Evaluating the application and limitations of element to mineral conversion to predict modal mineralogy: the development of a framework for its application
| dc.contributor.advisor | Miller, Jodie A. | en_ZA |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Becker, Megan | en_ZA |
| dc.contributor.author | Cupido, Ivana | en_ZA |
| dc.contributor.other | Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Science. Dept. of Earth Sciences. | en_ZA |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2021-12-02T20:46:54Z | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2021-12-22T14:27:29Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2021-12-02T20:46:54Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2021-12-22T14:27:29Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2021-12 | |
| dc.description | Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2021. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The quantification of modal mineralogy has become increasingly important in the modern mining industry due to active mines being forced into mining lower-grade and mineralogically more complex parts of existing ore deposits. The value of a deposit not only depends on the overall grade of the valuable metals, but also on the proportions of its minerals. Since different minerals show different processing behaviour, the modal mineralogy of a deposit governs the liberation, extraction and concentration of the valuable metals. Advances in automated mineralogy technologies such as QEMSCAN has provided a faster and more statistically reliable approach for ore characterization than previous techniques of optical microscopy and point counting. However, automated techniques often require extensive sample preparation, is expensive and time consuming and thus is often only applicable in later stages of a mining project. There exists a need for a technique to determine modal mineralogy that is relatively fast, cost effective and statistically reliable. In this study, element-to-mineral conversion (EMC) has been proposed as an alternative. To apply the EMC approach, the bulk rock chemistry and mineral chemistry of a deposit is required, two measurements performed in the early stages of a mining project. Thus, EMC may provide mineralogical information at the early stages of a mining project where this was previously not possible. Despite being a known technique for decades, it is underused and very rarely applied in the mining industry. The lack of its application may be founded on the absence of a framework for its application in the current literature. In this study, a framework has been developed to guide the decision- making process when applying the EMC approach for modal mineralogy quantification. This framework has been developed through the study and application of the EMC approach to eight different deposits, as sourced from the literature. Where the devised framework was applied and the routine design was optimized, an improvement in the modal mineralogy results and residual elements was observed. From the data compiled from routines developed by the framework, 85.20 % of the data showed a percentage difference of ≤ 30% and a correlation coefficient of ≥ 0.85, compared to 63.07 % for routines where the framework was not applied or only partly applied. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Geen opsomming beskikbaar. | af_ZA |
| dc.description.version | Masters | en_ZA |
| dc.format.extent | xv, 173 pages : illustrations (some color) | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/123892 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_ZA | en_ZA |
| dc.publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University | en_ZA |
| dc.rights.holder | Stellenbosch University | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Modal mineralogy -- Analysis | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Element-to-mineral conversion | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Mineralogy, Determinative | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Mineralogy -- Technique | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | UCTD | en_ZA |
| dc.title | Evaluating the application and limitations of element to mineral conversion to predict modal mineralogy: the development of a framework for its application | en_ZA |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_ZA |