Estimate Broad of Natural Mineral Resources Area Lateritic Nickel Based of Image Analysis Satellite Landsat 7 Etm+ In District Laonti, Konawe Selatan, Province of Southeast Sulawesi

Mineral exploration is one of the important activities to obtain location information about where the minerals are, but this exploration process takes years and costly especially when carried out over a wide area. Therefore through this study the application of Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing for mapping the distribution of potential mineral deposits of lateritic nickel (Ni) is tested. The method used is the analysis of digital data Landsat 7 ETM +. Rocessed image data by performing a technique sharpening contrast, filtering, creation of a composite image and image fusion. Image data processing is for the interpretation of visual straightness, limit unit morphology and the estimation of mineral lateritic nickel. The data as well as analysis techniques NDVI in order to obtain the pattern of vegetation density on the surface. The results showed that the presence of lateritic nickel mineral formed on ultramafic rocks undergoing the process of weathering and serpentinization. Characterized with the appearance of geological structures identified as robust and fault structures. Which are also represent on the remote sensing images as rectangular flow patterns.Ultramafic rocks are located in the morphological undulating hills. Vegetation is identified growing on ultramafic rocks are categorized as dense vegetation. Vegetation that grows in the form of a single tree with an average diameter ≤30 cm. result generating estimates of mineral potential areas of lateritic nickel has an area ranging 6.3 ha

Computer-assisted Petrographic Image Analysis And Quantization Of Rock Texture

Under the petrographic microscope, most rocks in thin section appear as an assemblage of tightly interlocked mineral grains, inclusions, port spaces etc. The geometrical characteristics of these features, including their apparent sizes, shapes, orientations and distributions, define the texture of a rock.;In this study the optical image from a petrographic microscope is processed by a micro-computer. The image is converted into electrical signals by a Sony AVC-D5 monochrome video camera. These signals are digitized by an analog to digital converter in an Imaging Technology PCVISION plus frame grabber board which stores and manipulates the resulting digital image in its frame memory. The image is stored in 256-colour PCX format.;The extraction of geological information from the digital image requires that the features in the image be identified and their edges defined. Feature identification is accomplished by manipulation of the digital image which is referred to as image processing. This involves three sequential operations: digital filtering, image segmentation and feature extraction. In the present study fourteen digital filters are evaluated for their abilities to reduce normally distributed additive noise while preserving linear features and image texture. The Sigma Filter is shown to be most suitable for application to petrographic images. The edges of the features of interest are extracted using zero-crossing edge finders with varying window sizes. The sequential capturing of multiple images from one microscope field of view allows a thin section to be analyzed in a manner analogous to the procedure followed in manual petrography. Interactive manipulation of the image containing the detected edges is possible using an image editor.;The feature extraction process identifies and selects features of interest from the detected edges of the petrographic image. This information, the original prey level image and the intermediate segmented edge image, are all used to provide data which are not available from traditional petrography. Salient features of the image processing system developed here are illustrated by application to selected geological problems for which data obtained by conventional techniques are available.;Image processing can provide an initial step in expert systems developed to solve specific petrographic problems. This could allow the processing to be automated using knowledge banks interactively at each stage of image analysis

Direct three-dimensional liberation analysis by cone beam x-ray microtomography

Book ChapterLiberation of valuable minerals during size reduction is an important aspect of mineral processing technology. In practice, most quantitative information on liberation is based on the application of stereological theorems for the analysis of image data from two-dimensional polished sections. On this basis an estimate of the volumetric grade distribution is made. Recently, a new method based on cone-beam xray microtomography has been used for direct determination of the three-dimensional liberation spectrum of multiphase particles 100 microns in size or less. Preliminary results for a packed bed of particles indicate that high spatial resolution (approximately 15 microns) and the direct processing of raw volumetric data are two important benefits offered by this new method. Three dimensional liberation analysis by microtomography provides an excellent opportunity to overcome many of the limitations of currently used polished section techniques. For example, detailed textural information is provided. Of course microtomography provides an independent method to verify current procedures used for analysis and transformation of polished section data into an estimate of the volumetric grade distribution. More important, however, is the possibility that this method could be developed as a routine procedure for liberation analysis in the 21st century

Oxidative chemical beneficiation of low-quality coals under low-energy ultrasonic and microwave irradiation: an environmental-friendly approach

