Equipment and method for treating iron ore

Abstract

An apparatus for treating iron ore comprising a primary crusher, a secondary crusher and a tertiary crusher wherein the apparatus comprises a pair of independently operable conveyors from the primary crusher to the secondary crusher, from the secondary crusher to the tertiary crusher, and / or from the tertiary crusher to a screen wherein the screen returns to the tertiary crusher.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of an application with an application date of November 27, 2019, application number 201980078094.5, and invention name “Equipment and method for processing iron ore”.

[0002] The entire contents of the patent specification originally filed PCT / AU2019 / 051301 (including the drawings) are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present invention relates generally to apparatus and methods for processing iron ore and, more particularly, but not exclusively, to apparatus and methods for processing iron ore with lower costs and lower staffing requirements during maintenance outages. Background Art

[0004] The present invention enables a modular ore handling system that replicates sub-sections of the system rather than making each sub-section larger. This change in established ideology enables the removal of buffer silos and buffer capacity, and the height of buildings in the plant can be reduced, thereby reducing plant costs and redundancy in the system, allowing the plant to be partially shut down for maintenance while continuing to operate at a lower productivity. Summary of the invention

[0005] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for processing iron ore having a sizer as a secondary crusher for crushing the iron ore.

[0006] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for processing iron ore, comprising a mineral breaker as a secondary crusher for crushing the iron ore, wherein the mineral breaker comprises a crushing drum installed in a housing for crushing the mineral into smaller fragments.

[0007] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that a suitable mineral crusher may be referred to as a "sizer", "roll crusher" or "scroll crusher". Although the examples shown in the drawings use a double roll crusher, other examples may use more rolls, for example, 4 or 6 rolls.

[0008] Preferably, the mineral crusher has a pair of crushing drums rotatably mounted side by side in a housing. More preferably, the pair of crushing drums rotate in opposite directions to promote crushing of mineral between the pair of crushing drums. More preferably, each crushing drum is provided with a circumferentially extending set of crushing teeth, the sets of crushing teeth being axially spaced along the crushing drum, the axial spacing of the sets of crushing teeth on one drum being staggered with the axial spacing of the sets of crushing teeth on the other drum, so that a crushing tooth of a set of crushing teeth on one drum passes between two adjacent sets of crushing teeth on the other drum. The applicant has determined that the mineral crusher is particularly advantageously used in secondary crushing.

[0009] Preferably, the apparatus comprises a gyratory crusher as a primary crusher. More preferably, the apparatus comprises a cone crusher as a tertiary crusher. Preferably, the sizing crusher is fed directly from a screen. In particular, the sizing crusher may be fed directly from one or more scalping stage screens, as opposed to the grizzly screens typically seen in primary crushing applications. In one example, each of the secondary sizing crushers will be fed from only one screen.

[0010] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for processing iron ore, comprising a primary crusher, a secondary crusher and a tertiary crusher, wherein the apparatus comprises a pair of independently operable conveyors from the primary crusher to the secondary crusher (open circuit), from the secondary crusher to the tertiary crusher (open circuit), and / or from the tertiary crusher to a screen, wherein the screen returns material to the tertiary crusher (closed circuit).

[0011] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for processing iron ore, comprising a primary crusher, a secondary crusher and a tertiary crusher, wherein the apparatus comprises a pair of independently operable conveyors from the primary crusher to the secondary crusher (open circuit), a pair of independently operable conveyors from the secondary crusher to the tertiary crusher (open circuit), and three independently operable conveyors from the tertiary crusher to a screen, wherein the screen returns material to the tertiary crusher (closed circuit).

[0012] Preferably, in one example, the plant has a single primary crusher, multiple secondary crushers and multiple tertiary crushers. More preferably, in one example, the plant has a single primary crusher, two secondary crushers and three tertiary crushers. The applicant has determined that there is an upgrade path that can easily expand the design to 2xPrimary, 3xSecondary and 4xTertiary. The example shown in the drawings is for a plant configuration of about 30 MTPA, however, it will be understood that the plant can be expanded to more than this value by adding crushing circuits. By means of parallel processing, expansion of the plant configuration is facilitated.

