SGS Canada adds TESCAN TIMA-X to its suite of automated mineralogy

Posted by Paul Moore on 30th April 2019

SGS announces that it has officially incorporated the TESCAN Integrated Mineral Analyser (TIMA-X) into its suite of automated mineralogy offerings across Canada. Through this move, SGS says it is able to offer its clients better detection limits, superior imaging and faster turnaround time and results. “Combining TIMA-X technology with our existing QEMSCAN capabilities, allows us to bolster the trusted automated mineralogy services we provide to the mining industry across the mining value chain by offering a holistic solution,” said Stephanie Downing, Mineralogy Manager at SGS Canada.

The TIMA-X system utilizes both the EDX and BSE signals to identify minerals at each measurement point (or each homogenous segment of a grain, depending upon the analysis mode) and it is optimized to deal with rapidly acquired low-count spectra. These EDX spectra (and BSE data) are compared to entries in a mineral library on a first match principle to identify the mineral phase automatically, where this mineral library is based on theoretical mineral/phase composition or created by the user based on both BSE intensity and X-ray spectral windows counts and/or ratios.

Also, the TIMA-X innovative Field Emission Gun (FEG) allows SGS to offer high resolution capability with fast acquisition detectors for quicker throughput and better detection of trace elements. The real-time collection of mineral chemistry allows direct reconciliation of minerals to assays. Developed software applications allows for the determination of mineral concentrations, elemental distributions and mineral textural properties such as:

  • Grain size
  • Liberation and locking parameters
  • Association and exposure
  • Mineral release and predictive grade-recovery response

The incorporation of the TIMA-X in Canada the company says illustrates SGS’s ongoing commitment to serving the global metals and mining industry through advanced technologies. “Canada will be the second installation of a TIMA-X into the network, the first being in Chile which has been operational since 2018. During the last five years, SGS has been continuously expanding and developing automated mineralogy capabilities and solutions. It is through these solutions that SGS unlocks the potential of projects globally.”