Inventors:
Jon C. Yingling - Lexington KY
Rajive Ganguli - Fairbanks AK
Assignee:
University of Kentucky Research Foundation - Lexington KY
International Classification:
G06F 1900
US Classification:
700223, 700 30, 700 31, 700 36, 700 51, 700214, 700 37, 703 4, 703 14, 711147
Abstract:
With highly heterogeneous groups or streams of minerals, physical segregation using online quality measurements is an economically important first stage of the mineral beneficiation process. Segregation enables high quality fractions of the stream to bypass processing, such as cleaning operations, thereby reducing the associated costs and avoiding the yield losses inherent in any downstream separation process. The present invention includes various methods for reliably segregating a mineral stream into at least one fraction meeting desired quality specifications while at the same time maximizing yield of that fraction.