A two-day meeting in Santiago brought together the regional Tescan TIMA community for training, knowledge sharing, and open discussion on the practical use of automated mineralogy.
Held on July 27–28 in Santiago, Chile, the TIMA Latin America 2026 User Meeting was organized in cooperation with our distributor, SAX Soluciones Analiticas. The event welcomed around 30 participants from across South America, including experienced and new TIMA users, as well as specialists interested in the potential of SEM-based automated mineralogy.
Participants represented universities, major mining companies from Chile and Peru, and regional and global service laboratories, with applications focused on mineral-processing optimization and geometallurgy.
Over two intensive days, the meeting combined training, technical updates, and practical exchange. Alongside presenting the capabilities of Tescan TIMA, the event provided an opportunity to gather feedback from real laboratory and field-related workflows. Discussions around sample preparation, mineral identification, reporting, maintenance, and data interpretation will help guide future TIMA development toward the needs of its users.
From SEM and EDS fundamentals to automated mineralogy workflows
The program was designed to build a common technical foundation before moving into more advanced TIMA workflows. Opening sessions introduced the principles of scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, followed by an explanation of how SEM-based automated mineralogy converts imaging and chemical information into quantitative mineralogical data.
Participants then explored the role of Tescan TIMA in both routine and advanced mineralogical characterization. Topics included sample preparation, mineral identification, segmentation strategies, and the use of particle- and texture-based data. The program also introduced recent TIMA features, reviewed the history of the system’s development, and outlined visions for future improvements.
Application-driven discussions
Case studies demonstrated how automated mineralogy can support ore characterization, process optimization, academic research, forensic investigations, geometallurgical programs, and the analysis of secondary raw materials such as electronic waste, spent lithium batteries, bottom ash from municipal waste incinerators, and slags.
Regional contributors presented work on the use of TIMA for automated mineralogy in process optimization, microanalysis applied to the deportment of elements in sulfosalts and gold-bearing minerals, and the challenges of building mineralogical and materials libraries beyond the EDS signal alone.
Together, these examples showed TIMA’s versatility across mining, geoscience, environmental analysis, forensics, and recycling-related applications.
Listening to users to shape future development
Beyond the formal presentations, the meeting created space for direct dialogue among users, application and product specialists, and the Tescan team. This exchange was especially valuable because it focused on practical aspects of working with TIMA: what helps laboratories generate reliable data more efficiently, where workflows can be simplified, which features are most useful in daily operation, and where users see opportunities for further improvement.
Feedback from organizations working across different commodities and applications helps ensure that TIMA development remains aligned with practical analytical needs. It also supports the prioritization of improvements in reproducibility, usability, data interpretation, and workflow efficiency.
Strengthening the global TIMA community
We would like to thank SAX Soluciones Analiticas for organizing the meeting, the presenters for sharing their expertise, and all participants for their active engagement throughout the event.
The TIMA Latin America 2026 User Meeting demonstrated the value of bringing the community together— not only to learn about the technology, but also to help shape its future.
The meeting in Chile was also part of a broader effort to maintain close connections with the global TIMA user community. Following similar events in China and South Africa last year, we plan to continue organizing such events in the future. These gatherings provide an important opportunity to exchange knowledge, strengthen collaboration, and ensure that TIMA development reflects the experience and practical needs of its users worldwide.
About Tescan TIMA™
Tescan TIMA™ is an automated mineralogy platform for SEM-based analysis, designed to provide consistent, reproducible mineralogical data for ore characterization, mineral processing, and geometallurgical workflows. It helps users quantify mineral abundance, liberation, associations, textures, grain and particle populations, and elemental distribution across ore, concentrates, tailings, and other process-related materials. By combining automated acquisition, multi-EDS analysis, adaptive measurement modes, spectral summing, and robust mineral libraries, TIMA™ supports routine process mineralogy tasks such as feed characterization, recovery and loss assessment, deportment studies, and monitoring of variability across processing streams. This makes it a practical tool for laboratories and mining operations seeking to improve data consistency, reduce manual effort, and support better decisions in process optimization and resource evaluation.
Related Resources
Tescan TIMA™
Automated mineralogy for geometallurgy and mineral analysis.
TIMA™ for Geometallurgy
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Particle Analysis with TIMA™
Explore automated mineralogy, FIB-SEM, and SIMS workflows.
