There are many factors that affect the effect of ore sorting, mainly including the following aspects: 1. Ore properties: The physical properties (such as hardness, density, humidity, particle size distribution) and chemical properties (such as mineral composition, chemical activity) of the ore are the key factors affecting the sorting effect. Different ores require sorting methods suitable for their characteristics. 2. Ore grade: The higher the content of valuable minerals in the ore, the better the quality of the concentrate obtained after sorting. Conversely, low-grade ore may require more complex sorting processes to reach the standard of economic utilization.   3. Sorting equipment: The performance, maintenance and operation level of the equipment directly affect the sorting effect. Efficient and stable equipment can improve sorting accuracy and processing capacity. 4. Process parameters: The setting of parameters such as feed rate, water flow rate, vibration frequency, etc. during the sorting process has a significant impact on the sorting effect. Reasonable process parameters can optimize the sorting effect. 5. Environmental conditions: Environmental factors such as temperature and humidity may also affect the sorting results, especially for minerals that are sensitive to the environment. 6. Complexity of ore: If the ore contains multiple minerals, the interaction between them may make sorting more difficult, and comprehensive sorting technology is needed. 7. Ore uniformity: Ore uniformity affects the stability of the sorting process. Inhomogeneous ore may lead to unstable sorting results. 8. Type and rate of impurities: The type and rate of impurities in the ore will also affect the sorting effect, especially those impurities that interfere with the sorting process. 9. Operator skills: The operator's experience and skills have an important impact on the sorting effect. Skilled operators can better control the sorting process. 10. Pretreatment before sorting: Pretreatment processes such as crushing and grinding have an important influence on the particle size distribution and surface properties of the ore, which in turn affects the sorting effect. MINGDE AI intelligent sorting machine takes the lead in using artificial intelligence means such as deep convolutional neural network (CNN) to analyze and process material images in the field of visible light photoelectric sorting, and automatically extracts multi-dimensional features of materials to establish a database through CNN local connection, weight sharing, multi-convolutional kernel and other methods in the training process, and the sorting effect is far better than that of traditional sorting methods,and it has outstanding performance in ore pretreatment, low-grade ore enrichment, and complex ore sorting.  

1. Production cost per ton of ore The total cost of production per ton of ore is the sum of the mining, beneficiation and transportation costs, enterprise management, concentrate sales, mine maintenance and inspection, and mining rights use costs allocated to each ton of raw ore. Mining cost: the cost of mining. Different development methods (open-pit mining, adit, inclined shaft, vertical shaft), mining methods, drainage volume, etc. all affect the mining cost. At present, the general pit mining cost is 20-70 yuan/ton. Ore dressing cost: Ore dressing cost is restricted by the selectivity of ore, mainly the consumption of ore dressing reagents and ball mill steel balls, tailings treatment and transportation costs (the trend is dry sand stacking and cementing filling). At present, the production cost of general stone dressing plants is 20-70 yuan/ton. Ore transportation cost: refers to the transportation cost from the pit mouth to the dressing plant after the ore is mined. At present, the transportation cost of ore in general mines is 10-50 yuan/ton. Enterprise management fee: Enterprise management fee is affected by the size and management level of the enterprise. At present, the management cost of general mining enterprises is 10-20 yuan/ton. Concentrate sales fee: All costs of transporting concentrate from the mine dressing plant to the delivery location of the smelter. The concentrate sales cost per ton of raw ore is 10-30 yuan/ton. Mine maintenance fee: According to the regulations of the Ministry of Finance, from January 1, 2004, a mine maintenance fee of 15-18 yuan will be extracted per ton of raw ore to support simple reproduction. Mineral rights usage fee: The resource compensation fee and resource usage fee required to be paid by the national and local governments, converted into the cost per ton of ore (usually 10-20 yuan). 