Mining solutions
Mining solutions
Responsible and sustainable production, for high-quality products
Sustainable mining of natural resources is a cornerstone for our standard of living and prosperity. Mined materials have a wide array of applications. They play a critical role in construction (e.g., building frameworks) and power generation, and are used as commodities and minerals for industrial applications. They contribute to current green technologies – like wind turbines, solar panels, and electric vehicles – and the exploration of new exploitable deposits as part of the effort to counter climate change. And they are used to produce luxury goods. To play a positive and sustainable economic role in society, mined metals and minerals must be explored for, extracted, transported, and processed according to quality control processes that deliver safe and high-quality products. A wide array of Anton Paar instruments can contribute to every step of this development and production chain.
Instrument | Samples | Measurement | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Automated Multipurpose Powder X-Ray Diffractometer: |
| X-Ray Diffraction | Exploration: Optimize the mining process and effectively plan downstream processing requirements by identifying high-value deposits and the mineral forms present Exploration: Discover possible recovery losses ahead of time, to optimize the extraction process, by identifying non-extractable ore forms QC and grade control: Increase efficiency and stabilize plant conditions by selecting the optimal grade Ore processing: Optimize the operational efficiency of the mining process and the beneficiation process of the ore by rapidly analyzing the qualitative and quantitative mineral composition of the mined material Ore processing: Reduce the costs and environmental impact of ore processing by identifying the iron oxidation state via phase analysis of the mineral ore Quality control: Continuously monitor the processed ore quality in order to quickly respond to changes Tailings analysis: Reduce wastage and potential environmental damage by identifying compounds of value that can be recovered from tailings |
 | Mercury intrusion pore size analyzers: |
| Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry | Site evaluation: Evaluate groundwater movement and pollution by quantifying pore size |
 | Single-station gas pycnometers for true density: |
| Gas Pycnometry | Site evaluation: Evaluate groundwater movement and pollution by quantifying rock porosity Formulating well cement: Calculate target solid % and improve accuracy of Blaine measurement, to produce a cement with proper support and thermal insulation Formulation of drilling fluids: Obtain the optimum density for hydrostatic pressure and circulation Ocean transport of ore fines: Perform safety calculations to avoid loss of vessel at sea via evaluation of the risk of liquefaction for a particular load Settling tank/pond/basin design: Calculate the sedimentation times of tailings/washings for more efficient operation and lifecycle management to reduce overall costs and land use Froth flotation (separation of beneficial minerals): Optimize the slurry concentration from pulp density by determining the size and number of flotation cells for a given capacity Coal washability test: Maximize the economics of separating coal from rock and minerals by optimizing the density of fluids in float-sink tanks Quality control, packaging and transportation: Receive the correct volume of pulverized rock (ore) Tailings dam safety: Measure the density of dry tailings, saturated tailings, fines and slime for improved risk assessment Waste gypsum: Determine the suitability of recovered waste material for use in mortars, and calculate formulation |
 | Automated representative sampler: | Sample Preparation | ||
 | Microwave digestion system: |
| Microwave Digestion | Exploration of possible mining sites: Analyze metal content in mineral samples from exploration Waste water quality determination: Perform microwave digestion on waste water so that it is ideally prepared for further elemental analysis |
 | Microwave digestion system: |
| Microwave Digestion | Exploration of possible mining sites: Analyze metal content in mineral samples from exploration Sludge analysis: Perform robust and easy-to-use acid digestion of sludge prior to environmental trace analysis of toxicologically and environmentally relevant elements (ICP, AAS, etc.). |
 | Microwave digestion system: |
| Microwave Digestion | Mining and excavation: Dissolve rocks containing elements of interest prior to subsequent analysis (ICP, AAS, etc.) Refinining, extraction, smelting (=purification) of various ores: Perform fast and trouble-free acid digestion with high throughput, without contamination or loss of analyte Quality control: Perform fast and trouble-free acid digestion with high throughput, without contamination or loss of analyte Caustic leaching of bauxite: Simulate the industrial Bayer process on a lab scale to determine optimum conditions for the industrial process Extraction, refining and quality control of coal and graphite: Reliably digest highly reactive samples such as coal, coke and graphite, which require high temperatures |
 | Microwave Digestion System: |
| Microwave Digestion | Exploration of possible mining sites: Analyze metal content in mineral samples from exploration Refinining, extraction, smelting (=purification) of various ores: Perform fast and trouble-free acid digestion with high throughput, without contamination or loss of analyte Quality control: Perform fast and trouble-free acid digestion with high throughput, without contamination or loss of analyte Caustic leaching of bauxite: Simulate the industrial Bayer process on a lab scale to determine optimum conditions for the industrial process Refining, extraction, smelting of platinum group metals (PGMs): Long-term digestion of highly demanding PGMs in unsurpassed digestion conditions of up to 280°C |
 | Hot block digestion system: |
| Hot Block Digestion | Refinining, extraction, smelting (=purification) of various ores: Perform digestion of lead prill after fire assay or fusion process with 48 digestion positions at once Quality control: Perform digestion of lead prill after fire assay or fusion process with 48 digestion positions at once Environmental control of mining site and refining site: Analyze water and soil (48 samples at once) for contamination with harmful elements |
 | Rotational viscometer: |
| Rotational Viscometry | QC of drilling fluids: Smoothly transport drilling muds via determination of viscosity at rest and during pumping of bentonite |
 | Rotational Rheometer: |
| Rotational Rheometry | QC of drilling fluids: Smoothly transport drilling muds via determination of viscosity at rest and during pumping of bentonite |
 | Particle size analyzer: |
| Laser Diffraction | QC of drilling fluids: Maximize the (re)usage of drilling muds by detecting low-gravity solids (LGS) as they build up, via monitoring of particle size distribution (PSD) Ore grinding: Prevent energy wastage on unnecessary grinding, by determining and thus eliminating fine and ultrafine particles Ore grinding and separation: Produce uniform particle size to prevent ore separation bias, via particle size optimization to control the separation behavior Quality control of processed ore: Determine and monitor the particle size distribution of processed ore to ensure consistent quality of the final product |
 | Modular Compact Rheometer: |
| Rheometry | Hydraulic fracturing: Predict the flow behavior of the mixture of water, chemicals and sand used for fracking at high pressures and various shear rates Slurry transport (ore and tailings): Analyze and lower the yield point of ore slurry to avoid downtime of the processing plant and assure an efficient transportation process Slurry storage (ore and tailings): Determine the necessary shear rate to keep mineral particles suspended during storage Dilution of tailings slurry: Efficiently dilute tailings to enable pumping, while minimizing discarded material |
 | Powder Cells for MCR: |
| Powder Rheometry, Rheometry | Ore transport: Avoid issues during transport and storage of powdery materials by simulating mechanical transport Processed ore transport: Improve the pneumatic transport of processed powders by determining fluidization behavior |
 | High temperature viscometer and rheometer: |
| Rheometry | Coal combustion for energy production: Find out the temperature and composition at which a predefined viscosity (viscosity for flow down the reactor wall) is reached |
 | Surface area and pore analyzers: |
| Vacuum Volumetric Gas Sorption Analysis | Slurry stabilization: Calculate the proper amount of dispersant/stabilizer to reduce costs by eliminating unnecessary, excess dispersant/stabilizer |