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SAG mill circuit optimisation at Ernest Henry Mining

Conference Paper · September 2001

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 III-11 III-12

suggested to maximise SAG mill throughput. This paper describes the

data and results of the optimisation project.

GENERAL

Ernest Henry Mining Pty Ltd (EHM) is an incorporated joint venture

SAG MILL CIRCUIT OPTIMISATION AT ERNEST HENRY MINING
between MIM Holdings Limited (51%) and Investco Ltd. (49%). The
Ernest Henry Mine ore reserve is 123 million tonnes averaging 1.1 wt%
Cu and 0.55 g/t Au. The mineralised zone can be broadly subdivided
into two main zones; the supergene and the primary. Primary ore,
which comprises approximately 85% of the orebody, is mineralogically
simple while supergene ore mineralogy is complex.

The life of mine strip ratio is 4.8:1, however the ratio varies from 2.5:1 in
1 2
S. Strohmayr , W. Valery Jr. the first year of pit operations up to 5.6:1 in Year 8, to less than 1:1 in
the last 2 years of production. The final pit design has a surface
1 diameter of 1300m and a depth of 570m. The scale of the project and
Ernest Henry – Concentrator Operations Superintendent
2 orientation of the deposit lends itself to open cut extraction using large
Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre – Project Leader
equipment.
ABSTRACT
The concentrator, commissioned in August 1997, is a single line plant
using contemporary equipment with a nominal throughput rate of 1200
The Ernest Henry Mine is situated approximately 35km north-east of
tonnes per hour. An average of 350,000 tonnes of concentrate will be
Cloncurry in the Mount Isa – Cloncurry mineral district of north-west
produced per year containing 100,000 tonnes of copper metal and
Queensland. The concentrator is a single line plant using contemporary
120,000 troy ounces of gold.
equipment with a nominal throughput rate of 1200 tonnes per hour. An
average of 350,000 tonnes of concentrate is produced each year
In the financial year just completed the concentrator milled 10.3 million
containing 100,000 tonnes of copper metal and 120,000 troy ounces of
tonnes at 1300 tonnes per hour to produce 105,000 tonnes of copper
gold.
metal and 118,000 troy ounces of gold.
The milling circuit was commissioned in August 1997 and consists of a
The majority of the copper concentrate is trucked to Mount Isa for
10.4m x 5.1m SAG mill powered by two 5.5 MW drives, in closed circuit
smelting.
with a 3.7m x 7.3m vibrating screen. Screen oversize is recirculated
back to the SAG feed with conveyors. The screen undersize combines
MINERALISATION
with the ball mill discharge in a common sump and is pumped to 840mm
primary hydrocyclones. The hydrocyclone overflow advances to rougher
The following geological description is largely from a paper published by
flotation while the hydrocyclone underflow forms the ball mill feed. The
Ryan (1998).
6.4m x 8.1m ball mill has 5.5MW of installed power.
Mineralisation at Ernest Henry is developed in a south-east plunging
An optimisation project was conducted with the Julius Kruttschnitt
body of altered and variably brecciated felsic volcanic rock. The
Mineral Research Centre (JKMRC) to optimise SAG mill circuit
combined thickness of the mineralised sequence is approximately
performance. Alternative circuit operating conditions were investigated
250m, width averages 300m and the down dip length is approximately
and SAG mills lifter/liner design was modified. JKSAGCharge was
1000m. The down dip limit remains untested at this time.
installed to control the SAG mill charge. The project also included an
investigation of the effect of run of mine fragmentation in SAG mill
Mineralisation can be divided into two main zones; the supergene and
throughput and based on the simulations, alternative blast designs were
the primary. The supergene zone comprises material that has been
 III-13
modified by weathering processes and therefore lies above the Base of
Partial Oxidation (‘BOPO’). The primary zone lies below the BOPO and
shows no effect of weathering. Supergene ore makes up 15% of the ore
body and primary ore makes up the remaining 85%.
Primary Zone
The primary ore mineralogy is quite simple. The ore assemblage is
dominated by chalcopyrite within a magnetite-carbonate gangue, there
are no other oxides or sulphides of economic importance. Copper
grades show a bi-modal distribution, with the <0.7 wt% Cu component
associated with fracture-filled crackle breccia which has minimal clast
digestion and low magnetite concentrations. The mean magnetite
content of the primary ore is 20-25 wt%. Magnetite is important in that
the copper grade increases with increased matrix, percentage of
magnetite and consequently specific gravity.
Pyrite is abundant but decreases with increasing chalcopyrite in the
higher grade zones. Gold shows a strong positive correlation with the
chalcopyrite, although hematite and pyrite may be important sites for
gold mineralisation.
Gold is primarily contained within chalcopyrite. There is a strong
correlation between copper and gold in the primary ore zone however
this gold is fine grained with only a few particles seen in mineralogical
work carried out at Mount Isa Mines Limited.
Supergene Zone
The supergene ore zone is much more mineralogically complex. The
complex overlying of sulphides in the supergene zone is the result of
several oxidation/reduction events. The predominant copper species in
the supergene profile are chalcocite, secondary chalcopyrite, bornite and
native copper. “Chalcocite” is used here to denote a group of copper
sulphide minerals, which includes djulerite and digenite. Secondary
chalcopyrite is the product of the reduction of chalcocite. Native copper
occurs in two distinct forms; a very fine grained disseminated distribution,
and a coarse grained variation.
The mineral distribution is complex and as noted by Ryan, there is little
correlation between mineral distributions in adjacent drill holes at 40m
spacing.
There is no apparent relationship between gold and copper in the
supergene zone. Gold is usually extremely fine grained and has been
noted in interstitial gangue sites and in the sulphides.
III-14
The iron oxides in the supergene zone show similar complexity to the
copper sulphides. Generally magnetite is oxidised to hematite and or
goethite, although some primary magnetite exists above the BOPO.
TESTWORK OVERVIEW
Metallurgical studies on the Ernest Henry Deposit commenced in 1992.
Western Mining Engineering Services (WES) conducted testwork at
their own laboratories and with AMDEL in South Australia. The WES
program was suspended in April 1993.
EHM commenced metallurgical studies in October 1993 with a program
that focussed on developing a simple, conventional flowsheet for the
treatment of primary ore which could be easily modified for Supergene
ore treatment. The testwork was carried out by a number of
organisations in order to gain access to the very substantial body of
knowledge for porphyry copper ores. Although the EHM orebody is not
a porphyry copper orebody it was decided that following the knowledge
gained from this approach would result in a simple plant design,
capable of achieving results in a short time frame and reduce the
uncertainty associated with the outcome.
The EHM testwork program was initiated with four fresh PQ diamond
drill cores specifically taken for metallurgical process development.
These initial holes were subsequently followed by additional diamond
drill core from the geological drilling program. Hole spacing for the
program was 80m centres in primary ore and 40m centres in supergene
ore.
In total, samples from 88 drill holes were used in the testwork programs;
41 from the Western Mining (WMC) drilling program and 47 from the
EHM drilling program (Figure 1 on the next page). The drill holes tested
represent a good cross-section of the ore body, with those used for the
grinding circuit assessment being representative of the first six years of
production but not the later years.
PILOT PLANT VERSUS LABORATORY TECHNIQUES
Most of the testwork has been carried out at bench scale level with
small scale continuous testwork being conducted on primary ore
flotation to produce concentrate for smelting tests and the native copper
recovery circuit.
There were three main reasons for not proceeding with pilot plant
testwork: -
 III-15 III-16

• Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre (JKMRC)

68800mE

69000mE

69200mE

69400mE

69600mE
• A.R. McPherson Consultants (ARM)
• AMDEL
39500mN Upper Lens • Orway Mineral Consultants (OMC)
• Met Engineers Ltd (Canada)

71
Eastern Lens

26
ML
In addition, Fluor Daniel undertook in-house evaluations of the grinding
39300mN
circuit testwork results.

Lower Lens
Samples from five 85mm diamond drill holes were used in the
comminution tests at JKMRC, AMDEL and ARM. These results along
39100mN Surface with Bond Work Index tests carried out by Met Engineers Ltd as part of
Projections the flotation testwork, were the basis of the initial mill sizing by OMC,
of Orebody
ARM, JK Tech and Fluor Daniel Wright (FDW).

38900mN
Point Load Index tests (PLI) were carried out on the drill core from the
geological drilling program to provide data on the variance in grinding
characteristics over the orebody.

Primary ore is fairly homogeneous, and its response to comminution

38700mN
was relatively uniform on the samples tested. Since primary ore
constitutes approximately 85% of the total ore body the grinding circuit
design is based on the treatment of this ore. The supergene ore zone is
Ultimate Pit considerably more variable in composition and physical characteristics,
Boundary which posed a problem for the grinding circuit design since the
supergene material is the major ore type for the first three years of
production. Circuit flexibility was incorporated as a fundamental design
Figure 1 Location of Drill Holes used in Testwork criterion.

1. The initial metallurgical characterisation of the ore indicated that it fell
within the very substantial body of knowledge for porphyry copper ores,
2. A significant amount of time would be added to the development
schedule, and
3. The pilot plant testing would provide significant amounts of data about
the parcel of material tested, but not provide data for the orebody as a
whole. The ability to obtain a representative sample was considered
difficult if not impossible.
Therefore the testwork effort was directed towards gathering as much
data about the orebody through the use of laboratory tests.
Grinding Testwork
The following organisations performed grinding testwork:
COMMINUTION TEST RESULTS
The following is a listing and interpretation of the results from the
laboratory grinding testwork.
Bond Work Index Testing
Table 1 on the next page summarises the results from the Bond Work
Index testing. The results showed that the ore was relatively consistent
in grindability, particularly in the ball milling range. The variability in the
rod mill work indexes was much more significant and indicated that
some of the primary ore and a greater amount of the supergene ore is
less competent than the average. Hence a reasonably high ball load in
the SAG mill would be required to achieve the design throughput rates
with a satisfactory product size.
 III-17 III-18

Table 1: Bond Work Index Test Results JKMRC Drop Weight Tests

Work Index (kWh/t) Primary Ore Supergene Ore JKMRC drop weight tests were conducted and the results are presented
Rod Mill Average 11.4 10.1 in Table 4.
Maximum 15.2 13.6
Minimum 8.9 7.6 Table 4: JK MRC Comminution Parameters
Standard Deviation 2.1 1.7
Ball Mill Average 11.7 10.7 Sample Parameters
Maximum 15.1 12.4 A b A*b ta
Minimum 9.8 8.4 Primary Ore 52 0.78 41 0.47
Standard Deviation 1.8 1.2 77 0.60 46 0.33
Supergene Ore 78 0.53 41 0.78
Ore Specific Gravity 55 1.98 109 1.19

Specific gravity determinations are shown in Table 2 below.

Compared to the average SAG/FAG appearance function data in the JK
Table 2: Ore Specific Gravity Tech database, primary ore and the ‘harder’ supergene ore is less
susceptible to impact breakage (harder) with a lower-than-average
Primary Ore SG Supergene Ore SG tendency to produce fines by abrasion.
Maximum 3.73 3.38
Minimum 3.05 2.96 However, there are many ores, which are more resistant to both impact
Average 3.42 3.25 and abrasion which are being successfully processed by AG/SAG
Mill Charge 3.12 3.29 milling eg. MIM copper ore has b values as low as 0.81 (A=50 at
A*b=40) with lower ta values at 0.28 – 0.33.

The average feed densities were used for mill sizing, with allowances for The ‘softer’ supergene ore is substantially softer than average database
operation over a range of densities. SAG ores tending to break down more by impact with a substantially
greater tendency to abrade to create fine particles.
Unconfined Compressive Strength.
The results listed above were interpreted as follows;
The unconfined compressive (UCS) values obtained are shown in Table
3. • Supergene ore has low competency with little chance of successful
autogenous milling (or grinding), while primary ore is generally
Table 3: Unconfined Compressive Strength tough and competent, particularly in the 50 to 75 mm size ranges
which makes excellent grinding media. The primary ore would
Primary Ore (MPa) Supergene Ore (MPa) probably produce sufficient media for fully autogenous grinding.
Maximum 161 110
Minimum 79 20 • Both supergene and primary ores have below average compressive
Average 116 55 strengths and above average grindability.

• It would be possible to treat primary ore autogenously, but safer to

Interpretation of these results indicated that the supergene ore was low use a Semi Autogenous Grinding (SAG) mill ball charge of 8% v/v
in competency and would require a high SAG ball to achieve throughput followed by a ball mill.
rates, while the primary ore was quite competent and would produce
good SAG mill media.
 III-19 III-20

Grinding Flowsheet Selection Table 5: Comparison of Consultants Mill Sizing Recommendations

