Extracting mined ore, minerals or other materials using sensor-based sorting

• US 9,958,407 B2
• Filed: 02/10/2016
• Issued: 05/01/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: MineSense Technologies Ltd.
• Original Assignee: MineSense Technologies Ltd.
• Inventors: Bamber, Andrew Sherliker, Houlahan, Darcy James
• Primary Examiner(s): Logan, Kyle O
• Application Number:
  US15/040,991
• Publication Number:
  US 20160299091A1
• Time in Patent Office: 811 Days
• Field of Search: 700223
• CPC Class Codes: B02C 23/08 Separating or sorting of material, associated with crushing or disintegrating B02C23/18 takes precedence ; beater mills combined with sifting devices B02C13/13, B02C13/14; for tumbling mills B02C17/1835
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 5/00 Sorting according to a characteristic or feature of the articles or material being sorted, e.g. by control effected by devices which detect or measure such characteristic or feature; Sorting by manually actuated devices, e.g. switches sorting by hand only B07C7/00; separating solids from solids by sieving, screening, or sifting or by using gas currents or other separating by dry methods applicable to bulk material B07B
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 5/344 according to electric or electromagnetic properties sorting according to size measured electrically or electronically B07C5/08; material testing by magnetic means G01N24/00, G01N27/00, by electrical means G01N27/00; electrical measuring devices in general G01R; coin testing G07D5/00
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 3/28 with digging tools mounted on a dipper- or bucket-arm , i.e. there is either one arm or a pair of arms, e.g. dippers, buckets
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 3/40 Dippers; Buckets ; Grab devices, e.g. manufacturing processes for buckets, form, geometry or material of buckets devices to connect tools to arms or booms E02F3/3604; teeth therefor E02F9/28
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 7/06 Delivery chutes or screening plants or mixing plants mounted on dredgers or excavators for back-filling E02F5/226 takes precedence; separating equipment in general B03; delivery chutes in general B65G
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/26 Indicating devices E02F5/145 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/265 with follow-up actions (e.g. control signals sent to actuate the work tool)
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/025 a current being generated within the material by induction
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/24 Earth materials G01N33/42 takes precedence

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.

Claims

1. A replaceable sensor for detecting mineral in ore comprising:

at least one sensing coil;

at least one reference coil;

a waveform generator; and

at least one substrate to carry the at least one sensing coil,

wherein the substrate is configured to be removably secured to a bucket,

wherein the bucket is sized to carry ore,

wherein the sensor is configured to provide a response in response to receiving a waveform signal generated by the waveform generator, and

wherein the sensor is configured to produce a signal indicative of the content of the minerals in the ore in the bucket, the signal being generated by the at least one sensing coil and the at least one reference coil.

2. The replaceable sensor of claim 1, wherein the at least one sensing coil comprises one or more arrays of sensing coils, and wherein a reference coil is provided for each array of sensing coils.

3. The replaceable sensor of claim 1, wherein the at least one sensing coil comprises one or more arrays of sensing coils.

4. The replaceable sensor of claim 1, wherein the at least one sensing coil is configured to produce a sensing coil field that completely penetrates the ore to be examined.

5. The replaceable sensor of claim 1, wherein the reference sensor is physically isolated from the ore to be examined.

6. The replaceable sensor of claim 1, wherein the waveform generator is an arbitrary waveform generator configured to output a user-selected arbitrary waveform, and wherein the arbitrary waveform generator is configured to produce user-selected arbitrary waveforms selected from the group consisting of:

single frequency signals of specificable shape, amplitude or frequency;

composite signals of multiple frequencies;

frequency sweep signals with specificable range; and

DC signals.

7. The replaceable sensor of claim 1, wherein the waveform generator is an arbitrary waveform generator configured to output a user-selected arbitrary waveform.

8. The replaceable sensor of claim 1, wherein the waveform generator is programmed to generate a frequency or frequencies to which the ore to be examined has shown a response.

9. The replaceable sensor of claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises annular grooves into which each of the at least one sensing coils is disposed.

10. The replaceable sensor of claim 1, further comprising electrostatic shields above and below the at least one sensing coil.

11. The replaceable sensor of claim 1, wherein the substrate is made from a polycarbonate material.

12. The replaceable sensor of claim 1, further comprising a housing into which the at least one sensing coil, the at least one reference coil, the waveform generator, and the substrate are disposed, and wherein the housing is made from ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene.

13. The replaceable sensor of claim 1, further comprising a housing into which the at least one sensing coil, the at least one reference coil, the waveform generator, and the substrate are disposed.

14. The replaceable sensor of claim 1, wherein the replaceable sensor is configured to transmit the signal to processing equipment located remote from the replaceable sensor.

15. The replaceable sensor of claim 1, wherein the signal comprises a voltage signal of magnitude, phase, or both related to change in resistive and reactive components of the at least one sensing coil impedance and, wherein the signal further comprises a reference of the waveform sent to the at least one sensing coil and the at least one reference coil.

16. The replaceable sensor of claim 1 wherein the signal comprises a voltage signal of magnitude, phase, or both related to change in resistive and reactive components of the at least one sensing coil impedance.

17. The replaceable sensor of claim 1, wherein the replaceable sensor further comprises an input filter stage, a pre-amplifier stage, and a power amplifier with differential output, and wherein a waveform generated by the waveform generator is processed through the input filter stage, the pre-amplifier stage, and the power amplifier with differential output.

18. The replaceable sensor of claim 1, wherein the replaceable sensor is a high frequency electromagnetic spectrometer (HFEMS) sensor.