Abstract

The decarbonization of energy sources and electromobility depend on the efficient production of Cu-based materials. A fast and detailed instrumental analysis of mineral species in copper rocks is a need in the modern mining industry, but it remains as an analytical challenge. In this paper we address a detailed mineralogical characterization by the combination of micro laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (mu-LIBS)-based imaging and hyperspectral imaging (HSI), in three different Cu-mineralized rocks. Based on the complementary information obtained by mu-LIBS and HSI we characterized the distribution of valuables species such as chalcopyrite (CuFeS2), bornite (Cu5FeS4), chalcocite (Cu2S), covellite (CuS), enargite (Cu3AsS4), magnetite (Fe3O4), and barren minerals like calcite (CaO), anhydrite (CaSO4), quartz (SiO2), alunite (KAl3(SO4)(2)(OH)(6)) and pyrophyllite (Al2Si4O10(OH)(2)). The results demonstrate that the elemental and mineralogical characterization of Cu-mineralized rocks can be carried out by the complementary use of both techniques and simple chemometric methods. These results are an important step towards a fully automated mineral characterization of Cu-bearing rocks at a sample scale.