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Sorting materials using a pattern recognition, such as upgrading nickel laterite ores through electromagnetic sensor-based methods

  • US 9,316,537 B2
  • Filed: 03/14/2013
  • Issued: 04/19/2016
  • Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2011
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A method of sorting a stream of minerals, comprising:

  • irradiating a mineral sample with electromagnetic energy to thereby generate reflected, absorbed, or backscattered energy from the mineral sample;

    measuring the reflected, absorbed or backscattered energy generated by irradiating the mineral sample with a sensor configured to measure reflected, absorbed or backscattered energy;

    determining spectral characteristics of the mineral sample by performing spectral analysis on the measured reflected, absorbed or backscattered energy generated by irradiating the mineral sample,wherein the spectral characteristics include at least one of frequency content, wavelength content, or amplitude of the response data;

    identifying a composition of the mineral sample by comparing the spectral characteristics of the mineral sample to previously developed spectral characteristics of samples of known composition,wherein the spectral characteristics of samples of known composition are developed using at least one of;

    conditional random field algorithms, Bayesian network, one or more Markov models, neural networks, or fuzzy logic techniques; and

    generating a sort decision for the mineral sample based on the comparison,wherein the sort decision is used in diverting the mineral sample to a desired destination.

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