[0013] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for processing iron ore, comprising a primary crusher and a secondary crusher, wherein the secondary crusher is arranged to be fed from the primary crusher.

[0014] Preferably, the secondary crusher is arranged to be fed directly from the primary crusher. More preferably, the secondary crusher is fed directly from the primary crusher without a silo for accumulating material to be fed to the secondary crusher. Adjustability of the feed speed may be achieved by a variable speed drive on the conveyor, feed device and / or crusher to suit each stage of crushing and screening.

[0015] Alternatively, the secondary crusher is arranged to be fed directly from a screen used to filter material from the primary crusher according to the size of the material.

[0016] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for processing iron ore comprising at least one conveyor, wherein each conveyor of the apparatus has a fixed single discharge point.

[0017] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for processing iron ore, comprising a single stockyard belt located below a reversible stacker / reclaimer, such that the single stockyard belt is configured to provide a direct loading function for loading the iron ore onto a train, a stacking function for stacking the iron ore onto a stockpile, and a reclaiming function for collecting the iron ore from the stockpile onto a train.

[0018] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for processing iron ore, comprising a single belt for transporting iron ore from a tertiary crusher, wherein the single belt is located below a reversible stacker / reclaimer such that the single belt is configured to provide a direct loading function for loading the iron ore directly onto a transport, a stacking function for stacking the iron ore onto a stockpile, and a reclaiming function for collecting the iron ore from the stockpile onto a train. The belt may be fed from a primary, secondary or tertiary crusher.

[0019] The belt and the stocker / reclaimer may run in unison, the belt being able to go straight to loading while also receiving ore from the stocker / reclaimer. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] The invention is described by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0022] Figure 1A and Figure 1B An example of an apparatus for processing iron ore according to an example of the present invention is shown in a process flow diagram;

[0023] Figure 2 for Figure 1A A magnified image of

[0024] Figure 3 for Figure 1B A magnified image of

[0025] Figure 4 is a top perspective view showing a primary crusher of the equipment;

[0026] Figure 5 is a top perspective view showing a secondary crusher of the apparatus;

[0027] Figure 6 is a top perspective view showing the three-stage crusher of the equipment;

[0028] Figure 7 is a top perspective view showing the yard belt and train loading equipment of the equipment;

[0029] Figure 8 Details of the train loading equipment are shown;

[0030] Fig. 9 A remote top perspective view showing the primary, secondary and tertiary crushers and the conveyors between these stations;

[0031] Fig.10 A remote top perspective view of a secondary crusher, a tertiary crusher, and an onshore crusher is shown;

[0032] Fig.11 showing a distant top perspective view of a secondary crusher, a tertiary crusher, a total natural fines conveyor, and a total generated fines conveyor; and

[0033] Fig.12 Shown is a plan view of a primary crusher, a secondary crusher, a tertiary crusher, a total natural fines conveyor, a total generated fines conveyor, and a portion of an overland conveyor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] Reference Figure 1A-Figure 12, shows an apparatus 10 for processing iron ore 12, the apparatus 10 having a classifying crusher 14 as a secondary crusher for crushing the iron ore 12. Advantageously, the applicant has determined that the use of a classifying crusher 14 as a secondary crusher avoids the use of a large silo (as is required with a cone crusher) because the classifying crusher 14 does not require a constant rate of iron ore feed as does a cone crusher. Furthermore, by avoiding the use of a silo, which is typically a large silo of considerable height, the apparatus can be constructed with a lower building height, thereby reducing costs and facilitating reliability and maintenance.

