Petrographic Crystallography in Solving Problems of Applied Mineralogy

Abstract

One of the tasks of technological mineralogy is to forecast opening of intergrowths of mineral grains while technogenic disintegration of mineral aggregate. The process of distraction of the aggregate proceeds to the extraction of the useful component from the aggregate it contains. Modern methods of destruction of rock material allows to manage this process for optimal crushing, before full opening of intergrowths, but not allowing to crush excessively the useful component and bearing its matrix of mineral grains. Before it was established that the strength of the bond on the boundaries of intergrowths of mineral individuals correlate with the history of the development of the aggregate and can be forecasted by the results of stereometrical ontogenetic analysis (Kotova, Proceedings of Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Aus IMM, Brisbane, Queensland, pp 681–686, 2008). During careful research of aggregate of different genesis the model was formulated (Brodskaya, L. Nauka LO, pp 23–28, 1987). The methodic of the forecast previous technogenic disintegration was developed on this model. This technique gives a quantitative measure of durability and completeness of disclosing of intergrowths while crushing, on the basis of a previous estimation of character of boundaries of intergrowths in the mineral aggregate. On the base of this research the boundaries of intergrowth in mineral aggregates can be performed as energetically balanced and not balanced. The first one, balanced, while destruction would open the first. Methodological work was held, mainly, at the ore aggregate of polymineral composition. For the first time methodic try out on monomineralic aggregates of the deposits of vein quartz and at deposits of quartzite in the South Urals. During the study of quartz from deposits of the South Urals the qualification of the boundaries of the mineral individual intergrowths was obtained. Four types of quartz grains were created by these criteria (Q₁, Q₂, Q₃, Q₄): by the character of boundaries of individuals (be crystallographic belonging and by its roughness), by the number and the character of distribution gas–liquid and mineral inclusions, by the number of blocks of wavy extinction within of one grain (traces of plastic deformations). By energetic balance three from four types of intergrowths boundaries were determined. By this method the most interesting for technologist quartz objects were determined.