 is sent to the data processing/discrimination section 6, where the mineral type is determined. In this case, the intensity of the X-rays depends on the concentration of the element in the mineral 2 (also compared to the weight of the mineral 2). There is.

The fluorescent X-ray analysis method requires an X-ray source and consumes more power than the optical method to generate the X-rays. Therefore, it can also be used to further purify the mineral 2 separated by the separation apparatus equipped with the optical sensor section 4.

Further, the separation unit 5 includes a separator 20 arranged directly below the sensor unit 4 so as to face the branch point, and includes a separator 20 for data processing and
The mineral 2 is separated by a separator 20 based on the discrimination result in the discrimination section 6, and distributed to predetermined passages 3a and 3b. The separator 20 may be any device that can instantly separate minute mineral particles, for example compressed air, liquid, etc. It is now possible to instantly identify mineral types based on this data.

In the separator having the above configuration, granular minerals 2 obtained by crushing rocks, ores, etc. are filled into a hopper 1O, and then supplied little by little to a vibrating mineral feeder t11. 11, one grain at a time is continuously supplied to the population in the sorting room 3. The minerals 2 supplied to the sorting chamber 3 fall freely through the chamber one by one, and when they pass in front of the sensor section 4, the chemical composition or optical characteristics are captured by the sensor section 4, and the data is used for data processing and discrimination. It is sent to Section 6 where the mineral type is determined.

Then, based on the determination result, the separator 2o in the separation unit 5 determines that the particle size of the mineral 2 is 2o in mineral separation performed as a pretreatment in research in the earth science field.

Since the mineral grains are small at ~1000 μm, it is necessary to distinguish and separate each mineral grain, and the number of mineral grains per 1 sample is tens of thousands or more, so high-speed processing is required, and more than 10 grains are processed per second. Although separation is required, the above separation apparatus can fully satisfy such requirements.

In addition, the above-mentioned separation device can also maintain the part surrounded by the chain line of the supply means 1 in a vacuum state so that when the mineral 2 freely falls in the sorting chamber 3, it is not affected by the shape or specific gravity. Further, a glass window may be provided at least around the separating section 5 and the mineral receiver 13 in the sorting chamber 3, so that the separated state of the minerals 2 can be observed from the outside.

This makes it possible to separate minerals, which was difficult with conventional separation methods that utilize differences in specific gravity and magnetic properties, and improves the degree of separation and purification. Moreover, it is possible to automate the separation work based on differences in optical characteristics, which was conventionally possible only manually.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of the mineral separation apparatus of the present invention. 4. Sensor section, 5. Separation section, 6. Data processing/discrimination section. designated agent

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A sensor section that captures the chemical composition or optical characteristics of minerals, a data processing/discrimination section that discriminates mineral types based on the information obtained by this sensor section, and a A mineral separation device characterized by comprising a separation section that performs separation.