2. Yield of concentrate (converted into tons of metal) per ton of ore (%) The amount of concentrate produced per ton of raw ore (equivalent to tons of metal) depends on the mining depletion rate and the mineral processing recovery rate. Mining depletion rate: Mining depletion rate varies due to different geological conditions, mining methods and management levels. At present, the depletion rate of pit mining in my country is generally 10-25%. Mineral processing recovery rate: Select indicators based on the results of ore selectivity tests in specific mining areas, such as 60-90%. Concentrate yield = (1-mining depletion rate) × mineral processing recovery rate. 3. Concentrate Sales Price The spot sales price of qualified concentrate (converted into metal tons) is generally the weekly average price of three-month metal futures, multiplied by a price coefficient (60-85%). 4. Determination of mineable grade For example, the mining cost in a certain place is 50 yuan/ton, the beneficiation cost is 40 yuan/ton, the transportation cost of raw ore is 30 yuan/ton, the enterprise management fee is 20 yuan/ton, the concentrate sales fee is 20 yuan/ton, the mine maintenance fee is 15 yuan/ton, and the mining right use fee is 20 yuan/ton, with a total production cost of 195 yuan/ton. If the mining depletion rate is 10% and the beneficiation recovery rate is 80%, the concentrate yield (equivalent to metal tons) per ton of raw ore is 72%. If the metal price, such as copper, is 60,000 yuan per ton, the pricing coefficient is 80%, and the qualified concentrate (equivalent to metal tons) is 48,000 yuan/ton. Then: metal price 60,000 × pricing coefficient 80% × ore grade × concentrate yield (converted to metal tons) 72% = 195 yuan. Ore grade = 0.56%, that is, the recoverable grade (average grade in the mining area) is 0.56% If the average price of lead and zinc metal is 16,000/ton, the pricing coefficient is 70%, the same yield and production cost, Metal price 16,000 × pricing coefficient 70% × ore grade × concentrate yield 72% = 195 yuan. Ore grade = 2.42%, that is, the recoverable grade (average grade in the mining area) is 2.42%. 5. Issues to note 1. The mineable grade is actually the break-even point of normal production after the mine is completed and put into production. If the mine construction funds (including the cost of purchasing mining rights, power supply lines and step-down stations, equipment investment, land, forest and water use costs, road construction, beneficiation plant construction, mine construction, office facilities, living facilities, etc.) are not recovered, in addition to repaying the principal, interest must be paid. This part of the interest is generally calculated at 10-20%, and the amount is also very large. 2. The increase in production scale will reduce the production cost per ton of ore. It is mainly reflected in the reduction of enterprise management expenses and the reduction of mining and selection costs after large-scale production. Source: Geological Miscellany

From 2010 to 2019, more than 200 new gold, copper, zinc, nickel, and copper mines entered commercial production, with an estimated total ore production of 22 billion tons. The lead time from initial discovery to production varies for each mine, depending on a variety of factors, including product and mine type, geographic location, partnership history, government and community needs. The average time from discovery to production for the world's 35 largest mines is 16.9 years, with the shortest being 6 years and the longest being 32 years. In order to avoid large data deviations, some mines are not included in the calculation of the time required for top mines, mainly because the projects were abandoned after the initial discovery. (Note: Data as of March 2020) Many factors affect the time it takes to deliver a mine The average exploration and research time for the world's 35 top mines is 12.5 years, almost three-quarters of the total time invested. Mines that spend the longest time in this stage usually experience multiple changes in ownership and research revisions. Generally speaking, top mines enter the mine construction phase 1.8 years after the feasibility study is completed. Ideally, construction can begin shortly after the feasibility study is completed; but for some mines, it takes another 3 to 5 years before construction, partly because they want to continue to increase reserves before construction, or face problems such as mining permits, licenses, funding and community protests. Of the 35 top mines, 20 mines take less than or equal to the average time of 16.9 years, among which mines in Peru have the shortest delivery time, with about four-fifths of the mines taking an average of 13 years. The Las Bambas copper mine in Apurimac has been in commercial production since 2015, when a large amount of porphyry copper was discovered in 2005 (skarn copper was discovered earlier). It is the mine with the shortest delivery time and currently ranks third in Peru in ore production. Australia has opened two mines in recent years, with an average time