A review of intelligent ore sorting technology and equipment development

Under the background of increasingly scarce ore worldwide and increasingly fierce market competition, developing the mining industry could be strongly restricted. Intelligent ore sorting equipment not only improves ore use and enhances the economic benefits of enterprises but also increases the ore grade and lessens the grinding cost and tailings production. However, long-term research on intelligent ore sorting equipment found that the factors affecting sorting efficiency mainly include ore information identification technology, equipment sorting actuator, and information processing algorithm. The high precision, strong anti-interference capability, and high speed of these factors guarantee the separation efficiency of intelligent ore sorting equipment. Color ore sorter, X-ray ore transmission sorter, dual-energy X-ray transmission ore sorter, X-ray fluorescence ore sorter, and near-infrared ore sorter have been successfully developed in accordance with the different characteristics of minerals while ensuring the accuracy of equipment sorting and improving the equipment sorting efficiency. With the continuous improvement of mine automation level, the application of online element rapid analysis technology with high speed, high precision, and strong anti-interference capability in intelligent ore sorting equipment will become an inevitable trend of equipment development in the future. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, transient gamma neutron activation analysis, online Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance techniques will promote the development of ore sorting equipment. In addition, the improvement and joint application of additional high-speed and high-precision operation algorithms (such as peak area, principal component analysis, artificial neural network, partial least squares, and Monte Carlo library least squares methods) are an essential part of the development of intelligent ore sorting equipment in the future.

Automated summary

In the context of scarce global ore resources and intense market competition, the development of the mining industry is greatly restricted. Intelligent ore sorting equipment plays a crucial role in improving ore utilization and enhancing economic benefits for enterprises by increasing ore grade, reducing grinding costs, and minimizing tailings production. Factors that affect sorting efficiency in long-term research on intelligent ore sorting equipment include ore information identification technology, equipment sorting actuator, and information processing algorithm. These factors, with high precision, strong anti-interference capabilities, and high speed, ensure the separation efficiency of intelligent ore sorting equipment. Color ore sorters, X-ray ore transmission sorters, dual-energy X-ray transmission ore sorters, X-ray fluorescence ore sorters, and near-infrared ore sorters have been successfully developed to match the different characteristics of minerals while maintaining accurate sorting and improving sorting efficiency. With the continuous improvement of mine automation level, the future trend of equipment development will involve the application of high-speed, high-precision online element rapid analysis technology with strong anti-interference capabilities. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, transient gamma neutron activation analysis, online Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance techniques will contribute to the advancement of ore sorting equipment. Additionally, the improvement and joint application of high-speed and high-precision operation algorithms, such as peak area, principal component analysis, artificial neural network, partial least squares, and Monte Carlo library least squares methods, are essential for the future development of intelligent ore sorting equipment.