The philosophy of a single grinding line using some of the largest OMC ARM FDW
commercially available equipment was adopted in order to keep the SAG Mill No. of Units 1 1 1
Diameter m 9.75 10.37 10.37
flowsheet and plant layout simple with the objective of minimising costs.
Length m 4.27 4.87 4.42
Power Draw kW 6582 7986 8842
ARM, OMC and FDW have all recommended a flowsheet consisting of Motor Power kW 8250 8500 10000
SAG milling in closed circuit with a vibrating screen followed by a ball mill Ball Charge % v/v 8 8 10
in closed circuit with hydrocyclones. There was strong agreement Work Index kWh/t 29.32 12.7 20.46
between all consultants that this would represent the lowest risk option, Transfer Size k80 µm 1970 300 610
considering the nature and scale of samples tested.
Ball Mill No. of Units 2 1 1
Diameter m 5.33 5.18 5.49
An alternative circuit, consisting of a fully autogenous mill in closed Length m 7.62 9.15 8.38
circuit with a recycle crusher followed by a ball mill in closed circuit with Power Draw kW 6650 3013 4700
hydrocyclones (ABC circuit), was also considered to be suitable for Work Index kWh/t 12.4 12.0 10.0
primary ore. OMC estimated the circuit would consume about 20% more
power than the SAG/ball circuit, which approximated the savings Total Power Draw kW 13232 10817 13542
obtained by the elimination of grinding media. However, the ABC circuit
would not be suitable for treating supergene ore due to its low The final mill sizes selected were undertaken with the above in mind
competency and was estimated to have a higher capital cost. and considerations of commonality of parts between the mills. The mills
selected were:
An extensive review of the alternative circuits revealed that the difference Table 6: Final Mill Selection
in capital cost between the various options was insignificant. To reduce
the uncertainty associated with the risk it was decided to proceed with a SAG Mill – the world’s largest shell supported SAG Mill. ( Tew, 1999)
very conservative selection. A SAG/ball mill circuit using the largest No. of Units 1
commercially available ball mill in conjunction with a proven SAG mill Diameter m 10.4
design was selected as the preferred option. This circuit would be Length m 5.1
suitable for treating both primary and supergene ores. Motor Power kW 11,000
Ball Charge % v/v 8
Mill Sizing for Primary Ore Work Index kWh/t 10.7
Transfer Size T80 µm 610
Three independent consulting groups made mill size selection for the
treatment of 9 Mt/a primary ore. Table 5 on the next page summarises Ball Mill
the results. No. of Units 1
Diameter m 6.10
There was reasonable agreement between the selections. However, the Length m 8.4
low total power proposed by ARM indicates that a SAG/ball combination Power Draw kW 5,500
would be as power efficient as a rod/ball mill circuit. This is unlikely to be Work Index kWh/t 11.7
the case for a SAG mill in closed circuit with a vibrating screen.
Total Power Installed kW 16,500
A single SAG mill/ball mill circuit based on the FDW mill sizing was
selected. This sizing used a ball mill work index of 10.0 kWh/t based on Grinding Simulation
the 1992 testwork. The further grinding testwork conducted gave an
average ball mill work index of 11.7 kWh/t. The mill sizes were JK Tech were engaged to run simulations on this selection and
subsequently modified to reflect the increased power. confirmed that a suitable product could be obtained from a circuit
comprising the selected SAG mill in closed circuit with a single deck
 III-21 III-22

vibrating screen, combined with a ball mill in closed circuit with COMMISSIONING
hydrocyclones.
The plant commissioning was reasonably uneventful. This was
The simulations highlighted that classification, using hydrocyclones, of attributed to a number of factors;
the ball mill circulating load to produce a coarse product would be
difficulty due to the relatively high specific gravity of the hydrocyclone The approach to commissioning was very structured. The plant was
feed solids. The hydrocyclones would have to be operated very divided into small “modules” where detailed programs of work were
inefficiently to achieve the desired result. This would result in high undertaken by dedicated commissioning crews. As the modules were
closed circulating loads of dense minerals (magnetite and native copper), complete they combined with others to form larger units of the plant until
overgrinding and inefficient use of ball mill power. a section, for example grinding, was signed off ready to run.

Supergene Ore Treatment Employment of experienced people at all levels of operation well before
startup. Where possible operations personnel were involved in
The variable supergene ore performance was assessed and commissioning.
conservative estimates showed that it would be milled at a rate 10 to
15% greater than the primary ore although the conditions in the SAG mill Figure 3 shows the throughput and plant availability over the first 19
would have to be altered. It was envisaged that ball charge, mill speed months of operation. Throughput and plant availability targets were met
and recirculation of the hydrocyclone underflow could be used as control and exceeded within the first year of operation.
variables. The SAG mill was installed with a fixed speed motor, however
the possibility to retrofit a variable speed drive with limited speed
adjustment, if it is found to be necessary, was allowed. Ernest Henry Mining - The First 19 Months
Plant Availability - Ore Milled
900,000 100
The final process flowsheet is shown in Figure 2 below. Design Plant Availability 90.5%
800,000 90
ERNEST HENRY MINING PROCESS FLOWSHEET
mine 80
700,000
Gyratory
Crusher Stockpile
70

Monthly Throughput (dmt)

200,000 tonne capacity
SAG Mill 600,000
Svedala Krupp 11 MW drive
60

Availability (%)
60" x 89" 10.4m x 5.1 m

500,000
50
Screen
7mm aperture 400,000
40
Rougher
9 x 127m
3
Wemco Smart Cells
300,000
30
Krebs
Cleaner 1 Krebs 8 x 840mm 200,000
8 x 50m 3 OK50's 6 x 250 mm 20

100,000 10

Cleaner 2
8 x 16m
3
OK16
0 0

8
98

98

9
97

98

99
7

8
7

8
8
8
9

-9

-9

9
-9
-9

r-9

-9
l-9
-9

-9
-9
p-

g-

p-
n-

n-

n-
g-
Svedala

b-

b-
ov

ov
ar

ay
ct

ct
ec

ec
Ju
Ap
Se

Au

Se
Au

Ja

Ju

Ja
Fe

Fe
O

O
1 MV drive

M
N

N
M
D

D
Cleaner 3
3
Milled Tonnes - Actual Plant Availability (%) Feasibility Forcast Throughput
5 x 16m OK16 Verti Mill Screen Ball Mill

Figure 3: Feasibility Predictions vs Actual Production Results

Krupp 5.5 MW drive
6.1 m x 8.4 m

Tailings Thickener Concentrate Thickener Pressure

Native Copper Stockpile FIRST YEAR OF OPERATION
Eimco 55 m traction drive Eimco 25 m Filter
Concentrate Stockpile
2
Tailings Dam Larox 144 m

Ore Variability

Figure 2: Ernest Henry Flowsheet Supergene ore was the sole source of feed to the concentrator for the
first 6 months of operation. The short-term variability (1 – 2 hrs) of the
 III-23 III-24

ore in terms of throughput, head grade and metallurgical response far Typical Sag Mill Operating Trends
exceeded the predictions from the feasibility testwork.
10000

