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BQUANT 98: AN EFFICIENT SOFTWARE TOOL FOR BAUXITE MINE EXPLORATIONS

Kimmerle, F.M. Feret, F. Paré, S. Feret, B.

Preliminary analysis of mine exploration samples has traditionally been confined to the determination of elemental composition complemented by limited processibility studies. Detailed evaluation of the mineralogy through laboratory digestion simulations (and thus an estimate of the true value of the deposit) is usually postponed until the development of a mining plan. However, the initial exploration data, including older data limited to the four major oxides, can be exploited to determine the mineralogy of the deposit. Using non-linear programming, the BQuant software provides quantitative phase determination based on an elemental mass balance without having to rely on time-consuming wet chemical digestion nor deposit-specific X-ray diffraction or regression methods. It can even deal with overburden, clay floor and is independent of the exact geological nature of the deposit.

The BQuant approach is being used to characterise the Ely deposit (Northern Queensland), Jamaican and Boké (Guinea) bauxite mine sites. This communication describes the quality control practices implemented, the methodologies used and the data treatment involved. It describes the sample preparation steps followed by automated loss of mass determination, elemental analysis using ICP or robotised XRF fusion. It also compares the BQuant predictions with actual laboratory digestion results for the various geological deposits involved and provides estimates of the technician-contact time for the manual and the robotised analysis and data treatment.