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Mineral processing products must be verified in order to develop highly effective technology of enrichment. At every stage of mineral processing - improvement is possible through monitoring and verification of the components of processes. Process control is possible, among others, through comprehensive mineralogical analyzes of ores and products of their processing. Automated mineralogy based on scanning electron microscopy technique, like QEMSCAN® or MLA, gives opportunity to obtain complex data in a relatively small period of time. In these studies results of Polish copper ores investigation based on samples from 3 mining areas and 3 different ore enrichment plants are presented and discussed. Polish deposits are polymetallic, with copper present mainly in chalcocite, bornite, chalcopyrite and covellite. Other important metals such as lead and zinc are present in the deposit as galena and sphalerite. Presented studies are based on QEMSCAN® measurements of concentrates and tailings that give complex data about these processing products. Data obtained from each sample contain such important factors as mineral composition, particle size distribution, liberation of sulphides and mineral associations. These factors can be good indicators of upgrading processes efficiency and can define the reasons for reducing the quality of concentrates. Moreover mineral composition of tailings can indicate the causes of metal loss in the final product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polish sedimentary copper ore located in Lower Silesia (SW Poland) consists of three lithological fractions: sandstone, dolomitic and shale. The main copper-bearing minerals are chalcocite, bornite and chalcopyrite. The main carrier of organic carbon is shale ore. This part of ore is the main reason for technological problems in a metallurgical process. However, shale ore is the part of copper ore which is the richest in copper and other accompanying metals such as silver, lead, zinc, nickel, cobalt and other. The purpose of the presented research was to analyze the influence of organic carbon on the selectivity of copper upgrading in the technological flotation process. It was shown that the main reason for reducing of copper selectivity at each flotation stage is the presence of high contents of organic carbon, which circulates in the flotation circuit. It is connected with the recycling of difficult to upgrading semi-products, which cannot be removed from the copper flotation ore circuit because of high copper content. Moreover, the analysis of possibility of reducing the content and amount of circulating organic carbon in the technological circuits was carried out. For this purpose, the laboratory experiments of depression of the selected industrial sample in the presence of dextrin were conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of mineralogical research in microscale increases with the need of advanced characterization and detailed quantitative analysis of ores and upgrading products. Automated mineralogy technique connected with advanced scanning electron microscopy like QEMSCAN® or MLA give a possibility to obtain comprehensive information about mineral and elemental composition, particle size distribution, liberation and associations between grains and other quantitative and qualitative data for raw materials and products of mineral processing. These studies present stages of creation and development of specific mineral library dedicated to QEMSCAN® system and estimation of measurement parameters. Presented research is based on the results of investigation of Polish copper ores from stratiform deposit. The development of measurement procedure involved taking into account electron beam voltage, number of counts per pixel, field size, point spacing and many other variables that are described in these studies in details. Another important part of the whole research was to create and develop mineral library for QEMSCAN® - SIP (Species Identification Protocol). SIP development was based on element selection and mineral phases creation. The results obtained during our research have to help with better understanding copper ore processing results and hence technologists have the opportunity to improve the whole process and get better performance. However, the key to obtaining helpful data, is the reliability of the analysis, which was the goal of the research described in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effectiveness of enrichment process of run-of-mine copper ore (at KGHM's ore enrichment plants) depends on the selection of appropriate working parameters of processing machines which are customized mainly to fit the fed rock type. Therefore, the knowledge of lithological composition of run-of-mine copper ore fed to the ore processing plant can significantly improve the effectiveness of the enrichment process. The issue of optimization of enrichment processes with the help of the use of in-situ sensor technology (pellets carrying saved information) for determination of parameters of run-of-mine copper ore transported from mining faces to ore enrichment plants is the subject of international research project DISIRE. The starting point for considerations on the issues covered in DISIRE project is determination of composition of run-of-mine copper ore transported from mining faces to ore enrichment plants. Therefore, the simulation of run-of-mine copper ore flow within the selected part of one KGHM mine's continuous transport (belt conveyors) network was scheduled in DISIRE