[0035] The sizer 14 may be in the form of a twin shaft mineral sizer, which is a mineral crusher 16 including a crushing drum 18 mounted within a housing 20 for crushing the mineral into smaller pieces. More specifically, the mineral crusher 16 may have a pair of crushing drums 18 rotatably mounted side by side within the housing 20. In this arrangement, the pair of crushing drums 18 rotate in opposite directions so that the mineral is crushed between the pair of crushing drums 18. Each crushing drum 18 may be provided with crushing tooth groups extending in a circumferential direction, the crushing tooth groups being axially spaced apart along the crushing drum 18, wherein the axial spacing of the crushing tooth groups on one drum 18 is staggered with the axial spacing of the crushing tooth groups on the other drum 18, so that the crushing teeth in one crushing tooth group on one drum 18 pass between two adjacent crushing tooth groups on the other drum 18. The housing 20 may be made of steel plates bolted and welded together.

[0036] One end of the crushing drum 18 may be provided with a gear arrangement, wherein one crushing drum 18 is geared relative to the other crushing drum so that they are driven from a common drive means to rotate in opposite directions. The pair of drums 18 may rotate to guide material between them. The gear connection between the pair of drums may be used to set the rotational position of the drums 18 relative to each other. The crushing teeth on the drums 18 may be arranged to define a series of separate spiral structures spaced circumferentially around each drum 18. These spiral structures extend in different directions along the axis of each drum, i.e., for the left drum, the spiral structure may extend in a counterclockwise direction away from the nearest end wall; for the right drum, the spiral structure may extend in a clockwise reverse direction. Each spiral structure extending along the respective drum may pass through an arc of approximately 90 degrees.

[0037] The shaping of the crushing teeth and their relative position and size can be configured so that during use there are two types of crushing action: a primary crushing action for larger pieces of mineral, which clamps the mineral between the opposing leading faces of the crushing teeth on the opposing drums; and a secondary crushing action, which clamps the mineral material between the trailing edge of the crushing tooth and the leading face of another crushing tooth. The arc passed by the end helix structure, for example, ensures that the secondary crushing action occurs.

[0038] The spacing between the pair of rollers 18 can be selected so that when the tip of the crushing teeth on one of the rollers 18 sweeps over the slots defined between the crushing teeth set on the other roller 18, there is sufficient clearance to avoid compacting the material. Thus, by properly selecting the spacing, fine material can be quickly passed through the classifying crusher without being compacted, thereby allowing the classifying crusher to crush larger pieces of material through primary and / or secondary crushing action.

[0039] return Figure 1A and Figure 1B , the apparatus 10 may include a gyratory crusher 22 as a primary crusher. The apparatus 10 may include a cone crusher 24 as a tertiary crusher. The classifying crusher 14 may be fed directly from a screen 26. Advantageously, no silo is required to feed the crusher 14 because the crusher 14 does not need to crush the iron ore material at a constant feed rate. The screen 26 screens the iron ore material according to particle size, allowing the smaller particle size material to bypass the classifying crusher 14 as natural fines 28, while the remaining portion is sorted according to the coarse screen midds 30 and the classifying crusher feed device 32.

[0040] Reference Figure 4 , the primary crushing station may cut into the rock instead of having a retaining wall; the gyratory crusher 22 may be mounted on a combination of steel and concrete for crushing the iron ore material 12 into a large bin or silo 70. The large bin may have a waist and a pair of leg hoppers to distribute the crushed iron ore between the two leg hoppers, from which the crushed iron ore is fed to two separate coarse screen feed conveyors 34, such as Figure 1A and Figure 1B shown.

[0041] Reference Figure 5, the coarse screen feed device 34 includes a pair of conveyors that convey the iron ore material 12 from the gyratory crusher 22 to the coarse screen 26. Advantageously, by providing two conveyors, two coarse screens 26 and two sizing crushers 14, it is possible to shut down one of the conveyors for maintenance while the other conveyor is running, so that the entire plant 10 can be maintained online. This is important because it means that the plant does not require a large number of people to maintain it, which means that the skills of the maintenance team can be optimized and errors that may occur due to lack of skills (realizing a large labor force) and / or due to rushing to complete maintenance while the plant is offline are avoided. The applicant foresees that, with the present invention, for a given plant size, the shutdown staffing will be reduced from 700 people to 200 people. Figure 1A-Figure 12 In the example shown, the plant is a plant with an annual production capacity of 10-30 million tons.

