In the process of mineral resource development, the beneficiation stage is the core link connecting ore mining and the efficient utilization of resources. With the decline in ore grade, the increase in mining costs and the increasingly strict environmental protection requirements, the traditional mineral processing technology is facing challenges such as low efficiency, high energy consumption and serious resource waste. Against this background, ore pre-separation technology, as an efficient and energy-saving pretreatment method, has gradually become an important direction for the innovation of modern mineral processing technology. The dissociation degree of the ore, as a key parameter affecting the separation effect, further determines the applicability of the pre-separation technology and the selection of equipment.

1.The Core Significance of Ore Pre-separation Technology

a. Enhance the efficiency of mineral processing and reduce subsequent costs

Pre-separation technology significantly reduces the volume of ineffective processing by separating waste rock or low-grade ore in advance before the ore enters high-energy-consuming processes such as grinding and flotation. For instance, through photoelectric separation or X-ray separation technology, the waste rock removal rate can be increased to 30%-50%, directly reducing the energy consumption of grinding and the consumption of chemical agents. Studies show that pre-separation can reduce the overall beneficiation cost by 15% to 30%.

b. Optimize resource utilization and promote the construction of green mines

Pre-separation technology can precisely recover borderline grade ores and reduce resource waste. At the same time, by reducing the discharge of tailings and the entry of harmful substances into subsequent processes, the risk of environmental pollution can be lowered, which is in line with the sustainable development needs under the "dual carbon" goals

c. Adapt to the characteristics of complex ores and enhance process flexibility

For polymetallic coexisting ores and ores with uneven particle size distribution, the pre-separation technology can achieve differentiated separation through multi-dimensional parameter regulation (such as color, density, electromagnetism, etc.), laying the foundation for subsequent refined separation.

2. The Influence of Ore dissociation Degree on Pre-separation Technology

The degree of dissociation refers to the degree of individual dissociation of useful minerals and gangue minerals in the ore, and it is the core indicator determining the selection of separation methods:

Highly dissociated ores (such as coarse-grained interwoven type) : The boundary between minerals and gangue is clear, and they can be efficiently separated through physical separation (such as photoelectric and heavy medium separation).

Low dissociation degree ores (such as fine-grained interwoven type) : Dissociation needs to be achieved through grinding. Pre-separation should be combined with the particle size distribution characteristics of the ore after crushing, and advanced technologies such as X-ray or hyperspectral identification should be adopted for identification.

Therefore, the selection of pre-sorting techniques should be based on the analysis of dissociation degree. If the difference in dissociation degree is ignored and a single sorting method is blindly adopted, it may lead to the loss of useful minerals or low sorting efficiency.

3. Technical Advantages and Application Value of Mingde Optoelectronics' Mineral Processing Equipment

As a leading enterprise in domestic intelligent sorting equipment, Mingde Optoelectronics has demonstrated remarkable technical adaptability and economic benefits in the field of ore pre-sorting, especially in scenarios with varying degrees of dissociation.

a.High-precision photoelectric recognition technology

Mingde equipment combines multi-spectral imaging with AI algorithms to quickly identify differences in color, texture and mineral composition on the surface of ores. For instance, in the separation of tungsten ore, the equipment can distinguish wolframite from quartz gangue, with a separation accuracy of over 98%, and is suitable for coarse-grained ores with a high degree of dissociation.

b. Dynamic dissociation degree adaptive sorting

For low-dissociation ores, Mingde equipment integrates X-ray transmission technology to penetrate the surface layer of the ores and detect internal composition differences. Take a certain coal gangue as an example. After the ore is crushed to 50-150mm, the XRT separator can identify high-calorific coal and gangue, achieving the separation of coal from gangue and enhancing the recovery and utilization of high-calorific coal resources in the coal washing plant.

c. Intelligent regulation and energy-saving design

The intelligent control system equipped on the equipment can adjust the separation parameters (such as separation accuracy and separation threshold) according to the degree of ore dissociation, ensuring stability under different working conditions. Meanwhile, its modular design reduces the energy consumption per ton of ore by more than 50% compared with the traditional process.

d. Application Cases and Economic Benefits

In a gold mine project in Henan Province, the Mingde Optoelectronics separator was applied in the pre-separation stage after crushing, increasing the grade of the raw ore from 1.2g/t to 3.5g/t, achieving a waste rock removal rate of 45%, and saving over 8 million yuan in grinding costs annually. In addition, in the separation of brittle ores such as talc and brucite, the equipment reduces over-crushing through non-contact separation, further enhancing the resource recovery rate.

4. Future Outlook

With the deep integration of intelligent and big data technologies and mineral processing techniques, the pre-separation technology will develop in the direction of "online detection - dynamic separation - process closed-loop optimization". Enterprises like Mingde Optoelectronics have continuously innovated to upgrade their sorting equipment to higher precision and stronger adaptability, providing technical support for the efficient development of complex mineral resources. In the future, through the in-depth integration of the dissociation degree model and the sorting algorithm, the pre-sorting technology is expected to play a more core role in the construction of "waste-free mines" and "smart mines".

Ore pre-separation technology is not only a key approach to cost reduction and efficiency improvement, but also the inevitable way to achieve intensive utilization of resources. Mingde Optoelectronics' mineral processing equipment, with its precise adaptation to the characteristics of dissociation degree and technological innovation, provides efficient and green solutions for the industry, becoming an important engine driving the upgrading of mineral processing technology.

