Morphometric parameters of sulphide ores as a basis for selective ore dressing

Abstract

To assess the possibility of selective disintegration and reduction of overgrinding of hard-to-reproduce ores, optical microscopic and X-ray microtomographic studies were carried out and quantitative characteristics of morphological parameters of disseminated and rich cuprous ore samples from Norilsk-type Oktyabrsky deposit were identified. Among quantitative morphological parameters the most informative are area, perimeter, edge roughness, sphericity, elongation and average grain spacing for disseminated copper-nickel ores; area, perimeter, edge roughness and elongation for rich cuprous ores. The studied parameters are characterized by increased values and dispersion in ore zones, which is especially important for fine-grained ores, which are difficult to diagnose by optical methods. Three-dimen-sional modelling of the internal structure of sulphide mineralisation samples was carried out using computed X-ray microtomography, which allows observation of quantitative parameters of grains, aggregates and their distribution in the total rock volume and interrelationship with each other. The evaluation of rock pore space by computer microto-mography made it possible to compare the results obtained with the strength characteristics of rocks and ores, including those on different types of crushers. The obtained quantitative characteristics of structural-textural parameters and analysis of grain size distribution of ore minerals allow us to evaluate the possibility of applying selective crushing at various stages of ore preparation.