Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-pftt2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-05T08:40:10.736Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Multispectral imaging of ore minerals in optical microscopy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2018

E. Pirard*
Affiliation:
Université de Liège, GeomaC –MICA, Sart Tilman B52/3, 4000 Liege, Belgium

Abstract

Multispectral imaging of ore minerals under the microscope is a logical extension of quantitative colour analysis and microspectrophotometric analysis of minerals. This paper describes, step by step, how the proper calibration of a scientific video camera can be performed in order to obtain precise reflectance measurements at each pixel within the field of view. After having reviewed the different sources of noise and aberration, practical formulae are presented that allow for the acquisition of a set of images at different wavelengths in the visible spectrum.

The advantage of using a multispectral image acquisition system based on narrow bandwidth (10 nm) interference filters is discussed and quantitatively compared to colour imaging using tristimulus (red, green, blue) filters.

Images taken from major sulphide parageneses are shown as examples of well contrasted multispectral images. Finally, the potential for automatic identification of ore minerals is discussed with reference to supervised multivariate image classification algorithms similar to those used in remote sensing. Additional comments on extending the principles for handling optical anisotropy and developing a multiradial imaging system are made.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2004

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Brown, R.G. and Hwang, P.Y.C. (1992) Introduction to Random Signals and Applied Kalman Filtering, 2nd edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York.Google Scholar
Cervelle, B., Levy, C. and Caye, R. (1971) Dosage rapide du magnesium dans les ilménites. Mineralium Deposita, 6, 3440.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Criddle, A.J. (1998) Ore microscopy and photometry (1890–1998). In Modern Approaches to Ore and Environmental Mineralogy (Cabri, L.J. and Vaughan, D.J., editors). Short Course Series, 27. Mineralogical Association of Canada, Ottawa.Google Scholar
Criddle, A.J. and Stanley, C.J. (editors) (1993) Quantitative Data File for Ore Minerals, 3rd edition. Chapman & Hall, London, UK, 635 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Galopin, R. and Henry, N.F.M. (1972) Microscopic Study of Opaque Ore Minerals. Heffers, Cambridge, UK, 322 pp.Google Scholar
Henry, N.F.M. (1977) IMA/COM Quantitative Data File, 1st Issue. McCrone Research Associates Ltd, London, UK.Google Scholar
Holst, G.C. (1998) CCD Arrays, Cameras and Displays. SPIE Optical Engineering Press Washington, USA.Google Scholar
Peckett, A. (1989) The colours of opaque minerals. Mineralogical Magazine, 53, 7178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Piller, H. (1966) Colour measurements in ore microscopy. Mineralium Deposita, 1, 175192.Google Scholar
Pirard, E. and Bertholet, V. (2000) Segmentation of multispectral images in optical metallography. Revue de Métallurgie–Sciences et Génie des Matériaux, 219227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pirard, E. and de Colnet, L. (2001) Multiradial Imaging in Optical Ore Microscopy. Proceedings of the Annual meeting Belgian Society for Microscopy.Google Scholar
Pirard, E., Lebrun, V. and Nivart, J.-F. (1999) Optimal acquisition of video images in reflected light microscopy. European Microscopy and Analysis, 60, 911.Google Scholar
Ramdohr, P. (1980) The Ore Minerals and their Intergrowths, 2nd English edition. Pergamon, Oxford, UK, 2 vol., 1205 pp.Google Scholar
Sutherland, D. and Gottlieb, P. (1991) Application of automated quantitative mineralogy in mineral processing. Minerals Engineering, 4, 735762.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swan, A.R.H. and Sandilands, M. (1995) Introduction to Geological Data Analysis. Blackwell Scientific, 446 pp.Google Scholar
Van der Meer, F. (2002) Imaging spectrometry for geologi cal applications. In Encyclopedia of Analytical Chemistry: Applications, Theory, and Instrumentation. Meyers, R., editor). Wiley, 14, 344 pp.Google Scholar