CanMicro: microwave-assisted comminution and sorting

选矿是在进一步加工之前将矿石中所含的矿物分离出来的做法。粉碎，或颗粒大小的减小，是矿物加工的第一个阶段，是在矿物分离之前将它们从彼此中分离出来所必需的。传统的粉碎效率只有1%，消耗了30-70%的采矿能源，它是通过使矿石受到外力来完成的，大量的能量损失在热、振动和噪音上。CanMicro流程使用微波将能量直接传输到所需的破碎位置，并在研磨之前对矿石进行分类以去除贫瘠的材料，将粉碎能量减少高达70%。其他好处包括减少30%或更多的尾矿（废物）产量，并提高了下游分离过程的生产率和效率。最终，CanMicro有可能使不可行的项目变得经济，并延长现有矿山的使用寿命，从而为加拿大人创造更多就业机会。尽管多年来人们已经认识到微波在矿物加工中的潜力，但扩大规模仍然是一个关键挑战。扩大规模的障碍包括缺乏对微波如何与矿石相互作用的基本了解，以及实现节能需要高功率和高吞吐量的事实。研究目标是对矿石的微波适应性进行基础研究，确定最适合微波处理的矿石类型，确定微波辅助粉碎和分选的操作重叠范围，构建一个原型（150千瓦，50吨/小时），可扩展到1000吨/小时，并通过中试工厂测试证明粉碎的节能和下游处理的好处。长期目标是将CanMicro技术商业化，这将坚定地使加拿大成为采矿业绿色微波技术发展的领导者。

Mineral processing is the practice of separating minerals contained in ores prior to further processing. Comminution, or particle size reduction, is the first stage of mineral processing and is necessary to liberate minerals from one another before they can be separated. Conventional comminution, which is as little as 1% efficient and consumes 30-70% of the energy used in mining, is accomplished by subjecting ore to external forces and significant energy is lost to heat, vibration and noise. The CanMicro process uses microwaves to transmit energy directly to the desired location of breakage and to sort ore to remove barren material prior to grinding, reducing comminution energy by up to 70%. Additional benefits include a reduction in tailings (waste) production of 30% or more, and the increased productivity and the efficiency of downstream separation processes. Utlimately, CanMicro has the potential to make unviable projects economical and extend the life of current mines, resulting in more jobs for Canadians. Although the potential for microwaves to be used in mineral processing has been recognized for many years, scale-up has remained a key challenge. Barriers to scale-up include a lack of fundamental understanding of how microwaves interact with ores, and the fact that high power and high throughputs are required to achieve energy savings. The research objectives are to perform a fundamental study on the microwave amenability of ores, identify ore types that are most amenable to microwave treatment, determine the range of operational overlap for microwave-assisted comminution and sorting, construct a prototype (150 kW, 50 tph) that is scalable to >1000 tph, and demonstrate the energy savings in comminution and benefits for downstream processing through pilot plant testing. The long-term objective is to commercialize CanMicro technology, which will firmly place Canada as a leader in the development of green microwave technology for the mining industry.