of 10 years. The Gruyere JV gold mine in Western Australia is a 50-50 joint venture between Gold Fields Ltd. and Gold Road Resources Ltd. It took only six years from the discovery of gold in 2013 to commercial production in 2019. Although there are many deeper deposits that have been put into production, Australia's deposits tend to be near-surface oxides that are easier to explore and develop. Although Australia does not have a fully integrated federal licensing system, the official assessment of exploration and mining is much faster than in other developed countries. As noted in a 2015 study prepared for the U.S. National Mining Association, evaluations of exploration plans and mining proposals in Western Australia were completed in just 30 working days. Environmental impact assessments (EIA) are completed by the applicant and submitted to the relevant agencies for evaluation, shortening the application process. Fifteen mines exceeded the average lead time. Chile topped the list. The country's three mines had long lead times during this period, averaging 23.7 years. Mexico followed with two mines, averaging 17.5 years. Canada and Russia both approved four mines for production during this period, and both had two mines that took longer than average: two Canadian mines with an average lead time of 23.5 years, and two Russian mines with an average lead time of 27.5 years. Russia’s Bystrinskoye copper mine took 32 years from its discovery in 1986 to commence operations in 2018. Like Australia, Canada uses a streamlined permitting process and timeline, but the permitting process can involve extensive community collaboration and environmental requirements that can lead to significant delays. Canada’s Rainy River and Dublin Gulch mines took 22 and 25 years to complete, respectively. Ontario’s Rainy River mine is owned by Rainy River Resources Ltd., which chose to continue exploration and feasibility work in the area when it was unable to finance mine development. New Gold Inc. acquired the mine in 2013 and has conducted the latest feasibility study, permit application, testing and construction. Victoria Gold also revised its feasibility study for its Dublin Canyon mine several times between 2011 and 2016, subsequently securing financing and commencing construction shortly thereafter. As a result, the average time from feasibility study completion to production for both mines was only 2.5 years. Most new mines are open pit mining, and copper mines require longer lead times Of the 35 top mines counted, 31 are open pit mines, with varying ore production capacities and mining cycles. The Las Bambas copper mine has an annual production capacity of 51 million tons of ore, and it took 10 years from discovery to production. In contrast, the Bystrinskoye copper mine, with an annual production capacity of 10 million tons, has a delivery period of 32 years. The average ore production capacity of the top open pit mines is 19.1 million tons/year, and the average delivery time is 17.4 years. Only two mines have both open pit and underground mining, and both mining methods contributed to production capacity during the trial mining period. The Kibali gold mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Sukari gold mine in Egypt have lower production capacities, with annual ore production of 7.2 million tons and 12.3 million tons, respectively, and delivery cycles of 15 years and 12 years, respectively. Some open-pit mines, such as Oyu Tolgoi and Yuji River in Mongolia, plan to increase underground mining in the near future. There are two other pure underground mining mines, Carrapateena in South Australia and New Afton in British Columbia, Canada, both of which have low production capacity of only 4 million tons of ore per year and an average delivery time of 13 years. Of the 35 new mines, 23 are gold mines (accounting for two-thirds of the total), 10 are copper mines, and 2 are nickel mines. Among them, the average delivery time for gold mines is 15.4 years and that for copper mines is 18.4 years. The difference between the two is mainly due to the longer exploration and feasibility study time for copper projects, which is an average of 2 years longer than that for gold projects. One reason is that, at least in the exploration stage, the availability of funds for gold projects is better than that for copper projects. This is supported by exploration data from the past 10 years. The data shows that the ratio of grassroots exploration to late-stage exploration budgets for copper and gold mines is an average of 1:1.8, which reflects the better funding supply for gold exploration. In addition, gold prices have been more resilient than copper prices over the past 10 years, which has eased capital flows for gold mines. In addition, the construction time of copper mines is also one year longer than that of gold mines on average.