1200
Throughput typically varied by up to 800 tph within a single 12-hour shift. 9000

SAG milling is particularly sensitive to changes in feed characteristics,

Feed Rate, Bearing Weight , & Scats (ton), Mill

8000
1000
thus the variation seen in the mill feed characteristics had significant 7000
detrimental affects on steady SAG mill operation. Figure 4 at the top of

Water Flow (m3/hr)

800 6000

Mill Power (kW)

the next page shows a typical 12 hour SAG trend.
5000
600

Additionally the SAG mill ball load could not be set up optimally for 4000

treating the harder ores, because the ore could just as readily change to 400 3000

easy milling material, which when treated with a high ball charge emptied
2000
the mill of rock charge, resulting in damage to the shell liners. The rapid 200

change in ore hardness resulted in the significant shell liner failures 1000

experienced during the first 6 months of operation. 0 0

7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00
Time

Operational techniques and process modifications incorporated to Sag Feed Rate Sag Mill Bearing Rate Scats Sag Mill Water Flow Sag Mill Power

prevent the mill emptying on softer ore included: Figure 4: Variation in SAG operation

• Running the mill at high mill wt% solids > 88 wt% solids.
• Operating with a ball charge volume of 3 – 4 % v/v.
• Operating the SAG mill apron feeders in a manner to produce the
coarsest feed size. (qualitative).
• Setting the mill volumetric load setpoint high (> 35% v/v) to reduce
impact breakage and promote abrasion, attrition grinding.
• Feeding the mill at feedrates > 1500 tph, however this had
detrimental affects on rougher flotation performance and caused
downtime due to downstream processing limitations (normally the
tailings thickener).
• Modification of the hydrocyclone underflow launder to allow
hydrocyclone underflow to be recycled back to the SAG mill feed.
• Installation of a limited variable speed capability for the SAG mill.
(Installed December 1998).
Operation of the SAG mill with a low ball charge volume prevented
design tonnages being achieved when the mill was fed with harder, more
competent material.
The variable speed drive capability gives the operational flexibility to slow
the mill down if the charge load begins to empty when treating softer ore,
while still maintaining the correct ball load for the harder ores.
Variable speed control is possible between 80% and 95% of maximum
speed. This allows the mill to be varied between 7.9 and 9.4 rpm, and
then in fixed speed at 9.9 rpm.
The variable speed drive consists of an energy dissipation system,
using the liquid resistance starters and an electrolyte cooling system.
Ore variability has decreased due to the mined ore becoming more
primary in nature.
GRINDING MEDIA SIZE
SAG mill grinding media has been varied based on the top size of
material reporting to the mill. During the later half of 1998, the gyratory
crusher gap increased due to accelerated wear of the crusher mantle
and concaves. Coarse rocks up to 500mm in one dimension were
typical of feed reporting to the SAG mill during this time.
Tight maintenance and production schedules, and the lead time in
mobilising equipment and personnel for the change out precluded an
immediate mantle / concave replacement.
To soften the impact of decreased SAG mill throughput due to the
increased feed top size, larger grinding media were introduced, to
improve the impact breakage capability of the SAG mill. 105mm,
125mm, and finally 140mm balls replaced the initial ball size of 90mm.
The 140mm balls were added with some caution, as they represent a
40% increase in ball weight over the 125mm balls, and consequently an
increase in potential liner damage due to ball impacts.
 III-25
105-mm balls have been charged to the mill since the crusher rebuild
and SAG mill liner change (railbar replaced by tophat liners).
The ball size selection challenge for Ernest Henry is to successfully
marry ball breakage effectiveness with ball breakage frequency. This
involves determining the smallest ball, capable of breaking the
largest/hardest rock, and then maximising their number in the ball
charge.
The ball mill was commissioned with 65mm balls. Grinding circuit
surveys indicated that the hydrocyclone underflow 80% passing size was
approximately 700 – 800 microns, significantly less than anticipated
during design. The new ball size of 40mm was selected based on
established empirical relationships. Recent grinding surveys will reveal if
the change in ball size has had a positive effect on reducing the
circulating load. There has not been any negative effects on the ball
milling circuit.
BALL CHARGING / BALL CHARGE VOLUME
Balls are lifted to the top floor of the grinding building in 20 tonne half-
height containers. A series of bins and air-operated jaws allows a
weighed amount of balls to be periodically added to the mill. Daily ball
additions are based on the previous shift’s throughput and the historical
consumption rate. Additional balls are added if the ball charge in the mill
is below target.
The target ball charge volume for the SAG mill is 8 – 12 % v/v. The ball
charge volume has at times varied outside this range due to changes in
ore grindability. The installation of the variable speed drive on the SAG
mill has enabled the mill to be ground out safely to provide an exact
measure of the ball charge volume. This procedure will be repeated at
regular intervals, usually after major shutdowns, to maintain accurate
consumption rate data. Balls are added to the ball mill in a similar
fashion, however the ball mill power draw is used to infer the required
amount of balls. The ball charge in the ball mill is run at 35% v/v, which
required the installation of a dam ring to prevent ball losses to the ball
mill discharge sump. The most recent ball consumption data are shown
in Table 7.
Table 7: Media consumption rates
Actual Design
kg/tonne feed kg/kWh kg/tonne feed
SAG Mill 0.281 0.032 0.3
Ball Mill 0.188 0.041 0.46
III-26
Hydrocyclone Operation
The cyclone cluster of 8 inclined Krebs 840mm (33”) hydrocyclones
receives combined ball mill and sub – screen deck size SAG mill
discharge material via a 20/18 Warman centrifugal pump running with a
1700 kW variable speed motor and gearbox.
The hydrocyclone circuit was designed based on a circulating load
ranging from 200% of new feed to a maximum of 350%. These
volumetric loads required a maximum of 4 cyclones in use with 2 on
stand-by. Operation of the circuit has shown that the recirculating loads
are significantly greater than design at times exceeding 500% of new
feed requiring up to 7 cyclones.
The higher than expected circulating loads result from:
• High magnetite content of the ore concentrating in the hydrocyclone
underflow.
• Inefficient cut of the large diameter hydrocyclones.
• Inability to add additional feed water to the ball mill to achieve the
optimal rheology <85 wt% solids.
Above 85 wt% feed solids the ball mill begins to overload, resulting in a
steadily decreasing power draw and an increased circulating load.
Limited additional water to dilute the hydrocyclone underflow stream
(ball mill feed) requires the hydrocyclones to be run at lower than
optimal pressures, to maintain sufficient water flow in the underflow
stream. In essence optimal hydrocyclone operation is compromised to
maintain the correct grinding rheology in the ball mill. The process
water system is currently being upgraded to provide sufficient dilution
water to the hydrocyclone underflow, which will allow the hydrocyclones
to be optimised and operated independently of the ball mill.
The higher than expected circulating loads have decreased the wear life
of hydrocyclone rubber spigots and cone liners. The 200mm rubber
spigots have all been replaced with ceramic spigots. A ceramic lower
cone liner is also now on trial. The three types of ceramic spigots
installed have performed extremely well during normal operation,
however they do not respond well to impacts from large diameter
grinding media.
The hydrocyclone feed lines have experienced considerable wear and
have been responsible for significant unplanned downtime. Several
sections of the rubber lined pipes have been replaced with mining hose
to improve the wear life and to reduce costs and replacement time.
 III-27 III-28