[0042] Reference Figure 1A-Figure 3 , and referring to the apparatus 10 in the upper part of the process flow diagram, the apparatus 10 includes a primary crusher 22, a secondary crusher 14, and a tertiary crusher 24, and the apparatus 10 includes a pair of independently operable conveyors from the primary crusher 22 to the secondary crusher 14, and from the secondary crusher 14 to the tertiary crusher 24; and three conveyors from the tertiary crusher 24 to the screen 40, wherein the screen 40 returns to the tertiary crusher 24. In the example of the present invention shown in the figure, the apparatus 10 includes two conveyors from the primary crusher 22 to the secondary crusher 14, two conveyors from the secondary crusher 14 to the tertiary crusher 24, and three conveyors from the tertiary crusher 24 to the screen 40, wherein the screen 40 returns to the tertiary crusher 24. In addition, the apparatus 10 has a single primary crusher in the form of a single gyratory crusher 22, a plurality of secondary crushers in the form of two grading crushers 14, and a plurality of tertiary crushers in the form of three cone crushers 24. Thus, in the preferred example of the invention shown in the figures, the plant 10 has a single primary crusher, two secondary crushers and three tertiary crushers.

[0043] As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the secondary crusher 14 is arranged to be fed from the primary crusher 22; more specifically, the secondary crusher 14 is arranged to be fed directly from the primary crusher, with no silo for accumulation / regulation of iron ore material between the primary crusher 22 and the secondary crusher 14. As described above, this is achieved because the applicant has determined that the grading crusher 14 does not require a constant rate of supply of iron ore material, thereby being able to accommodate the potential intermittent supply of iron ore material from the primary crusher 22. This, in turn, has the advantage of not requiring a large accumulation silo, and, since such silos are typically large, the building height can be greatly reduced. Although a silo is used in the form of a tertiary crushing silo 36 to feed the cone crusher 24 of the tertiary crushing station, the tertiary crushing silo 36 is replicated as three parallel silos (see Figure 1Aand Figure 1B ), making the silos smaller and the buildings correspondingly lower, e.g. Figure 6 By repeating and duplicating components rather than making each individual part larger, the applicant achieves an effective modular design, thereby reducing inventory.

[0044] Advantageously, the apparatus 10 comprises at least one conveyor, wherein each conveyor of the apparatus 10 has a fixed single discharge point. This is in contrast to typical conveyors having a moving transfer portion, a moving portion and / or a moving shuttle. The applicant has determined that the advantages of direct feeding are promoted by eliminating the silo of the secondary crushing station and reducing the size of the silo of the tertiary crushing station, thereby eliminating the need for conveyor movement to transport the material to a series of locations. A pair of conveyors terminate at positions corresponding to the adjacent sides of adjacent tertiary crushing silos 36, so that the iron ore material falls above the upper edges of these adjacent sides and is thereby distributed between the three silos. In this way, without the use of a moving conveyor, the feed from two separate conveyors is divided into three different feeds. Each of the three tertiary crushing silos 36 is fed to a separate cone crusher 24, and each cone crusher 24 feeds to a different conveyor in the three product screen feed conveyors 38.

[0045] like Figure 2 As shown in detail in FIG. 1 , the secondary crusher 14 is arranged to be fed directly from a screen 26, wherein the screen 26 is used to filter the iron ore material 12 from the primary crusher 22 according to material size.

[0046] The product screen feed conveyor 38 delivers the iron ore material 12 to three separate screens 40 which determine whether the iron ore material 12 is directed to a total production fines conveyor 42 or returned via return material along a tertiary crusher feed conveyor 44 for further tertiary crushing.