Iron ore, as the basic raw material of modern industry, its mining and processing efficiency directly affects the stability and economy of the steel industry chain. In the process of iron ore beneficiation, the iron removal stage is a key step to ensure the purity of the ore. However, the long-standing technical flaws of traditional iron removers have become a constraint on the development of the industry. In recent years, the application of new intelligent equipment represented by the Mingde foreign object removal robot has provided a brand-new technical path to solve this problem and injected new impetus into the transformation and upgrading of the industry.

1.The technical bottlenecks of traditional magnetic separators

The working principle of traditional magnetic separators (such as electromagnetic separators, permanent magnetic separators, etc.) relies on magnetic fields to adsorb ferromagnetic impurities. Although their original design intentions can meet the basic requirements, a series of problems have been exposed in practical applications:

For magnetite transportation lines, the strong magnetic property of the ore itself makes the magnetic field of the magnetic separator a double-edged sword - it has to adsorb the mixed iron ore while avoiding misjudging the valuable ore as impurities. This is more significant in the transportation of weakly magnetic hematite: Although increasing the magnetic field intensity can enhance the iron removal effect, it intensifies the magnetic agglomeration phenomenon of the ore, which instead affects the subsequent grinding and selection efficiency.

The identification ability of traditional equipment for non-ferromagnetic impurities (such as aluminum, copper, plastic, rubber, etc.) is almost zero, while the types of foreign substances mixed in modern iron ore mining are becoming increasingly complex, resulting in a large amount of non-ferromagnetic impurities entering the subsequent processes, affecting the smelting efficiency and product quality.

The electromagnetic iron remover needs to be continuously powered on to maintain the magnetic field. The average daily power consumption of a single device exceeds 200 kilowatt-hours. Moreover, the surface of the magnetic rods is prone to wear by ores, and the machine needs to be shut down every quarter to replace components. Take a beneficiation plant with an annual output of one million tons as an example. The annual operation and maintenance cost of the iron removal process alone accounts for more than 15% of the total equipment investment.

The physical limitation of the installation height lays even greater hidden dangers. To maintain an effective magnetic field, the magnetic separator must be in close contact with the conveyor belt. This design directly pushes the equipment to the risk front line. If the discarded steel components are adsorbed and get stuck in the gap between the equipment and the conveyor belt due to their excessive volume, the high temperature generated by the instantaneous friction will not only melt the magnetic rod assembly but also cause the conveyor belt to break, resulting in the paralysis of the entire production line.

2. Technological Breakthroughs in Foreign Object Removal Robots

When magnetic screening reaches the physical limit, the Mingde intelligent foreign object removal robot integrating the intelligent sorting system has made a three-level technological leap of "perception - decision-making - execution", and constructed a brand-new impurity treatment paradigm:

Multi-dimensional perception system

Integrating hyperspectral imaging and 3D vision scanning (building a three-dimensional model of foreign objects), it achieves full-category impurity detection with an accuracy of 1cm.

Adaptive decision algorithm

The dynamic optimization model based on deep learning can analyze the ore flow data in real time and autonomously adjust the grasping path and force of the robotic arm.

Modular execution unit

Equipped with multi-functional end tools such as vacuum adsorption, flexible grippers and high-pressure air spray, it can switch the removal mode according to different physical properties of foreign objects.

3. Industrial Value Brought about by Technological Upgrading

The foreign object removal robot of Mingde Optoelectronics effectively reduces equipment wear and tear and damage to iron ore raw materials by dealing with hard foreign objects such as metal debris and stones mixed in during the transportation of iron ore conveyor belts. It extends the service life of conveyor belts by 20% and reduces the maintenance frequency of crushers by 45%. Meanwhile, by reducing the collision and wear between iron ore and foreign objects, the raw material breakage rate has dropped from 3.2% to 1.5%, saving approximately 18,000 tons of high-grade iron ore loss annually, which is equivalent to reducing raw material waste by 2.4 million yuan per year for a single production line. This technology also prevents flammable materials such as wood chips and plastics from entering the high-temperature processing stage, reducing the risk of fire on the production line. It helps iron ore transportation achieve the "zero non-stop" goal, saving over 6 million yuan in equipment maintenance and accident handling costs for mining enterprises each year, significantly enhancing production safety and resource utilization.

4. Emerging from the New: The Future Vision of Clean Transportation in Mines

When the first electromagnetic iron remover was applied to the Swedish iron mine in 1923, perhaps no one could have predicted that a hundred years later, the sorting technology would embark on the intelligent path of "de-magnetization". When the development of a single physical effect approaches its limit, the only way is to break through the disciplinary barriers and seek a breakthrough point in the integration of light, magnetism, electricity and computing. The impurity removal on the iron ore transportation line is actually a microscopic mirror image of the entire manufacturing industry's transformation and upgrading.

The intelligent revolution in the iron ore industry is unstoppable. The technological breakthrough represented by the Mingde foreign object removal robot is not only an iteration of a single device, but also a fundamental subversion of the traditional production logic. When mines start to examine every grain of ore with the "eyes of AI" and precisely remove impurities with the "hands of machinery".