SAG MILL LINER/LIFTER DESIGN
The evolution of the Ernest Henry SAG mill liners is diagrammatically
shown in Figure 5. Table 8 contains the liner/lifter specifications.
The SAG mill was supplied with ME International railbar design liners as
specified in Table 8. The original liners cracked longitudinally along the
liner portion of the lifter after approximately 3 months of operation.
Several cracked liner sections fell out exposing the mill shell, causing
minor damage and significant downtime. Subsequent production was
interrupted every 5 - 7 days for SAG mill internal inspections to identify
liners, which required immediate removal. During February, March and
April 1998 a total of 67 liners were replaced resulting in the loss of the
original Hi-Lo lifter configuration. The loss of the Hi-Lo pattern did not
have any discernible affect on SAG mill grinding performance.
The solution to the problem of liner breakage at Ernest Henry Mining
has been found by concentrating on improving the release angle of the
balls by adjusting the lifter face angle. The implementation of the
variable speed option had not been incorporated when this work began
hence varying the mill speed was not an available option.
A shortage of liners required a quick redesign of the existing railbar
design. The redesign addressed the result of the real problem, rather
than the cause, by beefing up the liner portion of the lifter as can be
seen in Figure 5. The redesign did improve the life of the liners
however these liners did begin to fail later in their operational life.
Subsequent design changes also shown in Figure 5 indicate the
conservative approach taken to achieving an improved face angle
design. The most recent inspection indicated wear rates of
approximately 1mm of lift per 27,000 tonnes, with no broken liners to
date.

Liner design is still ongoing with the latest set incorporating an

increased face angle of 21 degrees. Computer trajectory simulators
have been used to optimise the face angle design. Both MillTraj (JK
Tech) and Millsoft (Peri Engineering) have been used in the simulation
work. Figure 6 shows a MillTraj simulation output for the 21-degree
face angle Top hat lifters.

Figure 5: Liner profile evolution

15 o

Table 8: SAG mill liner specifications

18 o
Supplier Liner Type Lifter Face Angle Lifter Height Liner Thickness Liner Configuration
MEI Railbar 9 deg 205 mm 75 mm Hi - Lo
MEI Railbar 9 deg 205 mm 90 mm Hi – Hi
MEI Tophat 15 deg 225 mm 100 mm Hi – Hi 21 o
Vaughan Tophat 21 deg 225 mm 100 mm Hi – Hi

The liner breakage has been attributed to excessive steel ball impacts on
the liner surface, which are caused by balls being thrown across the mill,
past the toe of the charge. Overthrow is directly related to the lifter face Figure 6: Trajectory simulation output using 15, 21 and 18 degree
angle and speed of mill rotation. face angles.
 III-29 III-30

POWER DRAW 95% of SAG mill control actions are based on the relationship between
the SAG mill load and the target mill load. The remaining 5% of control
Both mills have achieved and at times exceeded their design maximum actions involve emergency situations such as mill overloads, ball mill
power draws, indicating that the mills were correctly sized and designed. circuit overloads, or equipment operating outside their safe limits.

The SAG mill power draw is dependent on the charge specific gravity
and the total charge volume. The target charge volume ranges from 25
– 35 % v/v depending on ore type. At 8 – 12 % v/v ball charge volume,
and 25 – 35% v/v total charge volume the SAG mill typically draws 10 –
11 MW. The operating work index for the mill is extremely ore
dependent and can range from as low as 7 kWh/t when treating soft
supergene material to as high as 14kWh/t on the harder primary ores.
The average SAG mill operating work index for the project to date is 8.9
kWh/t.
Power usage for the ball mill is typically greater than 95% of the available
power. The power draw is maintained at this level by daily grinding
media addition. The average operating work index for the ball mill is 4.6
kWh/t.
GRINDING CIRCUIT CONTROL
The target mill load is chosen based on the feed ore type and the
required throughput rate. Lower loads are selected when the ore is
hard, to maximise impact breakage while higher loads are selected
when the ore is soft, to maximise the generation of flotation feed size
material in the SAG mill. Feed tonnage and the feed water ratio are
adjusted to maintain the target mill load.
The expert system does select between the power draw and the load
for determining its control actions, however the mill power draw rarely
exceeds its Hi-limit and consequently has little influence on the control
actions.
Control actions are initiated every 2 mins, which typically result in small
changes of 0 – 25 tph. These small changes have no destabilising
affect on rougher flotation because:

Ernest Henry Mining adopted a philosophy of installing the latest in on-
line instrumentation to facilitate grinding circuit stabilising control, and to
provide the necessary control elements for expert supervisory control.
Table 9 summarises the installed grinding circuit instrumentation.
The plant uses a Yokogawa Centum CS distributed Control System for
all stabilising control actions. The expert system programmed using the
Genysm G2 operating environment, exchanges data with the DCS via a
communication bridge. The expert system decides on appropriate
setpoint changes based on a series of rules, then outputs the setpoint
changes to the DCS via the communication bridge.
• they represent a small fraction of the total feedrate,
• the large circulating load in the hydrocyclone circuit has a large
surge capacity, effectively dampening any small feedrate changes,
and
• the 127m 3 rougher flotation cells and large rougher circuit residence
time combine to provide significant surge capacity
Ball mill expert control uses water addition to the hydrocyclone feed
sump to achieve the target flotation feed size. Hydrocyclone pressure is
also maintained at target, by adjusting the number of hydrocyclones in
operation.

