Extracting mined ore, minerals or other materials using sensor-based sorting
First Claim
1. A mining apparatus comprising:
- a bucketconfigured to receive ore comprising one or more minerals;
an electromagnetic sensor system associated with the bucket for collecting data related to the ore,wherein the electromagnetic sensor system comprises at least one active sensor coupled to an interior wall of the bucket, andwherein the electromagnetic sensor system is configured to;
generate source signals,apply the source signals to the at least one active sensor, andcollect a response to the source signals from the at least one active sensor in the presence of the ore; and
a data analysis system communicatively coupled to the electromagnetic sensor system and configured to;
compare the response of the at least one active sensor in the presence of the ore to the response of at least one reference sensor not in the presence of the ore, andanalyze the data to determine a content of the one or more minerals in the ore.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of analyzing minerals received within a mining shovel bucket includes collecting data associated with ore received in the bucket, where the bucket includes at least one active sensor, where the ore includes one or more mineral, and where the ore is within a field of the active sensor. The method further includes determining a content of the minerals using the data, transmitting information relating to the content of the minerals to a decision support system, and sorting or processing the ore based on an output of the decision support system. Collecting data associated with the ores may include generating source signals, applying the source signals to the active sensor, collecting a response from the active sensor, and comparing the response with a reference or threshold. Other features are disclosed.
37 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A mining apparatus comprising:
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a bucket configured to receive ore comprising one or more minerals; an electromagnetic sensor system associated with the bucket for collecting data related to the ore, wherein the electromagnetic sensor system comprises at least one active sensor coupled to an interior wall of the bucket, and wherein the electromagnetic sensor system is configured to; generate source signals, apply the source signals to the at least one active sensor, and collect a response to the source signals from the at least one active sensor in the presence of the ore; and a data analysis system communicatively coupled to the electromagnetic sensor system and configured to; compare the response of the at least one active sensor in the presence of the ore to the response of at least one reference sensor not in the presence of the ore, and analyze the data to determine a content of the one or more minerals in the ore. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of analyzing minerals received within a mining bucket, comprising:
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collecting data associated with ore received in the bucket; wherein the ore includes one or more mineral, wherein the bucket includes at least one active sensor coupled to an interior wall of the bucket; wherein the ore is within a field of the at least one active sensor, and wherein collecting data associated with the ores comprises; generating source signals, applying the source signals to the at least one active sensor, collecting a response to the source signals from the at least one active sensor, and comparing the response of the at least one active sensor with a reference or threshold; determining a content of the one or more mineral using the data. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of extracting materials, comprising:
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classifying mineral ore into a first group, a second group, and a waste group based on a grade of the mineral ore, wherein the first group has a higher grade than the second group, wherein the second group has a higher grade than the waste group; separating the first group and the second group into first subgroups and second subgroups based on a particles size of the mineral ore, wherein the first subgroup of the first group has a smaller particle size than the second subgroup of the first group, and wherein the first subgroup of the second group has a smaller particle size than the second subgroup of the second group; diverting the first subgroup of the first group and the first subgroup of the second group into a final product group; sorting the second subgroup of the first group into a first sub-subgroup and a second sub-subgroup based on grade, wherein the first sub-subgroup of the second subgroup of the first group has a higher grade than the second sub-subgroup of the second subgroup of the first group; and diverting the first sub-subgroup of the second subgroup of the first group into the final product group. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification