Equipment Selection for HPGRBased Comminution Circuits

Part 1 Stage Crushing

Chris Morley | 16 October 2013

Equipment Selection for HPGR-Based Comminution Circuits Part 1 | 16 October 2013 | 1

Presentation Structure
Part 1

Part 2

Introduction

Introduction

Blasting

Ball Milling

Primary Crushing

Cyclone Feed Pumping

Secondary Crushing

Cyclone Classification

Coarse Screening

Materials Handling

HPGR

Dust Control

Fine Screening

Tramp Metal Management

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Introduction
Stage-crushing superseded by AG/SAG technology some
decades ago
Stage-crushing plant design expertise/experience lost

HPGR marks return to stage-crushing plant design

Need for resurrection of equipment selection rules and
plant design practice guidelines

Previous papers addressed flowsheet and layout issues

This presentation focuses on equipment selection:
- Part 1 stage crushing
- Part 2 milling and ancillary operations

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Blasting
Relative Costs
1. SAG milling
2. Blasting

3. Crushing

Hence:
High-intensity blast for
SAG-based circuits
(mine to mill)
Low-intensity blast for
stage-crushing circuits
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Primary Crushing
Rationale
Capacity = (ROM PSD)
ROM PSD = (RQD, blast)

More costly to blast than to

crush, therefore
Use low-intensity blast to
miminise blast-crush
opex
Blast optimisation study

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Secondary Crushing
Circuit Design
Closed circuit essential for
HPGR feed top size control
Reverse closed circuit (RCC)
for fines-rich primary crusher
product

RCC
PRIMARY
CRUSHING

SECONDARY
CRUSHING

SCREEN
U/S

FCC

Forward closed circuit (FCC)

for fines-lean primary product,
to avoid arduous screening
duty. Can safely use where:
- % -CSS < 35
- % - CSS < 20

O/S

PRIMARY
CRUSHING

SECONDARY
CRUSHING

O/S

COARSE
SCREENING
U/S

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Secondary Crushing
Crusher Selection
RCC use brochures for capacity and product sizing at
selected CSS

FCC rare, and therefore difficult to benchmark:

- Use conservative target for CSS
- Use minimum brochure values for capacity

- Estimate product sizing:

% - CSS in feed is fall-through

% + CSS crushed per brochure

Product sizing = weighted average

Apply derating for high CWi eg, Derate = (16/CWi)0.5

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Coarse Screening
Banana screens for high unit capacity, low footprint
- Single deck for FCC
- Double deck for RCC

Sized using traditional calculations for horizontal and

conventional inclined screens, then
Apply banana factor
- As low as 55% for easily screened materials
- Typical range 60-65%
- Derate bottom deck by 10-15%

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HPGR
Testwork
Population still low on hard
rock, so benchmarking
difficult
Ore- and duty-specific
testwork required:

Flowsheet options:
- Open or closed circuit
- RCC or FCC
- Fixed or variable speed
rolls

Testwork program must

replicate intended
flowsheet

- specific capacity
- specific energy
- product sizing

- product flake competency

- product grindability
- roll wear life
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HPGR
Model Selection
Roll speed rules

Unit capacity is the

product of:

- Umax = 1.35*D0.5 (Lim)

- Specific capacity
.
( m or m-dot)

- Speed (m/s) = diameter (m)

- Speed (rpm)

- Roll diameter

20-22 nominal

- Roll width

23 max

- Roll speed

- Roll speed rules becoming

less conservative. For 2.4 m
diameter:

Capacity scale-up
- m-dot originally linear
- now up to ~1.2 depending
on relative machine sizes

Lim 2.1 m/s

m/s = m 2.4 m/s

23 rpm 2.9 m/s

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Stage Crushing General

Secondary crushers, HPGRs, coarse screens:
For multiple modules
- Largest available machines
economies of scale

- Abrasive ores short Mn

wear life spare
secondary crusher
- Provision in layout for
additional module
debottlenecking

For smaller-scale
applications
- Match number and size to
duty
- Turn-down requirements
- Spare units?

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Fine Screening
Banana screens for high
unit capacity, low footprint

- High circulating load

large bed depth

- Mode

Dry

Wet

- Dual (wet) screens per

mill

- Decks

Sized as for coarse

screens; however

Single suitable for HPGR

product screening

Double unnecessary and

detrimental

To control bed depth

To avoid mill shutdown

for screen maintenance

To provide sufficient
area for reduction in cut
size for HPGR-mill load
balancing

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Conclusion
Stage-crushing plant equipment selection addressed in
Part 1:
- Blasting
- Primary crushing
- Secondary crushing
- Coarse screening
- HPGR
- Fine screening

Ball milling and ancillary operations in Part 2

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Equipment Selection for HPGRBased Comminution Circuits

Part 1 Stage Crushing
Chris Morley | 16 October 2013

Thank You

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