The main components of aluminum ore are aluminum oxide and silicon oxide. The content of these two components determines the quality of aluminum ore. Aluminum and silicon have adjacent atomic numbers, so it is very challenging to use X-ray image recognition technology to sort aluminum ore.
DRX intelligent mineral sorting equipment
can remove non-aluminum ore debris from the aluminum ore raw materials and sort different grades of concentrated aluminum ore, and can also select good ore that meets the aluminum ore grade requirements from the aluminum ore waste.
I. Aluminum ore raw material composition
Aluminum components: Aluminum oxide, including gibbsite (Al2O3·3H2O), boehmite (Al2O3·H2O), and diaspore.
Byproduct components: Silicon dioxide (Si2O2) and ferric oxide (Fe2O3), including quartz, feldspar, pyrite, hematite, and goethite.
II. Sorting target and equitment
• Desiliconization: Reduces SiO₂ (quartz, etc.) entering the clinker/dissolution system, improving the Al₂O₃/SiO₂ ratio.
• Iron Control: Limits Fe₂O₃ (hematite/goethite) content.
• Targets: Remove impurities, increase concentrate Al₂O₃ grade, and reduce SiO₂.
• Equipment: DRX intelligent mineral sorting equipment.
III. Technical features of the equipment
• Identification technology: X-ray Dual-Energy imaging + Intelligent image recognition
• Sorting method: Dry, high-speed sorting based on material density and elemental characteristics
• Processing capacity: Up to 200 tons/hour
• Sorting belt width: 1000mm
• Sorting belt speed: 2.75m/s
• Applicable particle size range: 20–350mm
• Control system: PLC + Industrial Computer, supporting remote operation and data monitoring
IV. Using X-ray image sorting logic
1. Data acquisition
• X-ray Imaging: Acquire X-ray attenuation characteristic images of the aluminum ore raw material
2. Computational identification
• High-density identification: Ignore high-density materials containing iron, manganese, and other substances
• Medium-density identification: Ignore medium-density materials with high silicon content as required
• Low-Density Identification: Identify and mark low-density materials with high aluminum content as required
3. Separation execution
• Use high-pressure gas to eject the marked aluminum ore concentrate for sorting
V. Sorting process using DRX equipment
Aluminum ore raw materials (particles larger than 350mm require a pre-crusher + vibrating screen) → particle size 20-350mm → X-ray image recognition → high-pressure gas injection to select the concentrated aluminum ore
VI. Conclusion
Softfox Technology's DRX intelligent mineral sorting equipment utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) recognition technology based on X-ray imaging to remove high-density non-aluminum debris from raw aluminum ore and sort it into aluminum concentrate. Sorting by grade requires multiple runs on one device or multiple stages across multiple devices. If a small amount of usable aluminum ore remains in the tailings, the DRX sorting equipment can be used to sort the ore that meets the grade requirements, further improving the utilization of aluminum resources.