Sorting mined material on the basis of two or more properties of the material

摘要

A method and an apparatus for sorting mined material is based on using a range of options for sensing multiple properties of a mined material on a fragment by fragment basis and then analyzing the multiple types of data and making decisions about the classification of each fragment and then sorting the fragment based on the analysis. The multiple sensing options include the response of the fragments to electromagnetic radiation. Other sensing options may include sensors that look at the response of fragments of a mined material to an acoustic wave or a magnetic field or optical sensors that evaluate texture or other surface characteristics of fragments.

主权项

1. A method of sorting mined material comprising the steps of:
(a) exposing individual fragments of mined material to electromagnetic radiation, with the selection of exposure parameters being based on known information on the mined material and downstream processing options for the mined material; (b) sensing at least two different properties of each fragment that provide information about the fragment using multiple sensors located within and/or downstream of an exposure chamber for electromagnetic radiation and generating data relating to the sensed properties, with the sensing step comprising sensing the thermal response of each fragment to exposure to electromagnetic radiation; (c) processing the data for each fragment and classifying the fragment for sorting and/or downstream processing of the fragment, and (d) sorting the fragment based on the classification assessment.