F.P. VAN DER MEER1, R. FERNANDEZ2
1. F.P.van der Meer, Weir Minerals Plc, Minerals Processing and HPGR Technology, Egtenrayseweg 9, 5928 PH Venlo
The Netherlands, T: +31 (0)77 3272955, E:
2. R. Fernandez, Weir Minerals Sud-America, Manager Comminution Division San José 0815, San Bernardo, Santiago Chile T: +56 (2) 27542115 E:
Presented at Conference: SAG 2015 Vancouver
AG or SAG milling frequently becomes a bottle-neck in an operation as the generation of critical size pebbles and the subsequent required re-crushing of these results in an extra burden for the (S)AG mill in the form of a recirculating load of harder and more abrasive material.
HPGRs are high capacity crushing units providing a high reduction ratio, especially in terms of the generation of finer particle size fractions than conventional crushers. HPGR crushing can provide a profitable alternative or addition to a grinding circuit, allowing the crushed pebbles to be bled to the subsequent downstream ball mill grinding and beneficiation stages, thus freeing desired capacity for the (S)AG mill stage and enhancing overall plant throughput. In addition, the low operating cost and low specific energy consumption of HPGR allows the installation of this technology with a remarkably short payback time.
Adapted wear parts design and dedicated maintenance procedures guarantee very high HPGR availability and low operational downtime.
This publication summarises some of the features and experiences for HPGR application in pebble crushing and includes an example case study of pebble crushing in a copper minerals processing project.
KEYWORDS
HPGR, Pebble Crushing, SAG, Energy, Capacity PEBBLE