Brucite, also known as magnesia, is a hydroxide ore. Its main component is magnesium hydroxide. It is one of the minerals with the highest magnesium content in nature.Brucite is a rare and precious magnesium-rich non-metallic mineral. It belongs to the trigonal crystal system and has a variety of appearances. It is usually flaky or fibrous aggregates. It is white, light green or colorless in color. It has a glassy luster on the fracture, a pearly luster on the dissociation surface, a silky luster on the fibrous one, a flexible thin sheet, and a brittle fibrous one. Brucite is a layered hydroxide that is widely distributed in nature and is widely distributed. It is mainly distributed in countries and regions such as China, Canada, and the United States. In addition, brucite mines are also distributed in Russia, North Korea, Norway and other countries. Canada and the United States are among the world's major producers of brucite. Canada's brucite is mainly distributed in Ontario, Quebec and other places, while the United States' brucite resources are mainly distributed in Nevada, Texas and other places. China's brucite resources are mainly distributed in the western region, such as Xinjiang, Qinghai, Tibet, Sichuan and other provinces and cities according to sedimentary strata. In addition, some brucite resources are also distributed in Northeast China, North China, Central China and other regions. Specifically, the total proven reserves of brucite resources in China have exceeded 25 million tons, among which Fengcheng, Liaoning, Ji'an, Jilin, Ningqiang, Shaanxi, Qilian Mountains, Qinghai, Shimian, Sichuan, Xixia, Henan and other places are important brucite production areas. In particular, Fengcheng, Liaoning, has the richest brucite resources in China, with reserves of up to 10 million tons. The proven reserves of brucite in Ningqiang, Shaanxi are 7.8 million tons; the proven reserves of brucite in Ji'an, Jilin are 2 million tons. Judging from the ore quality, scale and mining conditions of brucite, Liaoning Province has the best brucite resources in China. The brucite ore in Kuandian is close to the theoretical mass of brucite (%): MgO 66.44, H2O 29.00, SiO2 0.80, Al2O3 0.21, Fe2O3 0.73. Brucite has a variety of uses and applications, from industrial processes to environmental and technical applications. The following are some of the main uses of brucite: (1)  Extraction of magnesium and magnesium oxide The magnesium oxide content in brucite ore is high and has few impurities; the decomposition temperature is low; the volatile matter produced when heated is non-toxic and harmless, so magnesium and magnesium oxide and other products can be extracted from brucite. (2) Dead-burned magnesia Dead-burned magnesia made from brucite has the advantages of high density (greater than 3.55g/cm3), high refractoriness (greater than 2800℃), high chemical inertness and high thermal shock stability. It is widely used in the production of key parts such as furnace linings and furnace bottoms, especially in the steel and non-ferrous metal smelting industries. (3) Light magnesium oxide Light magnesium oxide is extracted from low-grade brucite rock by chemical methods. (4) Fused periclase It is a special pure product required by high-tech electronic products. The periclase aggregate refined by brucite by electric fusion has high thermal conductivity and good electrical insulation, and the product life is increased by 2~3 times. (5) Chemically pure magnesium reagent Mainly use the electric heating method to extract metallic magnesium and prepare chemically pure reagents such as MgCl2, MgSO4, and Mg(NO3)2. At the same time, it can be used to make high corrosion resistance agents and is widely used in the electroplating industry. (6) Reinforcement materials Bruceite can be used as a substitute for chrysotile in some fields, and is used in mid-range thermal insulation materials such as microporous calcium silicate and calcium silicate board. The basic formula is: diatomaceous earth, lime slurry, water glass, bruceite. The content of bruceite is 8%~10%. The product has high whiteness, beautiful appearance and low bulk density. At the same time, due to the repeatability, corrosion resistance, high hardness and good mechanical strength of brucite, it can be used as an additive to improve the strength and hardness of cement and enhance the durability of concrete. In addition, brucite can also slow down the gel phase generation rate of concrete, thereby delaying the degradation