Clay minerals characterization of the Miduk ball mill output through spectral analysis

Abstract

Porphyry copper deposits usually include typical alteration types, which are often composed of clay minerals. The mixing of clay minerals has a significant impact on their spectral absorption characteristics, and their identification and separation becomes complicated. One of the most accurate and widely used methods for identifying minerals is spectroscopy, which is a suitable alternative to traditional methods. Spectroscopy assists in identifying the mineral composition and classification. The aim of the following research is to quantitatively characterize clay minerals in mineral assemblage of ball mill output. Pure and composite samples were prepared through sampling from two alteration types and creating synthetic samples containing different percentages of clay minerals. Then they were subjected to spectral analysis in the range of 2500–350 nm and their output was subjected to necessary pre-processing. The results were used for classification by employing a hybrid algorithm. The analysis identified the following minerals in the Miduk deposit: hematite, carbonates, illite, biotite, kaolinite, chlorite and muscovite. Additionally, microscopic studies were conducted on the samples for further analysis. Finally, total and clay diffraction XRD analysis were used to validate the results.