Brazil Potash conducts tests with artificial intelligence in a US$2.5 billion project in Amazonas

Brazil Potash conducts tests with artificial intelligence in a US$2.5 billion project in Amazonas

Brazil Potash, owner of the Autazes US$ 2.5 billion potash project located in the state of Amazonas, is advancing in the use of artificial intelligence in its venture.

The company announced this week positive initial results from tests carried out with X-ray transmission (XRT) sorting technology, based on artificial intelligence.

The tests, conducted in partnership with the engineering company Ercosplan, indicate that the AI-based XRT sorting technology is capable of distinguishing higher-grade potassium mineralization from lower-grade materials in the sample tested. The test was carried out with ore larger than approximately 8 mm, and Ercosplan estimates that about 40% to 55% of the material expected to be extracted from the mine will be larger than this size.

“These results are promising for Autazes,” said Matt Simpson, CEO of Brazil Potash, in a statement.

“The initial results suggest that the AI-based XRT sorting technology is able to distinguish higher-grade potassium mineralization from lower-grade materials in the tested sample. This offers us an interesting opportunity to potentially increase our production flexibility in the future, whether through a higher production rate and/or a longer mine life, depending on the results of further tests and studies. The next step will be to test XRT sorting on a much larger sample, after we begin commercial production at the mine, with the aim of assessing the possible incorporation of this technology,” he emphasized.

The company intends to carry out additional tests, as well as complementary engineering and economic feasibility analyses, to assess whether the AI-based XRT sorting technology can be implemented in the Autazes Project.

Among the objectives are pre-concentrating the material for subsequent processing by hot leaching, with the potential to increase production without the need to build a third mine shaft, and accessing lower-grade areas of the Autazes potash deposit whose extraction is not economically viable under current conditions, thereby extending the mine’s operational life.

As in many other sectors, the mining industry in Brazil has been expanding the adoption of solutions associated with artificial intelligence. Check out some of these initiatives published recently in this article by BNamericas.

(The original version of this content was written in Portuguese.)

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