process of the structure. (7) Papermaking filler Brucite has high whiteness, good flaking, strong adhesion and poor water absorption. Using it in combination with calcite as a papermaking filler can change the papermaking process from acid method to alkali method and reduce the pollution of slurry water. (8) Flame retardant As a fibrous variant of brucite, fibrous brucite contains about 30% of crystal water and has a low decomposition temperature (450℃, static about 350℃). It is widely used in flame retardant products with its good heat resistance and flame retardancy. (9) Environmental protection application Due to its composition characteristics, brucite presents moderate alkalinity and can be used as an acidic wastewater neutralizer. It is used to purify acidic substances in wastewater and waste gas, effectively reduce pollutants such as acid rain and acidic waste gas, and thus protect the environment. In the process of neutralizing acidic substances, brucite also has a certain buffering capacity. (10) Water treatment Brucite also plays an important role in the field of water treatment. It can be used to remove hardness ions in water, prevent the formation of scale, and protect water treatment equipment. In addition, brucite can also be used for deoxygenation, adjusting the pH value of water and buffering water quality, thereby improving and optimizing water quality. In general, brucite has a wide range of uses, covering many fields such as construction, metal smelting, chemistry, water treatment, medicine, environmental protection and food industry. In order to improve the utilization value of brucite, we generally use brucite of different grades. Generally speaking, brucite is used as a raw material for magnesium salts, basic magnesium salts, magnesium oxide and other products, and the grade of brucite is relatively high. In some specific applications, such as making refractory materials and flame retardants, the grade requirements for brucite may be relatively low. In order to improve the grade of brucite, we can use crushing, dissociation and sorting to sort out the associated minerals in brucite to achieve the purpose of improving the grade of brucite. Common associated minerals in brucite are mainly serpentine, calcite, dolomite, magnesite, magnesium silicate minerals, periclase, diopside and talc. Specifically, serpentine in the associated mineral is a hydrated magnesium silicate mineral, usually yellow-green or dark green, with a glassy or silky luster. Calcite is a calcium carbonate mineral with a glassy luster and low hardness. Dolomite is a carbonate mineral, similar to calcite, but with a higher magnesium content in its chemical composition. Magnesite is a magnesium carbonate mineral with a glassy luster and low hardness. By taking advantage of the surface feature differences between its associated minerals and brucite, we use photoelectric sorting equipment for sorting, which can effectively remove most of the dissociated associated minerals, improve the grade of brucite ore, and create higher economic value for mining companies. For some brucite mining companies, after long-term mining, there is no good sorting method in the particle ore stage, resulting in about 30~40% of the concentrate with a grade of more than 60 in the tailings pond. With the development of artificial intelligence and photoelectric mineral processing technology in recent years, the technical level and equipment maturity have been widely recognized by the market and applied in the sorting of brucite tailings. In particular, Mingde Optoelectronics' artificial intelligence sorting equipment can accurately identify associated minerals such as brucite, serpentine, and dolomite, and sort them by taking pictures, training, learning, and modeling the ore to be selected. MINGDE Optoelectronics is an enterprise focusing on ore sorting technology. The artificial intelligence sorting machine developed by it is applied to the sorting process of brucite. The equipment uses advanced image recognition technology and artificial intelligence algorithms to efficiently and accurately grade the quality of brucite, remove impurities, and improve the quality of the original ore. In summary, MINGDE Optoelectronics' artificial intelligence sorting machine plays a key role in the sorting of brucite. It optimizes the traditional mineral processing process through intelligent technology, improves the sorting accuracy and efficiency, and contributes to the sustainable use of resources.

