Applied Mineralogy for Improvement of Sensor-based Sorting of Bulk Ores

The project focuses on gold deposits in the Arequipa region of southern Peru which are presently being exploited by artisanal and small-scale miners (accounting for 11-14% of Peru’s gold production). The proposed research includes a detailed mineralogical study of the gold mines and the ore concentrates, which have not been previously investigated. The objective is to help industrial partner Montan Mining Corp. (Montan) to develop a robust mineral processing flow-sheet for their mill in the region by providing detailed information about the ore concentrates and the mines. This information will allow Montan to increase the efficiency of gold recovery from various concentrates obtained from the small-scale miners and assist the miners in improving the efficiency and economics of their mines. The second part of this project includes a regional study on Montan’s exploration licenses, which will help to discover new gold deposits that can be processed by their mill.

Faculty Supervisor:

Lee Groat

Student:

Partner:

Montan Mining Corporation;MineSense Technologies Inc.

Discipline:

Earth science

Sector:

Natural Resources; Mining; Environmental Science and Technology

University:

The University of British Columbia

Program: