Automated mineralogy is a generic term describing a range of analytical solutions, areas of commercial enterprise, and a growing field of

scientific research The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century (with notable practitioners in previous centuries; see the article history of scientific me ...

and engineering applications involving largely

automated Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...

and quantitative

analysis Analysis ( : analyses) is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle (3 ...

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ( ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

s and man-made materials.

Technology

Automated mineralogy analytical solutions are characterised by integrating largely automated measurement techniques based on Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and

Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS, EDX, EDXS or XEDS), sometimes called energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDXA or EDAX) or energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDXMA), is an analytical technique used for the elemental analysis or chem ...

(EDS). Commercially available lab-based solutions include QEMSCAN and Mineral Liberation Analyzer ( MLA) from

FEI Company FEI Company (Field Electron and Ion Company, FEI) is an American company that designs, manufactures, and supports microscope technology. Headquartered in Hillsboro, Oregon, FEI has over 2,800 employees and sales and service operations in more than ...

, Mineralogic from Zeiss, AZtecMineral from

Oxford Instruments Oxford Instruments plc is a United Kingdom manufacturing and research company that designs and manufactures tools and systems for industry and research. The company is headquartered in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England, with sites in the United Ki ...

, the TIMA (Tescan integrated mineral analyzer) from TESCAN and AMICS from

Bruker Bruker Corporation is an American manufacturer of scientific instruments for molecular and materials research, as well as for industrial and applied analysis. It is headquartered in Billerica, Massachusetts, and is the publicly traded parent compa ...

. The first oil & gas wellsite solution was launched jointly by Zeiss and CGG Veritas in 2011 called RoqSCAN. This was followed approximately 6 months later by the release of QEMSCAN Wellsite by

. More recently in 2016, a ruggedized mine site solution for mining and mineral processing was launched by Zeiss called MinSCAN.

Business

The business of automated mineralogy is concerned with the

commercialisation Commercialization or commercialisation is the process of introducing a new product or production method into commerce—making it available on the market. The term often connotes especially entry into the mass market (as opposed to entry into e ...

of the technology and software in terms of development and marketing of integrated solutions. This includes all aspects of: service;

maintenance Maintenance may refer to: Biological science * Maintenance of an organism * Maintenance respiration Non-technical maintenance * Alimony, also called ''maintenance'' in British English * Champerty and maintenance, two related legal doctri ...

;

customer support Customer support is a range of services to assist customers in making cost effective and correct use of a product. It includes assistance in planning, installation, training, troubleshooting, maintenance, upgrading, and disposal of a product. Reg ...

; R&D;

marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to empha ...

and

sales Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. The seller, or the provider of the goods or services, completes a sale in ...

. Customers of automated mineralogy solutions include: laboratory facilities; mine sites, well sites, and research institutions.

Applications

Automated mineralogy solutions are applied in a variety of fields requiring statistically reliable, quantitative mineralogical information. These include the following sectors:

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

; O&G;

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dead ...

;

environmental sciences Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physics, biology, and geography (including ecology, chemistry, plant science, zoology, mineralogy, oceanography, limnology, soil science, geology and physical geograp ...

; forensic geosciences;

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...

;

agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...

;

built environment The term built environment refers to human-made conditions and is often used in architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, public health, sociology, and anthropology, among others. These curated spaces provide the setting for human ac ...

and

planetary geology Planetary geology, alternatively known as astrogeology or exogeology, is a planetary science discipline concerned with the geology of the celestial bodies such as the planets and their moons, asteroids, comets, and meteorites. Although the geo ...

History of the use of the term

The first recorded use of the term ''automated mineralogy'' in technical journals can be traced back to seminal papers in the late eighties early nineties describing QEMSCAN technology and applications. The term gained significant popularity after it was used to name a new international conference in July 2006.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Automated Mineralogy Scientific techniques Measuring instruments Mining engineering Natural resources Spectroscopy X-rays

Technology

Business

Applications

History of the use of the term

See also

References