Application of the Mineral Liberation Analyzer in mineral processing

The Mineral Liberation Analyzer combines an Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and multiple Energy Dispersive X-ray detectors with automated quantitative mineralogy software. SEM-based automated mineralogy tools are essential in measuring parameters, such as modal mineralogy, mineral locking, mineral association, theoretical grade - recovery and mineral liberation. Such quantitative information are fundamental to investigate the mineralogical characteristics of an ore and evaluate its mineral processing.
A carbonaceous apatite ore sample from Lao Cai deposit, Vietnam was used in this study. The petrographic, mineralogical and mineral liberation observations showed that the ore sample is quite complex, containing carbonate impurities (dolomite and calcite) and having very fine intergrowth texture. The fine intergrowth in complex apatite ores requires very fine grinding for liberation in flotation.