A system and method were developed and demonstrated for online, essentially instantaneous analyses of ore compositions on a moving belt using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). In this method, intensity ratios of emission lines characteristic of specific minerals or ions are calculated on areas of the moving belt, with elevated contents of identifying ions or species being detectable. The ratios are derived from ions present in the sample that differentiate a first substance from a second substance, thus allowing sorting of the samples.
Michael Gaft and Lev Nagli, as Subcontractors to IMC Phosphates MP, Inc. November 2002.