Quantitative mineral phase analysis of dry powders using energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction

Energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDXRD) spectrometry is being investigated as a means to perform direct on-line quantitative mineral phase analysis on industrial mineral process streams. A laboratory prototype EDXRD analyser has been developed and a preliminary study has been made to determine its suitability for measuring mineral samples. This was carried out by collecting the diffraction spectra of 20 samples each containing six powdered minerals in dry form and using a linear regression analysis model to determine the mass of each mineral component contained in the samples. Using this method it was found that mineral components could be determined to an accuracy of better than 1 wt%.