The present environmentally-friendly coal processing technology discussed herewith focuses on the combined effect of ultrasonic and microwave energy in the extent of mineral matter (ash yield) removal from high-sulfur, low-quality coals for their clean utilization. The novelty of this study is that the technique is very efficient instead of using drastic chemicals with less treatment time, less amount of reagent in comparison to the conventional method, and has the potential to adopt in large-scale commercial production of cleaner coals. The quality of the cleaner coal products was examined by using chemical analysis and advanced analytical techniques (electron beam analysis). The combined irradiation process of ultrasonic and microwave energy is observed to be the most effective for the beneficiation of high-sulfur coal than the single process. The result showed a maximum of 51.28% and 66.34% ash (mineral matter) removal from the coal samples by microwave followed by an ultrasonic process. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis revealed that both inorganic and organic sulfur is present in these Cenozoic low-rank, high-sulfur Indian coals. The high resolution-transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) image analysis of the treated coal samples showed nearly agglomerated collections of nanomaterials; carbon spheres/flacks with an irregular shape; and the elements such as oxygen, iron, silicon, sulfur, and aluminum in the beneficiated coal samples. The major mineral phases, including quartz, kaolinite, and gypsum, are found to be removed during the beneficiation process. The thermal analysis (TGA-DTG) also showed the suitability of the beneficiated coals for the power plant application

Fine-scale analysis of biomineralized mollusc teeth using FIB and TEM

When it comes to mineral synthesis, there is a lot we can learn from nature. Although we can synthesize a range of materials in the laboratory, the experimental conditions are often constrained to particular ranges of temperature, pH, etc. Biological systems, on the other hand, seem to be able to produce individual minerals and complex composite mineral structures under a variety of conditions, many of which are far from those applied to create their synthetic counterparts. Understanding how nature does this could provide a means to produce novel biomimetic materials with potential applications in a diverse range of fields from medicine to materials engineering

Three-dimensional distribution of primary melt inclusions in garnets by X-ray microtomography

open6X-ray computed microtomography (X-mu CT) is applied here to investigate in a non-invasive way the three-dimensional (3D) spatial distribution of primary melt and fluid inclusions in gamets from the metapeitic enclaves of El Hoyazo and from the migmatitcs of Sierra Alpujata, Spain. Attention is focused on a particular case of inhomogeneous distribution of inclusions, characterized by inclusion-rich cores and almost inclusion-free rims (i.e., zonal arrangement), that has been previously investigated in detail only by means of 2D conventional methods. Different experimental X-mu CT configurations, both synchrotron radiation- and X-ray tube-based, are employed to explore the limits of the technique. The internal features of the samples are successfully imaged, with spatial resolution down to a few micrometers. By means of dedicated image processing protocols, the lighter melt and fluid inclusions can be separated from the heavier host garnet and from other non-relevant features (e.g., other mineral phases or large voids). This allows evaluating the volumetric density of inclusions within spherical shells as a function of the radial distance from the center of the host garnets. The 3D spatial distribution of heavy mineral inclusions is investigated as well and compared with that of melt inclusions. Data analysis reveals the occurrence of a clear peak of melt and fluid inclusions density, ranging approximately from 1/3 to 1/2 of the radial distance from the center of the distribution and a gradual decrease from the peak outward. heavy mineral inclusions appear to be almost absent in the central portion of the garnets and more randomly arranged, showing no correlation with the distribution of melt and fluid inclusions. To reduce the effect of geometric artifacts arising from the non-spherical shape of the distribution, the inclusion density was calculated also along narrow prisms with different orientations, obtaining plots of pseudo-linear distributions. The results show that the core-rim transition is characterized by a rapid (but not step-like) decrease in inclusion density, occurring in a continuous mode. X-ray tomographic data, combined with electron microprobe chemical profiles of selected elements, suggest that despite the inhomogeneous distribution of inclusions, the investigated garnets have grown in one single progressive episode in the presence of anatectic melt. The continuous drop of inclusion density suggests a similar decline in (radial) garnet growth, which is a natural consequence in the case of a constant reaction rate. Our results confirm the advantages of high-resolution X-mu CT compared to conventional destructive 2D observations for the analysis of the spatial distribution of micrometer-scale inclusions in minerals, owing to its non-invasive 3D capabilities. The same approach can be extended to the study of different microstructural features in samples from a wide variety of geological settings.openParisatto, Matteo; Turina, Alice; Cruciani, Giuseppe; Mancini, Lucia; Peruzzo, Luca; Cesare, BernardoParisatto, Matteo; Turina, Alice; Cruciani, Giuseppe; Mancini, Lucia; Peruzzo, Luca; Cesare, Bernard