project. Simulation required the identification of quality and quantity parameters of run-of-mine copper ore hauled from drift faces to belt conveyor's loading points. Identified quality and quantity parameters of run-of-mine copper ore were analyzed in relation to their variability and mining department from which run-of-mine copper ore was hauled from. Conducted analyses were based on the data acquired from channel samples taken from drift faces which is stored in the mine's ore production monitoring system (MOPRONA). The average Cu grade in run-of-mine copper ore hauled from mining departments to specific belt conveyor's loading points was determined on the basis of Cu grade in each lithological layer (rock type) at drift faces. It was shown that on the basis of currently used methodology of lithology identification for run-of-mine copper ore hauled to loading points and storing the data in MOPRONA system it is not possible to accurately identify the parameters of final stream of run-of-mine copper ore as delivered to ore enrichment plants. It is due to the large number of variables (both geological and technological) defining the final quality of run-of-mine copper ore entering the ore enrichment plants, which need to be further investigated in details. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Polish underground copper ore mines belt conveyors are the most common transport facilities. In KGHM Polish Copper SA there are over 100 km of belt conveyors. To increase reliability of the transportation system there are built numerous ore bunkers ensuring continuity of the excavation during 5 working days of the week and on weekends, during which ore bunkers feed processing plants. In addition, some conveyors were built as reverse ones what in cases of emergency can provide alternative routes to supply ore to hoisting shafts. The modelling of ore flow in transportation system is complicated by the fact that conveyors operate continuously when loaders and trucks loading ore from mining faces on conveyors and vertical transport by skips operate cyclically. The real solutions resulting from meeting needs to achieve certain output with real capabilities provided by current machinery is difficult to model and optimize it theoretically in a such complicated transportation system. Therefore, a good simulation models can be used for that. Simulation analysis can be conducted in order to analyze reliability of transportation system due to emergency downtimes creates huge losses in production as well as in order to lower unit transportation costs due to yearly transportation needs are great (over 34 million tonnes of ore) and costs are high. Analysis of mass flow through transportation system allows to try finding hidden reserves to increase production without additional investments. Another aspect of the simulation research, which lately has got growing interest in mining worldwide is monitoring of ore quality changes along the transportation routes from mining faces to processing and metallurgy plants. Without the knowledge of ore lithological composition and useful mineral content on conveyor belts with enough time advance there will be no possibility to adjust beneficiation processes according to it. Possibility to trace and then to control mixing of ore from hundreds of mining faces in transportation system is necessary to adjust mining advances in order to attain optimal feed in processing plant and stabilize it for the time necessary to improve yield through adjusting controlled parameters and optimization of the whole technological line from ore identification and extraction through transportation to processing and metallurgical plants. Without good tools for modeling and simulation of transportation processes in such complex systems as exists in KGHM's mines and capability to trace quantity and quality of the ore loaded and transported it will not be possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deposits of the Legnicko-Głogowski Cooper District (SW Poland) are located in Permian sedimentary rocks. They are formed by accumulated cooper sulphides which occur in sandstones, shales and carbonates. The most important lithological layer among the mentioned ones is shale, as its level indicates the location of a deposit. This layer is characterized by a variable thickness which is a result of the sea bottom topography during the sedimentation of shale. Shale, as in the case of the remaining layers, is subject to cooper mineralization. The issues concerning the sources of mineralization and its ways have been thoroughly discussed within the subject literature. Absence of consensus in this matter indicates that the deposit of cooper ores appeared as a result of a complex, multilevel process, with multiple sources of mineralization. Within the context of theories concerning the origin of the deposit and its mineralization, characteristic of selected parameters variability will be presented. Research methodology will be based on, above all, statistical and geostatistical methods. The calculations will be conducted on the basis of the set of average values of cooper concentration. Data which are gathered from subsamples from vertical flutes coming from the side walls (channel samples). The results of the presented research will be of practical importance and will be confronted with the previous analyses, as well as serving in a longer perspective as basis for modelling and optimization of production processes as methods of rational deposit economy and mining production management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]