Ore Comminution Circuit for Low Energy Metal Extraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional metal milling processes for mineralized ores are energy-intensive and inefficient, consuming a significant portion of electrical power and lacking in understanding of energy usage and cost comparison across comminution circuits.
Innovation Solution
A multi-step method involving crushing, grinding, screening, and milling of ore particles to separate them into various size groups, followed by further processing, which includes the use of primary and secondary crushers, screens, cyclones, and ball or stirred mills, with optional ore sorting and flotation, to optimize energy consumption and reduce waste.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If traditional crushing and grinding methods are used for metal extraction, then metal separation from ore is achieved, but energy consumption is excessively high (1-4% of all electrical power generated)
Solution Approach 1:
The comminution process is divided into multiple discrete size reduction stages (primary crushing, secondary crushing, grinding) with intermediate screening to separate particles into different size groups. This segmentation allows each stage to be optimized for its specific size range, reducing overall energy consumption compared to a single-stage approach while maintaining effective metal extraction.
Solution Approach 2:
Different comminution methods are applied to different particle size groups: primary crushing for large particles (100mm to 50mm), secondary crushing for medium particles (50mm to 30mm), and grinding for fine particles (less than 30mm). Each stage uses the most energy-efficient method appropriate for its specific particle size range, optimizing energy usage while achieving complete metal extraction.
2Manufacturing precision
If grinding mills are used for particle size reduction, then ore is ground to fine particles, but the process is inefficient and has a random nature of particle size reduction
Solution Approach 1:
Screening is performed after each crushing stage to pre-separate particles into defined size groups before they proceed to the next comminution stage. This preliminary action ensures that only particles requiring further size reduction are processed, providing precise control over particle size distribution and eliminating the random nature of traditional grinding while improving energy efficiency.
3Ease of operation
If a simple single-stage comminution process is used, then the process is simple to operate, but energy consumption is high and metal extraction is inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The process parameters (crushing ratio, grinding media size, screen aperture dimensions) are optimized for each specific size reduction stage. By changing parameters to match the specific particle size range being processed at each stage, the system achieves high energy efficiency while maintaining operational simplicity through standardized procedures for each stage.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems for preparing ore for precious metal extraction is provided. For example, a method comprises crushing ore; grinding the crushed ore; screening the ground ore to separate ore particles into a first group of large ore particles and a first group of small ore particles; crushing the first group of large ore particles; screening the crushed ore to separate into a second group of large ore particles and a second group of small ore particles; separating the second group of small ore particles from the screen into a third group of large particles and a third group of small particles; milling the third group of large ore particles; separating milled particles into a fourth group of large particles and a fourth group of small particles; and sending the third and fourth group of small particles for further metal extraction processing.