Energy dispersive X-ray diffraction spectroscopy for rapid estimation of calcite in copper ores

This article presents a novel technique for measuring the concentration of calcite in copper ore samples using energy dispersive X-ray diffraction (ED-XRD). The results are compared with ultraviolet fluorescence spectroscopy (UVF) for the same group of samples. This approach substantially shortens the measuring time with respect to the current laboratory procedures from 300 min down to 15 min and 9 min for energy dispersive X-ray diffraction and ultraviolet fluorescence spectroscopy, respectively, while preserving a good accuracy level (RMSE < 0.577).The models used for data processing were calibrated and validated for both techniques via the correlation coefficients (Rc2 and Rv2), the error of prediction (RMSEP) and the error of calibration (RMSEC). Rv2 values between 0.88 and 0.94 were obtained for UVF and ED-XRD data, respectively. The calibration and validation were performed for calcite concentration ranges of 3.4–10.7% in the case of UVF and 2.9–7.6% for ED-XRD.The results reported show the potential of this method for on-line estimation of calcite concentration.