Traceability of Base Metals Ores Using Mineralogical and Microtextural Parameters
Résumé
The demand in mineral resources is increasing rapidly, but there is a lack of transparency in the trade of concentrates raw mineral materials because of speculation and involvement in the finance of armed conflicts. Because of the distance between primary extraction and the final production sites it is difficult to check the origin of these products. An identity card is required for mineral commodities, so that trading in the industry can be verified and the traceability of concentrates ensured. This problem may be considered as an inversion process: studying the products sold to identify the original ore. The discriminant parameters are mineralogical composition, identification of textural microfacies of the target minerals (pyrite, sphalerite and chalcopyrite), " pseudo-paragenetic sequence " , and the contents and distributions of minor elements of target minerals. Statistical tests are used to compare the chemical composition of three target minerals. The application to Volcanic Massive Sulphide ore deposits shows that it is possible to distinguish target minerals between ore deposits in the Iberian Pyrite Belt province and from the Urals province using the selected characteristics. Ore deposits from different provinces may be discriminated using the identity cards, as well as different deposits in the same province.
Origine : Accord explicite pour ce dépôt
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