Ore texture breakage characterization and fragmentation into multiphase particles

The ore texture and the progeny particles after a breakage in the comminution have been a subject of interest in mineral liberation studies and are the missing link between geology and mineral processing in the concept of geometallurgy. A new method called Association Indicator Matrix (AIM) established based on co-occurrence matrix was introduced to quantify the mineral association of ore texture and its progeny particles. The Association Indicator Matrix can be used as a criterion for classifying ore texture as well as analyzing breakage behavior of ore texture. Within the study, the outcome of breakage analysis with Association Indicator Matrix was used to forecast particle population of iron ore texture after crushing. The particle size of forecasted particles was taken from experimental and frequency of breakage in phases was defined based on Association Indicator and liberation of minerals. Comparison of liberation distribution of iron oxide minerals from experimental and forecasted population shows a satisfactory agreement. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.