Machine Vision in Mineral Concentration

This book considers machine vision in the context of the mining, mineral and metal industry (MMMI), where one motivation for constant research and development is the large amount of ore processed on a yearly basis. This means that even a slight improvement in performance can lead to substantial economical benefits. Another point is that the development in camera and information technology has enabled the integration of machine vision based applications into the MMMI. The research was started in the late 90's with the development of an image analysis platform for flotation froths. Further studies resulted to a new type of on-line measurement technique that can be used as a supplement to existing X-Ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzers to reduce their typical sampling interval of 10-20 minutes to a virtually continuous measurement. Another field of research covered in this book is the particle size distribution analysis of crushed ore from a moving conveyor belt in a contact-free manner. The analysis is written through practical real world examples and should be of interest to personnel in mineral processing plants, to control engineers, or to anyone else interested in the subject.