Machine Learning Technique for Recognition of Flotation Froth Images in a Nonstable Flotation Process

The paper is focused on the analysis of the relation between the stability of the flotation process and the efficiency of Machine Learning (ML) algorithms based on the flotation froth images. An ML process should enable researchers to construct Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms for flotation process control. The image of the flotation froth includes information characterizing the flotation process. The information can be extracted with the aid of the Image Recognition (IR) algorithms based on the ML. This enables construction of a flotation process control system in the mineral processing plant, which is based on the recognition of images of the flotation froth. The IR algorithms do not provide stable image recognition results and are not efficient in the situation where the parameters of the flotation process are highly unstable. The classification results were equal to 75.11% and 69.62% for a stable and unstable process, respectively. The experimental data collected at the Polish Pb/Zn mineral processing plant provided better insight to the relationships between the flotation process parameters and ML efficiency. These relationships were analyzed, and guidelines for the construction of the ML process for flotation process control have been formulated.