(Editor’s Note: Traditional rock and mineral analysis tests are primarily based on elemental analysis, from which compounds are inferred. For minerals, this approach is indirect. The mining industry has long been eager for a direct method to accurately determine the content of various minerals in ore, and this remains an ongoing area of effort for the analytical testing community. The “Methodology and Application Research on the Mineralogical Laser Ablation (MLA) Quantitative Analysis System,” undertaken and completed by the Chengdu Comprehensive Research Institute of the China Geological Survey, has achieved a breakthrough in this field. The widespread adoption and application of this technology will bring about a technological revolution in areas such as mineral exploration, beneficiation, and mineral product development.)

The geological survey project “Research on Measurement Methods and Applications of the Mineralogical Quantitative Analysis System (MLA),” undertaken by the Chengdu Comprehensive Institute of the China Geological Survey, has recently made significant progress, resolving the challenging issue of quantitative analysis of process minerals in China’s complex and refractory ores. This method replaces the previous labor-intensive and cumbersome manual quantitative analysis procedures, thereby enhancing both the statistical efficiency and detection accuracy of ore samples.

MLA The automated quantitative analysis system for mineral parameters is one of the most advanced process mineralogy-based automated quantitative detection systems currently available worldwide. Researchers selected complex sulfide ores from Yangliuping in Sichuan, which exhibit intricate polymetallic coexistence, as well as vanadium-titanium magnetite ores from the Panxi region. Using the MLA system, they rapidly conducted comparative analysis and testing on sample preparation under various conditions, thereby identifying an economically viable and rational sample preparation protocol.

　　The test results show that the MLA quantitative analysis system can rapidly and accurately determine the content of various minerals in ores—a feat that has previously been difficult to achieve using conventional optical microscopy for quantitative analysis. At the same time, the system can clearly identify and characterize the morphology, particle size, composition, and intermineral associations of various minerals and particles in the tested samples, laying a solid foundation for quantitative studies of the ore's recoverable components.