Mine site validation of a real-time fluorine mineral sensor

Project completed by CRC ORE: Optimising Resource Extraction which receives an allocation of MRIWA funds.

The Challenge

The presence of fluorine in many saleable ore products attracts a penalty and is thus an important consideration for short term production management. Current methods for real-time elemental analysis are either not suitable for light elements such as fluorine; or are offline with long turnaround times.

Key Findings

A non-contact optical technique that uses novel fluorescence signatures for real-time identification of fluorine abundance and mineral speciation is proposed. A proof-of-principle that exploits near-infrared (NIR) signatures from fluorine-bearing minerals has already been developed using the Upconversion Fluorescence (UF) research facility funded by the CRC ORE.

This project will build on science that is sufficiently progressed to create and test a field-deployable prototype system based on novel forms of fluorescence. Once established, the technology will be assessed for other known penalty elements e.g. P, As etc

Proposed Benefit to WA

The ability to better manage fluorine and potentially other penalty elements will reduce costs and improve the sustainability and competitiveness of mining operations impacted by these elements. Phosphorus is a significant issue in the Iron Ore industry and a pathway to better manage this is of significant benefit to WA.