Table 9: Grinding Circuit Instrumentation
Unit/Process Stream
Reclaim Apron Feeders
Stockpile reclaim conveyor
SAG mill
All process water additions
Sump
Hydrocyclone feed pumps
Hydrocyclones
Scats conveyors / diverter chute
Ball addition hoppers
Ball mill
The expert system has operated at all times, except for initial startup
periods. The operator acceptance of the system is excellent, as it frees
Instrumentation the control room operator to concentrate on other areas of the plant.
Variable speed, cameras installed on discharge chutes
Variable speed, weightometer, camera on SAG feed chute,
The plant and the expert system were commissioned simultaneously.
Load cells, power draw meter, sound monitoring
Flowmeters JK SAG CHARGE
Level indication
Speed, amps, JKSAGCharge is used to determine the mill charge volume and the toe
Pressure, feed density and flowrate using magnetic compensators.
Particle size and density measurement on the hydrocyclone overflow and shoulder angles of the SAG mill charge on-line. The software is
Weightometer, camera on discharge chutes based on Morrell’s power model. (Morrell, 1996, Valery & Morrell 2001)
Load cells This information in turn can be used to help ensure that the mill is
Power draw always operated at the optimum volume filling and speed.
 III-31 III-32

Currently, JKSAGCharge is successfully being used at Ernest Henry BLAST MONITORING

displaying to the operators online:
• Mill charge volume in cubic metres
• Total charge weight in tonnes
• Percentage of the mill volume occupied by coarse ore and ball
charge
• Angular displacement of shoulder position of the charge
• Angular displacement of toe position of the charge
JKSAGCharge is interfaced directly with the DCS via the PI system, data
can be viewed on the operator’s monitor and directed to the DCS to
control the mill.
EFFECT OF RUN OF MINE FRAGMENTATION IN SAG MILL
THROUGHPUT
Due to drill scheduling problems a part of blast #2014-003 was drilled
with 311mm diameter blast holes and the rest was drilled with 270mm
blast holes. A major portion of the rock in that blast was identified as
Brecciated Felsic Volcanics (FV2).
The structural data of the bench was collected by scan line mapping the
bench face. Probability of fracture frequency estimated from scan line
data is shown in Figure 7. Rock samples were collected from each part
of the blast (ie with 311mm holes and with 270mm holes) and were
tested to determine the rock mechanic properties (Table 10).
35%
30%

25%
Ernest Henry mine is involved in a project with the JKMRC to Optimise

Probability
the Run of Mine Fragmentation for Downstream Processing. As a part of 20%
this project the JKMRC team visited Ernest Henry mining and milling
15%
operations and monitored one blast #2014-003 in Brecciated Felsic
Volcanics (FV2). 10%

5%
The geological and rock properties, explosive properties and blast design
parameters for this blast were collected. Fragmentation photographs 0%
were taken at the post blast muckpiles, at the back of trucks, at the 0.5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
crusher product conveyor and at the SAG mill feed conveyor. Rock
samples were collected from the muckpiles to obtain rock mechanics and Joints /m
comminution properties. Figure 7: Fracture frequency observed on blast #2014-003 face

The data were used to calibrate the JKMRC fragmentation and Table 10. Rock properties
comminution models. These models were then used to simulate the
effect of blast design changes on milling performance. 270mm 311 mm Average
The following approach was adopted:
Density g/cc 2.97 2.93 2.95

1. Rock characterisation from the existing geological data and from the Fracture toughness Mpa m0.5 0.61 0.67 0.64
rock testing of samples. Tensile strength Mpa 12 14 13
2. Fragmentation measurement of ROM, crusher product and SAG mill Young's modulus Gpa 56.2 75.4 65.8
feed. Poisson's Ratio 0.3 0.27 0.29
3. Modelling ROM fragmentation and comparing it with the estimates
UCS (direct) Mpa 189 207 198
from Split.
4. Simulating the impact of blast design changes on mill performance. Point Load Index 7.49 7.16 7.33
UCS (point load) Mpa 165 158 161
The simulations were performed for only one rock type ie. Brecciated
Felsic Volcanics (FV2).
 III-33 III-34

The structural information from the scan line mapping (see Figure 7) and Table 11. Blast design parameters and explosive properties for
the average rock properties from the Table 10 were used in the model to blast #2014-003
estimate the ROM fragmentation of blast #2014-003. Hole diameter mm 270 311
Burden m 6.9 7.4
The ore from the two sections of the blast (270 and 311 mm drill holes)
Spacing m 8 8.5
was fed to the primary crusher and the location of each truck was noted
while it was dumping into the crusher. Photographs were taken at the Hole depth m 17.5 17.5
back of twenty trucks (10 from each section of the blast) to estimate the Bench height m 15.9 15.9
ROM size distribution. At the same time photographs were also taken at Stemming length m 5 6.2
the crusher product conveyor. The time in which the ore remained in the Charge length m 12 11.3
stockpile was estimated based on the stockpile level and crusher product
Charge weight kg 930 1075
rate and SAG mill feed rate. Images from the SAG mill feed conveyor 3
Powder factor Kg /m 1.06 1.07
belt were also taken. These images (photographs and video tapes) were
analysed using the Split image analysis software to estimate the size Explosive Emulsion Emulsion
distribution. Density g/cc 1.25 1.25
VOD m/s 4500 4500
FRAGMENTATION MODELLING
RWS 95 95

Blasting researchers have used different approaches to estimate the

ROM fragmentation resulted from blasting. A detail review of history and
status of fragmentation modelling is given by Kleine (1988), Sarma
(1994) and Scott et al (1993). The Kuz-Ram empirical model is the most
popular of all the models. However, the experience of JKMRC research
demonstrates that the conventional Kuz-Ram model has the following
drawbacks:
• The rock factor used in the conventional Kuz-Ram model is quite
subjective though Lilly (1986) greatly improved on this.
• The energy factor used in the Kuz-Ram model is derived from the
ideal detonation codes and does not take into account the effect of
confinement and rock mass properties.
• This model underestimates the percentage of fines (Kojovic et
The powder factor distribution of the blast is analysed using the JK
software 2D bench and showed that the energy distribution in the blast
is not uniform and there is wide variation in the energy in the blast.
The ROM size distribution was estimated for the two sides in the blast
by using the JK model and the results were compared with the size
distributions estimated from the image analysis program Split (Figure 8).
100
90
80
70

Cum % passing
60
al.1995, Comeau 1996). In many mining applications this may not be
50
significant because the relevant size fractions in a blasted muck pile
are relatively coarser. However, in softer ore types and in operations 40
where the fines percentage affects the economics of the operation, it 30
will be important to estimate the fines with reasonable accuracy.
20

At the JKMRC, a fragmentation model has been developed based on an 10

approach similar to the Kuz-Ram but by improving on the drawbacks 0
mentioned above. 1 10 100 1000 10000
Size mm
Blast design parameters and explosive properties for the blast #2014- Figure 8b: Comparison of ROM estimated by model and image
003 are given in Table 11 shown on the next page. analysis (with 311 blast holes)
 III-35 III-36

100 The SAG mill and screen model parameters were determined by
90
numerical non-linear least-squares fitting. The model parameters were
80
adjusted until the model ‘best’ reproduced the observed product as
closely as possible from the corresponding feed to the unit and the
70
operating conditions. This process also provided estimates of data fit
Cum % passing

60
JK Model accuracy and parameter estimation accuracy. All survey data sets from
50 Kuz-Ram the SAG mills were fitted and the fit to the data was very good.
40 Split

