Ore processing requires physical separation of mineral phases, therefore a chemical characterization cannot by itself solve the problem, and must be complemented by mineralogical characterization of the ore. This task has been traditionally achieved with a reflected light microscope coupled to a point counter device. Modern sem-based Systems are far more performant but very expensive. The automated
AMCO System combines the low price of the optical microscope with the high performance of sem-systems. Automated ore identification and characterization are achieved by AMCO through multi-spectral imaging. The acquired images allow specular reflectance measurement and digital image analysis on a pixel to pixel basis, thus providing all the information required for industrial plants or for research e.g. ore identification, modal analysis, grain size and textural analysis, liberation grade, etc..