Business Chief USA December 2019
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CLICK TO WATCH: ‘DRA GLOBAL OVERVIEW’<br />
213<br />
x-ray transmission (XRT) looks at<br />
the density of particles and does so<br />
by compensating for the size of the<br />
rock using two energy levels of x-ray,”<br />
explains Hilscher. “The technology has<br />
advanced to the point where we can<br />
look at the density profile of a block<br />
rather than the average density of the<br />
rock and use that characteristic profile<br />
to tell the difference between ore and<br />
waste.” DRA also deploys XRF, which<br />
provides a profile of the heavier elements<br />
and can detect copper, lead,<br />
zinc, titanium, zirconium and more to<br />
help determine the ore’s value. “If it’s a<br />
gold ore, it could be that the estimated<br />
gold value is determined based on iron,<br />
titanium, and zirconium, things you<br />
might not often think of being associated<br />
with gold,” adds Hilscher. “It could<br />
also be that the waste has a certain<br />
quantity of things that the ore does not,<br />
so you could create reverse correlations<br />
with the XRF.” Other techniques<br />
include the use of lasers which assess<br />
the brightness of the rock and its<br />
translucent characteristics. However,<br />
not all approaches are fruitful. Hilscher<br />
has worked on more than 40 major<br />
projects, where his team have had little<br />
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