30 SIMULATIONS
20

10
Having validated the fragmentation model using the current blast
0
design, the crushing and milling models were linked together to study
1 10 100 1000 10000 the influence of blast design changes on mill performance. The blast
Size mm #2014-003 with 270mm diameter blastholes was chosen as the current
Figure 8b: Comparison of ROM estimated by model and image bench mark design and different alternate designs were simulated.
analysis (with 311 blast holes) Design 1 uses high shock energy explosive (with 5500 m/s VOD) and
Design 2 uses high shock energy explosive coupled with high powder
It is very well accepted that all image analysis programs including Split factor. The details of the blast designs are given in Table 12 and the
under estimates the fines and therefore needs site calibration. Such a estimated size distributions from the three designs are given in Figure 9.
calibration can be done easily for images taken on conveyor belts but it
may be very difficult for ROM unless a sizeable quantity of material (at Table 12. Blast designs used in the simulation
least one or two truck loads) is sized. That is why the ROM size
distribution was estimated from two sources of photographs, coarse end 270mm 270-2 270-3 311mm 311-2 311-3
(standard) (standard)
from truck images and fine end from crusher product images. blast #2014-003 blast #2014-003
Bench height m 16 16 16 16 16 16
It is assumed that primary crusher contributes very little to the fines end
Burden m 6.9 6 5.5 7.4 6.5 6
(less than 20mm) of the ROM size distribution but reduces the coarse
Spacing m 8 7.5 6 8.5 7.7 7.2
end of the ROM size distribution significantly. Therefore the fines end is
Hole depth (L) 18 17.5 17 17.5 17.5 17
estimated from the images taken from the crusher product conveyor and
merged with the coarse end estimated from the muckpile images and Explosive weight (Qe) 930 859 823 1,073 1,045 1,045
truck images to get the full ROM size distribution. Stemming length 5 5.5 5.5 6.2 6.5 6
Subdrill 2 1.5 1 1.5 1.5 1
The comparison of ROM estimated by the JK Fragmentation model and Explosive Emulsion Emulsion Emulsion Emulsion Emulsion Emulsion
the Split clearly shows that the ROM estimated by the model matches Explosive density 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25
g/cc
with the ROM size distributions estimated by the image analysis. It can VOD m/s 4500 4500 4500 4500 4500 4500
also be seen that the conventional Kuz-Ram model underestimates the Powder factor kg/m3 1.05 1.19 1.56 1.07 1.30 1.51
fines significantly.
Drilling cost /m $11.42 $11.42 $11.42 13.63 13.63 13.63
COMMINUTION MODELLING
Explosive cost /kg $0.90 $0.90 $0.90 $0.90 $0.90 $0.90
Stemming cost $23.10 $23.10 $23.10 $23.10 $23.10 $23.10
Detailed survey data were collected during grinding circuit surveys of the
Service cost $126.72 $126.72 $126.72 $126.72 $126.72 $126.72
Ernest Henry mill. The gyratory crusher model was obtained using ROM
Drilling and blasting $0.46 $0.53 $0.70 $0.46 $0.57 $0.65
and crusher product size distributions obtained by the Split system from cost /t
images of muckpiles, trucks and conveyor belt collected at Ernest Henry.
SAG mill feed size distribution was also determined by sieving a
conveyor belt cut of 10 metres using the technique developed by the
JKMRC.
 III-37 III-38
100
Table 13. SAG mill parameters and performance for three designs
90
Standard Blast Design Design Standard Blast Design Design
80 #2014-003 270-2 270-3 #2014-003 311-2 311-3
Blast drill hole (mm) 270 270 270 311 311 311
70
Primary crusher gap 130 115 115 130 115 115
Cum % passing

60 (mm)
SAG feed rate (t/h) 1410 1530 1580 1410 1540 1570
50
Ball charge (%) 10 10 10 10 10 10
40
Total charge (%) 23 23 23 23 23 23
30
F80 (mm) 120 109 107 119 109 107
20 F50 (mm) 69 60 56 68 58 58
270-standard
10 270-2 F20 (mm) 12 10 8 12 9 8
270-3
0 % -50+20mm 15.8 17.0 16.9 15.8 17.1 16.8
1 10 100 1000
% -10mm 18.6 20.0 21.4 18.7 20.7 21.4
Sizemm

It can be seen from Table 13 that the SAG mill feed from the different
100
blast designs resulted in similar quantities of material in the intermediate
90 or so-called critical size material (between 20 and 50 mm). It can also
be seen that the amount of fines (below 10.0 mm) in the feed increased
80
from 18.6% (blast 2014-003) to 21.4 % in blast designs 270-3 & 311-3.
70
It is important to note that it was possible to close the primary crusher
Cum % passing

