How to achieve rapid elemental QC in critical minerals mining

Critical minerals, such as lithium, copper, and graphite, are pivotal to the energy transition due to their use in technologies like batteries, wind turbines, photovoltaic solar panels, and hydrogen fuel cells.

As a result, global demand for them is rising. However, with critical mineral ore grades declining around the world and their mineralogy becoming more complex, mining companies need fast and accurate quality control (QC) at all stages of the mining process to achieve efficient extraction and maintain profitability.

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis is the tool for the job.

In the third episode of our Critical Minerals Expert webinar series, Malvern Panalytical experts Uwe König, Alexander Komelkov, and Lieven Kempenaers discuss how our XRF portfolio can be used in the field, on-line, and in lab environments for rapid, precise, and versatile analysis of critical minerals.

Read our recap of the session below.

Key takeaways

• Increasing critical mineral ore complexity and declining ore grades necessitate the need for fast, flexible, and accurate QC analysis.
• XRF delivers rapid elemental analysis for both qualitative and quantitative QC, making it ideal for use in the field, on-line, and in lab environments.
• Malvern Panalytical’s XRF portfolio contains a diversity of benchtop and floor-standing instruments that can trade off high speed and high accuracy, depending on the needs of each stage of the mining process.

“Thanks to developments in X-ray technologies and in the computing power of our PCs, XRF is now widely used in the analysis of minerals – not only qualitative but also quantitative.” – Alexander Komelkov, Application Specialist XRF, Malvern Panalytical

XRF isn’t just for the lab anymore

XRF analysis was not always a widely used analytical technique in the critical minerals mining industry. As Lieven explains, qualitative elemental analysis was once only possible using floor-standing XRF instruments in large laboratories, unsuited to rugged mining environments.

Over the past four decades, however, X-ray technologies and computing power have advanced massively. Today, XRF is widely used for both qualitative and quantitative analysis of minerals in the field and on-line as well as in the lab.

Modern XRF instruments come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, from handheld to benchtop to floor-standing, and mining companies can pick and choose which XRF instruments best suit their needs during every stage of the critical minerals mining process.

Compact solutions that work in the field and at-line

To conduct analysis close to the heart of your operations, you need compact instruments that can withstand tough conditions. These smaller benchtop instruments use energy-dispersive XRF (EDXRF), which directly measures the energy of the X-rays emitted by a sample using a solid-state detector.

A slightly larger benchtop instrument is our Epsilon 4. More powerful than the Epsilon 1, the Epsilon 4 offers better analytical performance and faster analysis speed. With a 10-position sample changer, the Epsilon 4 can measure several different sample types in a single run, ideal for at-line analysis during grade control and process monitoring.

Powerful analysis for container and QC labs

For higher-quality analysis, there is wavelength-dispersive XRF (WDXRF). With WDXRF, the characteristic X-rays emitted by a sample are separated by wavelength using diffraction crystals, providing high spectral resolution, excellent precision, and low detection limits.

Larger lab-based instruments also typically use WDXRF. This is because WDXRF delivers the high accuracy essential for precise quality control and process monitoring, from beneficiation to export.

Balancing analytical accuracy with processing speed

As with any analytical method, there are certain trade-offs mining professionals must make between measurement accuracy and processing speed. Portable EDXRF instruments deliver fast qualitative data which is often all that’s needed in the field; larger WDXRF instruments are more sensitive, but often require more infrastructure, lengthening the feedback loop to your process line.

As Alexander explains in the session, this trade-off between accuracy and speed is also influenced by sample preparation. Loose powder samples give fast but less accurate results, while fused bead samples take a while to prepare but achieve the highest possible level of accuracy.

Recent strides forward in XRF software also help make XRF data as accurate as possible. The acceleration of AI technology is strengthening the automative powers of this software, making instruments faster, capable of higher throughput, and even more suited to remote mines and 24/7 workflows.

Rare-earth element XRF analysis: a case study

Alexander then discussed an example application of XRF for analyzing rare-earth elements (REEs). Malvern Panalytical’s REE package is a turnkey solution designed upon customer request, consisting of 22 reference materials required for calibration. This package allows for the analysis of up to 40 elements, including all REEs and several elements usually associated with them.

Do you have any questions about the topics discussed during this webinar? Please contact one of our experts.

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• How to achieve rapid elemental QC in critical minerals mining
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