High frequency electromagnetic sensor technology (HFEMS) is a ground-penetrating sensor technology that integrates with material handling equipment such as shovels, scoops, belt conveyors, feeders, chutes to measure and report the grade of the ore. Conventional sorting applications are also available to sense ore particle-by-particle to reject waste material below the economic cutoff instead of processing it in the mill. Through these and other products, MineSense will lead the industry in ore telemetry and upgrading solutions worldwide.

EVALUATION & ANALYSIS TOOLS
ConductOre™ is a desktop HFEMS evaluation system used at the MineSense laboratory and elsewhere to characterize ores for telemetry and/or waste rejection potential.

MineSense has also developed PreCalculatOre, a software program based on proprietary in-house models, where basic property data from the customer site is used together with the results of a ConductOre service test to estimate the potential benefits of ore telemetry and upgrading solutions at an order-of-magnitude level. Developed in partnership with Xstrata Process Support in Sudbury, Ontario, PreCalculatOre is a combined process and analytical cost modeling tool that can assess the potential economic benefits of applying ore pre-concentration techniques to existing or new mines. Complementary testwork and engineering services are also offered by Xstrata Process Support. PreCalculatOre was developed under the auspices of the Centre of Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI) in Sudbury, Ontario on behalf of its supporting organizations, including Vale INCO and Xstrata Nickel.

SENSING & SORTING EQUIPMENT
The total MineSense Solution is based on a suite of products containing the MineSense core HFEMS technology, including shovel-mounted, down-the-hole and sorting versions. In addition, other sensor technologies can be integrated into MineSense products creating more flexible solutions with wider ranges of applications. The following products can be specified and customised based on the results of a successful service test:

• BeltSenseTM: HFEMS integrated with belt conveyors, chutes and vibrating feeders for online analysis and ore diversion
• ShovelSense™: HFEMS integrated into the bucket of a mining shovel or scooptram for online analysis and ore diversion
• SortOre™ 40: conventional high-capacity particle sorter using an array of 40 HFEMS sensors

BeltSense™ is an industrialised, modular and scalable version of the ConductOre prototype and is a belt- or feeder-mounted HFEMS sensing system that monitors and reports the grade of ore passing over the sensor. Used in conjunction with a weightometer, total ore value (Wt%) can also be reported. Instantaneous or aggregate data on ore grade is passed to the mill via TCP/IP for use as a process control variable. Use of this data can improve metal recoveries and reduce reagent consumption in the mill.

The ShovelSense™ system comprises HFEMS sensors mounted on the bucket of a hydraulic or wire-rope mining shovel. Instantaneous ore grade monitored by the sensors determines an appropriate destination for the shovel load. High-grade ore as determined by the sensor is passed to the appropriate haul truck for feed in to the high-grade stockpile. Low-grade ore as determined by the sensor can be similarly designated for the low-grade stockpile. Waste material below a pre-determined cut-off grade is delivered to the waste trucks for disposal to the appropriate waste pile. In this way, valuable ore from the pit or stope is correctly identified and sent to an appropriate destination in the mining system, eliminating the commonly found situation of waste material incorrectly sent to ore and ore material incorrectly sent to waste, with consequent negative economic and environmental impacts.

SortOre 40™ is the first of a range of high-capacity HFEMS-based sorters. SortOre systems scan the ore stream particle-by-particle and compare the sensed grade to a predetermined cut-off value. Particles above the cut-off are accepted by the system for treatment in the mill. Particles below the cut-off are rejected and combined with previously determined waste material on the waste pile. In this way, the mass of the ore delivered to the mill can be decreased while simultaneously increasing the grade, leading to significant energy savings and improved metal recoveries in milling. Particles up to 125mm and with grades as low as 0.1% metal can be sensed and sorted.

MineSense offers a full package of services in conjunction with these products including assistance with sampling, service testing on ore samples, solution design, piloting and field implementation. Additional models including down-the-hole (‘DrillSense™’), marine, and consumer versions are also under development by the MineSense product development team. For more information please visit: www.minesense.com or email info@minesense.com