Evaluation of the crushing method impact on the mineral liberation in pre-concentration circuits

Abstract

Mineral deposits have shown decreasing ore grade and increasing complexity, which has led mining projects to experience increased capital and operating costs. Preconcentration is an alternative to minimize such costs. Notwithstanding the resulting rise in ore grade and reduction in feed mass, the generated tailings may contain significant amounts of the material of interest. In order to improve the mineral liberation at this stage, selective comminution proposes to explore different comminution mechanisms. This investigation compared three different crushing methods (jaw crusher, impact crusher, and high-pressure roller mill) for three different types of ores and the response of their products to pre-concentration, using a gravity method that was evaluated through heavy-liquid separation of the -6.35+3.35 mm crushed fraction. This fraction represents approximately 15% of the total sample, and is used as an indication of the gangue rejection potential for the -12+1.18 mm fraction. Copper and polymetallic ores showed good pre-concentration results for this size range at laboratory scale, with metallurgical recoveries greater than 90% and a rejection of over 20% of mass. Iron ore showed a 97% metallurgical recovery and 10% mass rejection. The impact crusher proved to be the best option for selective comminution for the polymetallic ore, with the highest metallurgical recovery. Finally, no significant differences were observed when using any of the three crushing mechanisms for the copper and iron ore.