Core scanner technologies: take everything without breaking

Abstract

Modern core scanning technologies, such as hyperspectral CoreScan™ or X-ray fluorescence (XRF) Itrax, which allow data acquisition without the necessity of breaking the core for speciality analysis, are receiving increasing interest in coal and CSG industries in the past few years. Such technologies are able to characterise and evaluate mineral matter in greater detail than conventional sampling and analyses, producing mineral maps and mineral/elemental profiles throughout the core. Although mineralogical information is the main output from both techniques, CoreScan™ has the ability of producing organic profiles that allow the recognition of the different lithotypes in the coal based on the spectral reflectance as well as rank, which makes a potential technique for coal quality. On the other hand, XRF Itrax core scanner allies the chemical elemental profile, from major to trace elements, with an X-radiographic image, creating a dynamic duo between stony partings and coal, and within the coal between bright and dull lithotypes, through contrasting image properties. These emerging technologies will allow coal reservoirs to be analysed quickly and reliably without subsampling that could introduce bias from the user.