Malvern Panalytical, a global leader in high-performance analytical instrumentation and material analysis solutions, announced today that the company has received a US patent and Australian patent on its new solution for the multi-sensor analysis of complex geologic materials. The patent is centered around the ASD brand of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) solutions, including the TerraSpec® and FieldSpec® instruments, that are part of the Malvern Panalytical family of products.
The unique solution was invented to improve the characterization of natural geological materials. Many different analytical techniques are used to describe mineralogical and metallurgic response of mining ore. In the past, the results from these technologies have been used as individual data and could not accurately describe the mineralogy, metallurgical response, metallurgical properties, or other material properties as completely as the mining industry requires. The patented new solution allows multiple sources of data to be used together in a multivariate predictive model that can describe the ore characteristics better than any of the individual data could by themselves. Combining the data from a TerraSpec or FieldSpec with the one from another analysis tool, such as a Malvern Panalytical Epsilon 4 benchtop X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, will result in a 30% to 50% reduction in prediction error while maintaining high throughput, generating millions of dollars of value in operational efficiency and ore recovery.
“Many mining companies have spent large amounts of money on ore characterization. Our invention allows the use of various data that is being produced to characterize materials better than previously possible,” said Dan Shiley, Malvern Panalytical’s ASD SummitCAL Solutions Team Manager.
“We see this technique as a step-change for more efficient ore characterization. Many of the world’s remaining undeveloped deposits have problems which will require a very high level of ore characterization. This technique will allow difficult ore bodies to be more efficiently characterized at a lower cost than previously possible, resulting in development of new deposits that may or may not have been possible to develop without this technique.”
The technique combines spectral data from Malvern Panalytical’s ASD NIR instruments and other data sources, such as Malvern Panalytical’s X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometers, to enable the development of better predictive models for mineralogy and metallurgical parameters. The methods included in this patent combine both elemental and molecular analysis techniques that are very rapid and, in many cases, require little to no sample preparation. With this new approach, the data produced by Malvern Panalytical customers can be utilized to greater benefit in a way that has never been possible before.