[0047] The iron ore material on the total natural fines conveyor 46 and the total produced fines conveyor 42 is then conveyed to an overland conveyor 50, which in turn conveys it to a stockyard conveyor 52. Fig.12 As shown, the total natural fines conveyor 46 and the total generated fines conveyor 42 run perpendicular to the conveyors between the primary, secondary and tertiary crushing stations. Also, the total natural fines conveyor 46 and the total generated fines conveyor 42 run perpendicular to the overland conveyor 50. Fig.12 Also shown are three conveyors feeding from the tertiary crusher to the screen 40 alternating between the two tertiary crusher feed conveyors feeding from the secondary crusher 14 to the tertiary crusher 24. In this way, the feed direction is reversed 180 degrees at the tertiary crushing station to feed back upon itself and minimize the footprint and size of the plant.

[0048] The yard conveyor 52 is in the form of a single yard belt located below a reversible stacker / reclaimer 54, such that the single yard belt is configured to provide a throughload function of loading the iron ore onto a train 58, a stacking function of stacking the iron ore onto a stockpile 56 (possibly via another stockpile conveyor to another stockpile 56, such as Figure 1A , Figure 1B and Figure 3 The stockyard conveyor 52 includes a bypass chute for bypassing the stockpile / reclaimer 54, and is capable of selectively delivering the iron ore to the stockpile conveyor 62 or the bypass chute 60 (in the case where the iron ore is to be delivered directly to the train 58). The stockpile conveyor 62 delivers the iron ore to the reversible conveyor 64, which, when driven forward, delivers the iron ore to the stockpile conveyor (stock piling conveyor), and thence to the stockpile 56. The stockpile / reclaimer can be driven to take the iron ore from the stockpile 56 and deliver it to the reversible conveyor 64 to the reclaimer chute 66, through which the iron ore is delivered to a single stockyard belt, which in turn delivers the iron ore to the train loading (TLO) equipment 68.

[0049] The crushing stage refers to the reduction of the size of a material or mineral in a single process performed by one or more units of equipment.

[0050] The first stage can be any of the following:

[0051] 1x gyratory crusher

[0052] 1x Jaw Crusher

[0053] 2x Classifying Crusher (for primary and secondary production of typical primary crusher ore)

[0054] The secondary stage can be any of the following (for each process stream):

[0055] 1x cone crusher

[0056] 1x Classifying Crusher

[0057] 1x double roll crusher

[0058] The tertiary stages can be any of the following (for each process stream):

[0059] 1x cone crusher

[0060] 1x HPGR

[0061] 1x grinding machine (mill)

[0062] Particle Size Distribution (PSD):

[0063] Primary stage crushing: feed - 1500mm, product - 270mm

[0064] Secondary stage crushing: feed - 270mm, product - 100mm

[0065] Three-stage crushing: feed - 100mm, product - 8mm

[0066] Although various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that these embodiments are provided by way of example only and not by way of limitation. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention should not be limited to any of the above exemplary embodiments.

[0067] Reference in this specification to any previous publication (or information derived therefrom) or any known matter is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgement, recognition or any form of suggestion that the previous publication (or information derived therefrom) or known matter forms part of the common general knowledge in the field to which this specification relates.

[0068] In the present specification and claims, unless the context indicates otherwise, the word "comprising" will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated integers or steps or groups of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integers or steps or groups of integers or steps.

[0069] Reference numerals list

[0070] 10- Equipment for processing iron ore

[0071] 12-Iron Ore

[0072] 14-Grading Crusher

[0073] 16-Mineral Crusher

[0074] 18- Crushing drum

[0075] 20- Shell

[0076] 22-Gyratory Crusher

[0077] 24-Cone Crusher

[0078] 26-Sieve

[0079] 28-Natural fine particles

[0080] 30-Coarse screen midds

[0081] 32-Grading Crusher Feeding Device

[0082] 34- Coarse screen feeding device

[0083] 36-Three-stage crushing silo

[0084] 38-Product Screen Feed Conveyor

[0085] 40-Sieve

[0086] 42-Total fine particle conveyor

[0087] 44-Three-stage crusher feed conveyor

[0088] 46-Total Natural Fine Particle Conveyor

[0089] 50-Overland Conveyor

[0090] 52- Material yard conveyor

[0091] 54-Stacker / Reclaimer

[0092] 56-Stacking pile

[0093] 58-Train

[0094] 60-Bypass ramp

[0095] 62-Stacking Conveyor

[0096] 64-Reversible conveyor

[0097] 66-Reclaiming chute

[0098] 68-Train Loading (TLO) Equipment

[0099] 70-Large Silo

[0100] 72-Generated fine particles or generated fine particles

[0101] 74-Super Large Product Screen

[0102] 76-Pile conveyor

[0103] 78-Train Loading (TLO)

