Geometallurgical assessment of orebodies in the mining industry typically relies on bench-scale or lab-based characterization techniques. In this study, we investigate drone- and tripod-based field hyperspectral imaging as a potential addition to the geometallurgy toolkit in multiple applications. This pilot study tests hyperspectral imaging for large-scale mineral mapping in and around the active Lisbon Valley copper mine, including natural exposures, previously producing U-V mines, highwalls, dumps, and leaching sites. Tests include different (supervised and unsupervised) mineral data classification methods, varying mineral spectral reference libraries, comparison with ground-truth geological and spectroscopic mapping and sampling, and integration with LiDAR data. The results show that hyperspectral scans can produce spatially registered maps of the distribution of different spectrally active mineral types over dumps, highwalls, leach pads, and natural outcrops. Clays, other phyllosilicates, carbonates, and sulfates showed up particularly well. The sensor was also able to distinguish dry from lixiviant-saturated areas and map different clay types on the leach pads, and shows promise for differentiating types and health of vegetation. These results suggest that hyperspectral imaging, if coupled with robust ground-truthing, can be a useful complement to existing geometallurgical techniques in the mining industry, such as geological mapping, blast hole sampling and automated mineralogy identifications, and handheld spectrometry. In particular, hyperspectral imaging has promise for mapping the distribution of acid-consuming minerals; mapping the distribution of swelling, sliming, and heap-blinding clays; and pinpointing problem areas on heap leach pad surfaces.

采矿业中矿石的地质冶金评估通常依赖于台式规模或基于实验室的表征技术。在这项研究中，我们研究了基于无人机和三脚架的野外高光谱成像技术，将其作为多种应用中的地质冶金工具包的潜在补充。这项先导研究测试了高光谱成像，以分析活跃的里斯本谷铜矿山及其周围的大规模矿产图，包括自然暴露，先前生产的紫外线矿山，高墙，垃圾场和浸出场。测试包括不同的（有监督和无监督）矿物数据分类方法，各种矿物光谱参考库，与地面真实地质和光谱绘图和采样的比较以及与LiDAR数据的集成。结果表明，高光谱扫描可生成堆放物，高墙，浸出垫和天然露头上不同光谱活性矿物类型分布的空间配准图。粘土，其他页状硅酸盐，碳酸盐和硫酸盐表现得特别好。该传感器还能够区分浸滤剂浸透区和干燥浸透区，并在浸出垫上绘制不同的粘土类型，并显示出区分植被类型和健康状况的希望。这些结果表明，如果将高光谱成像与强大的地面真相结合，则可以很好地补充采矿业中现有的地质冶金技术，例如地质制图，爆破孔采样和自动矿物学识别以及手持式光谱仪。特别是，高光谱成像有望用于绘制耗酸矿物的分布图；绘制膨胀，粘稠和堆积致密粘土的分布图；并找出堆浸垫表面上的问题区域。