Overview Ore pretreatment and enrichment are key links in improving the utilization efficiency of mineral resources, especially in the current situation of increasingly tight global mineral resources, its importance is becoming more and more prominent. Pretreatment mainly includes crushing, grinding, screening, primary selection and other processes, aiming to improve the properties of ore and prepare for further beneficiation processes. Enrichment is to separate valuable minerals from ore by physical, chemical or biological methods to improve their grade and recovery rate. Research progress of pretreatment technology The development trend of pretreatment technology is to improve efficiency and reduce costs while paying attention to environmental protection and sustainability. The high-pressure roller mill pretreatment technology in the crushing stage improves the dissociation degree and grinding efficiency of the ore through high pressure and slow relative movement. The pre-waste technology in the primary selection stage refers to separating a part of waste rock or low-grade ore in the early stage of ore processing to reduce energy consumption and cost in subsequent processing. For example, by pre-selecting and discarding waste, the amount of ore entering the subsequent process can be reduced, saving a lot of subsequent process costs. At the same time, the pre-discarded waste tailings can be used as building aggregates and mine backfill without grinding, which has certain economic value and environmental value. Through pretreatment and pre-selection, the grade of ore can be improved, the amount of ore entering the mill can be reduced, and the tailings can be discarded in advance, thereby improving resource utilization and reducing energy consumption and environmental pollution. Ore photoelectric sorting technology is an important branch of the current ore sorting field. It uses different physical properties of ore, such as color, texture, density, etc., to achieve effective ore sorting, which is of great significance for ore pretreatment. Research progress of enrichment technology Ore enrichment technology can increase the content of useful components in ore, thereby improving resource utilization. For example, through pretreatment and enrichment technology, the original low-grade ore can be made usable, the loss of mineral resources can be reduced, the import volume of mineral resources can be reduced, and the resource utilization of low-grade ore and stockpiled waste can be realized. Ore enrichment can also reduce the processing cost and energy consumption of ore. For example, through pre-enrichment technology, the amount of subsequent grinding-flotation ore processing can be reduced, production costs can be reduced, and the economic benefits of the enterprise can be improved. At the same time, ore enrichment technology also has extremely high environmental and social benefits. In terms of environmental effects, through scientific ore enrichment and ore deposit analysis, environmental pollution can be reduced, the ecological environment can be protected, resources can be recycled, and the service life of resources can be extended. In terms of social benefits, the innovation of ore enrichment technology has promoted the upgrading of the mining industry. The development of intelligent mineral processing technology, such as intelligent mineral processing and intelligent monitoring, has improved the efficiency and accuracy of mineral processing, reduced labor costs, and promoted the transformation of the mining industry towards high efficiency and environmental protection. On the other hand, through ore enrichment, employment opportunities can be increased and the living standards of local residents can be improved. Among them, photoelectric sorting is particularly representative in ore enrichment. By analyzing the surface characteristics of the ore to be processed, the ore is preliminarily sorted, thereby realizing pollution-free and efficient intelligent sorting. Photoelectric sorting has the advantages of high efficiency, low cost, and green environmental protection. It can save freight and reagent costs in the flotation link and extend the service life of the tailings pond. In addition, the mining boundary grade can be reduced and the amount of recoverable resources can be increased. https://www.mdoresorting.com/mingde-ai-sorting-machine-separate-quartzmicafeldspar-from-pegmatite Mingde Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. is the first to introduce artificial intelligence and big data technology in the field of visible light photoelectric sorting, which broadens the adaptability of the machine and allows the photoelectric sorting machine to sort more types of ores. The machine uses a gigapascal camera to further improve the sorting accuracy of the machine, and the introduction of heavy-duty machines enables the machine to process 100 tons per hour. These pioneering measures make our machines more suitable for mining companies and make ore sorting better and faster. Conclusion In summary, ore pretreatment and enrichment technology plays an important role in improving the utilization efficiency of mineral resources, reducing production costs, and promoting environmental protection and sustainable development. With the continuous emergence and application of new technologies, pretreatment and enrichment technology will continue to develop in the direction of high efficiency, environmental protection, and low cost, and contribute to the sustainable development of the mining industry.