A new technology is being trialled to improve the efficiency and ore output of mines, using atomic sensors to detect and separate valuable substances from the ore than surrounds them.

The IMS Engineering firm has been developing the sensor scanning technique after acquiring the technology from Germany’s Steinert Elektromagnetbau. Tests included de-stoning of coal by dividing the minerals from shale and stone. Sensor scans can also identify the pyrite or sulphur content of the coal.

“We send the product and waste through the sensor to check it can detect the difference. If it can, we know that more extensive testing, which may entail the installation of a machine on site, can be undertaken,” IMS Engineering’s Managing Director Paul Bracher said.

The sensor-sorting technology separates ore at the extraction stage and does not measure a particle’s density. Devices scan the particle and look at the approximation of the atomic weight of the particle instead of density, “In mining processes, the mineral is often small in mass and volume, compared with the ore body that contains it; and the fundamental element of mining processes is that you want to separate the product from the waste material. Traditionally technology involves some sort of gravity or density separation,” Bracher said.

Using sensors in this way should mean that ore can be processed faster and more effectively, saving time and energy on that part of the production cycle. The technique also uses no water, a further saving for mines if it becomes available.