60
gap (close side setting) from 130 to 115mm and yet keeping similar
50 throughput and power draw for blast designs 270-3 and 311-3.
However, in case of blast designs 270-2 and 311-2 the simulated
40
crusher power was higher. The combination of blast design and closer
30 crusher gap was responsible to achieve higher throughput rates through
the SAG mill due to more favourable feed size distributions. It is well
20
311-standard known that the grinding rates and consequently throughput are
10 311-2 dramatically affected by fines being carried through the mill (“free grind”
311-3 material that passes straight through the grates and trommel) and also
0
by material in the top size and intermediate size. The simulations show
1 10 100 1000 that Designs 270-3 and 311-3 increase the mill throughput by 11-12%
Sizemm compared to blast #2014-003.
Figure 9: ROM estimates for different blast designs As shown in previous studies conducted by the JKMRC, for a given
throughput the minimum power draw and load volume is achieved with
Comparison between maximum mill throughput and SAG mill feed size a relatively high F80, low F20 and a steep inclination of the particle size
observed from blast #2014-003 (270-standard and 311 standard) and distribution (minimum amount of intermediate size material).
simulated for different blast designs (270-2, 270-3, 311-2 and 311-3) are
shown in Table 13 (next page). The constraints for mill in designs 1 and Such conditions are met with a bi-modal size distribution in which the
2 are kept more conservative than the constraints in the blast #2014-003. majority of the feed resides in the coarsest and finest size fractions.
 III-39
This type of size distribution is likely to result in the minimum power draw
and load volume and hence provide the lowest specific power and
maximum throughput capacity.
However, it is usually found that further increasing the F80 decreases the
maximum throughput. This trend is emphasized with SAG mills running
with a relatively high ball charge as is the case at Ernest Henry. It is
believed that this is due to the fact that the large ball charge provides the
bulk of the grinding media rather than the rock charge. Coarser feed
sizes therefore, have minimal impact on the grinding media but does
provide a more difficult feed to grind. The “desired” feed size at Ernest
Henry with primary ore seems to be an F80 of approx. 100-110 mm with
maximum possible amount of fines (% passing 10 mm) and minimum of
intermediate size fraction. With closing the primary crusher gap to 115
mm this target F80 was achieved, but the rest of the curve depend on
the blast design as indicated during the simulations.
In this study the effect of blast designs 270-3 and 311-3 on muckpile
diggability, back break and ground vibrations is not estimated. It is
essential to take into account these factors while performing any design
changes.
VALIDATION OF MINE-MILL BLAST DESIGNS
As the model simulations suggest significant improvements in milling
efficiency by altering the blast design the next logical step is to
implement the best design suggested by the simulations in the field and
validate it. A trial blast is proposed at Ernest Henry wherein one half of
the pattern is designed with the standard designed and the other half is
designed with 270-3 or 311-3 pattern. Ore from the two sides of the blast
will be fed to the mill in a controlled manner and the mill throughput will
be monitored. Some of the key factors for designing and monitoring
such a trial blast are given below:
1. The trial blast block should contain sufficient ore to feed the mill for a
sufficient period of time (at least two days from each pattern) so that the
mill reaches stable operation.
2. Ore in the trial blast should have similar rock mass properties (ie on
standard side of the pattern and on modified side).
3. Mill should get at least 80% of the feed from one side of the blast (ie
either modified pattern or standard). It is advisable to avoid blending
while feeding the ore from trial blast.
The following parameters will be monitored during the trial blast:
III-40
Pre-blast:
• Collect samples of rock from the trial blast for laboratory testing.
• Collect the drill penetration rates for each blast hole.
• Collect detailed information on the proposed blast design(s).
• Check the face and bench conditions.
During Blasts:
• Check the implementation of the blast designs in the field.
• Conduct high speed photography or videography of the blast.
• Measure the velocity of detonation (VOD) in 1 or 2 holes in each
blast pattern.
Post blast:
Mining
• Assess blast fragmentation through image analysis. Photographs
will be taken of the muckpiles and the back of trucks for both the
sections of the trial blast.
• Survey post blast muckpiles to assess the throw and muckpile
swell.
• Measure the back break.
• Monitor the shovel performance.
Crushing
• Monitor the crusher performance (throughput and power draw) and
gap settings while feeding the trial blast ore.
• Assess the fragmentation of crusher product. Photographs and/or
video of the crusher product conveyor will be taken while feeding
the ore from trial blast. These images will be analysed using Split to
estimate the size distribution.
Grinding
Grinding circuit performance will be assessed by conducting surveys
and mass balances of the circuit will be obtained.
Since a number of parameters will be monitored during these trials,
communication between various groups is very important so that
everyone knows what to do and when.
Based on the simulations, Design 311-3 appears to be the optimum
blast design in terms of maximising SAG mill throughput.
 III-41
CONCLUSIONS FROM THE MODELLING AND SIMULATION STUDY
Design of a full scale grinding circuit from bench scale testwork has been
successful at Ernest Henry Mining
One production blast #2014-003 in Brecciated Felsic Volcanics was
monitored and the rock samples were collected from the blasted
muckpile to determine its rock mechanic and comminution properties.
The ROM size distribution for blast #2014-003 was estimated by using
the image analysis program Split. The full size distribution was obtained
by merging the results obtained from truck images and crusher product
conveyor images.
The ROM size distribution predicted by the JK Fragmentation model was
found to be in close agreement with the size distribution estimated by the
Split.
The crushing and grinding simulations show potential to increase mill
throughput to 12% by altering the blast designs and primary crusher gap.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Authors wish to thank Ernest Henry Mining management for their
permission to publish this paper.
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1. A.R. MacPherson Consultants Ltd., Proposed Grinding System for the Ernest
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2. A.R. MacPherson Consultants Ltd., Proposed Grinding System for the Ernest
Henry Project for MIM Holdings Limited based on small scale tests at Hazen
Research Inc. and Lakefield Research Addendum. August 1994.
3. AMDEL, Ernest Henry Comminution Tests. AMDEL Report G768700G/94.
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4. Brindley, S. et al. (1999) Case Study – Ernest Henry Mining: Experiences and
lessons to be learned from initial grinding circuit design to the end of the first year
of operation. Crushing & Grinding 99, IRR Conference, Perth 29-31 March.
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testwork on Ernest Henry ore samples, Reports KM433, KM460.
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7. Cunningham, C.V.B. (1983), The Kuz-Ram model for prediction of
fragmentation from blasting, Proc. 1st Int. Symp. on Rock Fragmentation by
Blasting, Lulea, 439-454.
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III-42
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Project. May 1994.
11. Kleine, T.H. (1988), A mathematical model of rock breakage by blasting,
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12. Kojovic, T, Michaux, S and McKenzie, C (1995), Impact of blast
fragmentation on crushing and screeing operations in quarrying, Explo 95,
Brisbane, pp 427-436.
13. Lilly, P.A. (1986), An empirical method of assessing rock mass blastability,
The Aus. I.M.M./I.E. Aust. Newman Combined Group, Proc. Large Open Pit
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14. Morrell, S. 1996 The Prediction of Grinding Mill Power. TransIMM, 101,
C25-32
15. Nelson, M., Valery Jnr., W., and Morrell, S. (1996) Performance
characteristics and optimisation of the Fimiston (KCGM) SAG mill circuit.
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17. Ryan A.J, 1998. Ernest Henry copper-gold deposit, in Geology of Australian
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Mackenzie), pp 759-768 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy:
Melbourne).
18. Sarma, K S (1994), Models for assessing the blasting performance of
explosives, Ph.D Thesis, Univ. of Queensland, Australia.
19. Scott, A., Chitombo, G and Kleine, T. (1993), The challenge of the
prediction and control of fragmentation in mining, Proc. 4th Int. Symp. on Rock
Fragmentation by Blasting, ed. Rossmanith, Balkema, Rotterdam, 507-517.
20. Strohmayr S.J., Barns K.E., Brindley S.K., and Munro P.D., 1998 –
Mineralogy Controlling Metallurgy at Ernest Henry Mining., in Proceedings of
the Mine to Mill 1998 Conference, Brisbane pp 13-18 (The Australasian Institute
of Mining and Metallurgy).
21. Tew, A.F. et al 1999, World’s Largest Shell Supported SAG Mill at the
Ernest Henry Copper Concentrator – Operating Experiences and Results.
SMME Annual Meeting, Denver, March 1999.
22. Valery, W and Morrell,S. 2001 JKSAGCharge, A System to Estimate
Charge Volume and Position Online in AG and SAG mills. Comminution, 2001
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Conference 21-23 March 2001. Brisbane 2001.