Ores and mining

Analyse the ore where it comes out, without waiting for the lab

On a deposit, analysis turnaround is an operating cost. Portable XRF brings elemental measurement back to the working face, the stockpile and the conveyor — and reserves the laboratory for the points that genuinely decide.

We have already supported operations in Greece, Rwanda, the DRC, Mauritania, New Caledonia and India.

4
Instrument families
30+
Years of experience
100%
Servicing carried out in Switzerland
Minerai brut. Rwanda, coltan.
On the deposit

From assessing a concession to the finished product

The same technique answers very different questions depending on the stage: providing the data used to estimate a concession's resource before investing, verifying a grade after beneficiation, or checking the consistency of a batch at shipping.

What changes from one stage to the next is not the instrument — it is the sampling plan and the calibration.

  • Ore analysis: bauxite, Cu, Co, Ni, Ag, Sn, Ba, Ta, Pb, Au, U
  • Ore analysis after beneficiation
  • Elemental data for assessing a concession's resources
  • Production monitoring, from extraction to the finished product
  • Rare earth element (REE) analysis
  • Low-grade magnesium analysis in quarries, before extraction
Our XRF analyzers in Switzerland
Front de mine souterraine. Grèce, Pb / Zn / Au
Preparation

A heterogeneous ore cannot be measured at random

Crushing, grinding, sieving, drying, splitting, pressing into a cell, sometimes fusion into a bead: the preparation chain decides what the displayed figure is worth. On site, it has to work with the means available.

We supply the sampling and preparation tools, and train the operators who will use them.

Our sampling equipment

Other applications in this field

Oxides, glass and extracted materials rely on the same techniques.

Cement works control

Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Fe — monitoring raw meal and clinker.

Glass characterisation

Na, Mg, Al, Si, Fe, Co, Zr, Ba, Pb.

Automotive catalysts

Rare earths, Pt, Rh — at intake as at recycling.

Diatomite and olivine

Composition by XRF, mineralogy by Raman.

Tunnel boring

Characterisation of excavated material.

Provenance traceability

Setting up and characterising a database.

Mines and ores

From the mine face to the finished product: sampling, preparation and elemental analysis on site, where the sample cannot travel.

Poudres de minerai de fer prélevées par meulage sur site, séchées, pressées. Inde.
Iron ore powders collected by on-site grinding, dried and pressed. India.
Séchage. Grèce, minerai de nickel.
Drying. Greece (nickel ores).
Division d'échantillon (splitting). Grèce, bauxite.
Splitting. Greece (bauxite).
Division d'échantillon (splitting). Grèce, minerai de nickel.
Splitting. Greece (nickel ores).
Prélèvement et échantillonnage. Grèce, mine de Pb, Zn et Au.
Collection and sampling. Greece, Pb / Zn / Au mine.
Compactage et analyse sur site. Grèce, mine de Pb / Zn / Au.
On-site pressing and analysis. Greece, Pb / Zn / Au mine.
Minerai de fer. Autriche.
Iron ore. Austria
Front de mine souterraine. Grèce, Pb / Zn / Au
Underground mine face. Greece, Pb / Zn / Au
Caractérisation avant prélèvement. Rwanda, minerai de cassitérite
Characterisation before sampling. Rwanda, cassiterite ore
Échantillon pour analyse après caractérisation
Sample ready for analysis after characterisation
Broyage manuel. Rwanda, minerai de coltan
Manual grinding. Rwanda, coltan ore
Minerai brut. Rwanda, coltan.
Raw ore. Rwanda, coltan.
Fabrication de briques. Rwanda.
Brick making, Rwanda
Accès à une mine RDC / Goma.
Access to a mine. DRC / Goma.
Prise d’échantillon sur site. Grèce, carrière de calcaire
On-site sampling. Greece, limestone quarry
Convoi du minerai de fer. Mauritanie / Nouakchott.
Iron ore convoy. Mauritania / Nouakchott.
Big-bag de minerai de tantale. Espagne.
Bulk bag of tantalum ore. Spain
Exploitation de phosphate. Tunisie.
Phosphate operation. Tunisia.
Exploitation de gaz. Bahreïn.
Gas operation. Bahrain.
Taille de roche. Madagascar
Stone cutting. Madagascar
Analyse directe sur front de mine de nickel. Nouvelle-Calédonie.
Direct analysis at a nickel mine face. New Caledonia
Analyse directe sur carotte, mine de nickel. Nouvelle-Calédonie.
Direct analysis on a drill core, nickel mine. New Caledonia
Mesure d'humidité sur minerai de nickel. Nouvelle-Calédonie.
Moisture measurement on nickel ore. New Caledonia.

Sample preparation

A measurement is worth no more than the sample behind it. Grinding, sieving, drying, pressing, fusion — on site, with the means available.

Préparation d'échantillons sur site : compactage. Congo.
On-site sample preparation, pressing (Congo).
Outils de broyage et de tamisage.
Grinding and sieving tools
Analyse XRF sur stand inversé anti contamination
XRF analysis on an inverted anti-contamination stand
Appareil de fusion. Japon (fabrication de perles).
Fusion apparatus. Japan (bead preparation).
Échantillonnage et analyse sur carottes.
Sampling and analysis on drill cores.
Poudre en cellule d’analyse, pressée, séchée.
Powder in an analysis cell, pressed and dried.
  • Calibrated in Switzerland
  • Repaired in Switzerland
  • Custom adjustments
  • Local support

An ore to measure on site?

We measure your ore, on a sample or at the deposit, and advise you on the instrument and preparation to monitor it in production.