[0104] 80 - Direct Train Load (TLO)

[0105] 82-Retrieving

[0106] 84-paired end

[0107] 86-Door

[0108] 88-(clamshell) flip bucket

[0109] 90-port

[0110] 92-reversible

[0111] 94-150m 3

[0112] 96-rail loop

Claims

1. An apparatus for processing iron ore, comprising a primary crusher for crushing iron ore material of a primary size in a primary stage crushing operation, and a mineral crusher as a secondary crusher for crushing the crushed iron ore material from the primary crusher into smaller pieces in a subsequent secondary stage crushing operation, wherein: The mineral crusher is arranged to be fed directly from the primary crusher without a material storage device for accumulation / regulation of the crushed iron ore material between the primary crusher and the mineral crusher, and wherein a screen is used to filter the crushed iron ore material from the primary crusher according to the material size, wherein smaller particle size material is allowed to bypass the secondary crusher.

2. The device for processing iron ore according to claim 1, wherein: The mineral crusher is configured to accommodate an intermittent supply of crushed iron mineral material to be fed directly to the mineral crusher from the primary crusher.

3. The device for processing iron ore according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The mineral crusher has a pair of side-by-side crushing drums rotatably mounted within a housing.

4. The device for processing iron ore according to claim 3, wherein: The pair of crushing drums rotate in opposite directions to facilitate further crushing of the crushed iron ore material from the primary crusher between the crushing drums.

5. The device for processing iron ore according to claim 4, wherein: Each crushing drum is provided with a crushing tooth group extending in the circumferential direction, and the crushing tooth groups are spaced axially along the crushing drum, and the axial spacing of the crushing tooth groups on one drum is staggered with the axial spacing of the crushing tooth groups on the other drum, so that the crushing teeth in the crushing tooth group on one drum pass between two adjacent crushing tooth groups on the other drum.

6. The device for processing iron ore according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The primary crusher comprises a gyratory crusher.

7. The device for processing iron ore according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The screen is arranged to filter the primary stage crushed iron ore material according to size, wherein smaller sized iron ore material is allowed to bypass subsequent processing operations as natural fines.

8. The apparatus for processing iron ore according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a pair of independently operable conveyors from the primary crusher to the secondary crusher for conveying crushed iron ore materials.

9. The device for processing iron ore according to claim 8, wherein: Each conveyor has a fixed single discharge point.

10. The device for processing iron ore according to claim 8, wherein: Each conveyor includes a variable speed transmission operable to adjust the feed rate of crushed iron ore material entering the secondary crusher.

11. The apparatus for processing iron ore according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a tertiary crusher for further crushing the iron ore material in a subsequent tertiary stage crushing operation.

12. The apparatus for processing iron ore according to claim 11, further comprising a belt located below the reversible stacker / reclaimer downstream of the tertiary crusher, the belt being configured to provide: a direct loading function for directly loading the crushed iron ore material onto a transport vehicle; a stacking function for stacking the crushed iron ore material onto a stockpile; and a reclaiming function for collecting the iron ore material from the stockpile to the transport vehicle.

13. The device for processing iron ore according to claim 11, wherein: The apparatus comprises a plurality of independently operable secondary screening, crushing and conveying circuits for further processing the crushed iron ore material from the primary crusher, and a plurality of independently operable tertiary screening, crushing and conveying circuits for further processing the crushed iron ore material from the secondary crusher; the apparatus allows cross-feeding between parallel circuits.

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