Operational Control Criteria

Milling & Classification

Chuquicamata

The size reduction by crushing and grinding is a unit operation.

vital in the development of the mining, metallurgical, energy, and chemical industries. For the
Thus, the implementation of this type of reactors requires a thorough study.
of the power requirements, processing capacity, and product quality
final. Additionally, the use of circuits with different configurations and
recirculations that allow improving the stability and efficiency of the process
will allow stabilizing the quality of the final product, improving both the indicators
productive as well as economic both of the initial investment and in relation to
operational expenses, mainly energy, consumable supplies,
maintenance, labor, etc.
A mill is essentially a reactor that converts large particles into
small. In this sense, there are a large number of alternatives, however,
for the processing levels of concentrator plants, it is necessary to
use of large equipment that is capable of processing in a way
continues large flows of materials.
In the case of mineral processing, grinding is necessary to
achieve the release of particles whose recovery is economically viable.
In this line, it is necessary to meet certain standards in such a way that the
separation processes, following grinding, can fulfill properly
efficient with its concentration activity.
To comply with these parameters of the final product, a definition is established.
a series of operational, control, and maintenance conditions that allow
generate the ground mineral under the required conditions efficiently and effectively.
Due to the large amount of data that is currently available in
different online systems, the incorporation of information about the criteria of
The operation has been slightly postponed due to the great existing experience.
in the Plant personnel and the reaction capacity that allows having
real-time information. This situation has led to a significant reduction in
person in charge of operational control and the limitation of distribution of the
practical knowledge required for the operation of a milling plant.
For this reason, it has been deemed important to create a small manual of
simple and descriptive operation that allows, based on certain minimum advice,
distribute the knowledge and requirements needed to achieve a good
operation of the Milling & Classification sections of the Plants
Chuquicamata concentrators.
Conventional Milling
They are referred to as conventional milling circuits that consider
bar mills as primary grinding and ball mills for secondary grinding.
The main task of the rod mill is to prepare the load for grinding.
secondary, often used in open circuit between the power supply,
normally processed in crushing plants and the discharge to the tanks of
feeding to the ball mills. This product, for equipment with grinding
humid, it should be around 15% over 10# in order to ensure a
good quality in the product of secondary grinding.
Generally, just like in the Chuquicamata Concentrator, the
Configuration used for grinding involves a bar mill in circuit
open and ball mills (1 or 2) in closed circuit, delivering the final product
in the download of the cyclones. However, there are several configurations of
secondary grinding and classification circuits applicable to the mineral processing.
Alternating circuits are based on two basic configurations, closed circuit
direct and reverse, whose main difference is due to the input of fresh pulp, since
either to the milling (direct circuit, figure No. 1) or to the classification (reverse circuit,
Figure No. 2). In both cases, the necessary water for dilution is added to the container.
required in the feeding of cyclones, whose overflow flow constitutes the
product of the section.
Generally speaking, the reverse circuit is more advantageous in those
applications where fresh food contains an important proportion of
fine material that already meets the product specifications for flotation. This
It is the case of the Chuquicamata facilities.

Direct Circuit
Afresh Water
Figure No.1: Diagrams of direct type secondary grinding circuits.
Agua
 Afresh
Water
Water

Inverse Circuit
Figure No. 2: Diagrams of reverse type secondary grinding circuits.

The product of the classification consists of two fractions, one of

thick material, called discharge, and another of fine, called overflow. In a
perfect separation, the discharge product will have all the material that exceeds a
certain cut size, called separation size (d50However, this c

perfect separation is not achieved in practice due to the different

behavior exhibited by the particles in their interaction with the equipment.
Differences in density, pulp viscosity, flow regime, shape, size, etc.
they produce different effects on the particle, causing identical particles
they can be sent both by the download and by the overflow.
The most important thing to understand about the grinding sections is their function.

to release the economically viable mineralized species from the ore

fed through intensive grinding," in this sense, one should not lose sight of the
objective the process, considering that grinding is the process with the most
energy requirement and the main cost factor of the Plant. For this reason,
keep the equipment in good condition and make constant improvements in the
efficiencies of the processes and in optimizing the installed capacity of the plant,
will quickly positively influence productivity indicators and
area costs.
In general, the milling process has two main stages:
Size reduction.
2. Classification by size of the ground and 'finished' product.

The efficiency presented at each stage will determine the degree of

compliance with commitments towards the subsequent stages of processing.
It is important to emphasize that both processes are closely linked, because
the development of a good grinding involves the presence of the largest amount
possible oversized particles, in order to optimize the use of
power to generate the required grain size for the necessary release and not in
grind particles that already meet the size specification and, on the other hand,
An optimal classification process will allow for this to be carried out efficiently.
separation, maximizing the processing capacity of the circuit.
From an energy perspective, a rotary ball or rod mill is
basically a machine that operates at a constant power consumption, whether it is that
operates at full capacity, half or at minimum, as most of the consumption
is associated with the steel content in the mill. On the other hand, the element of
major influence on the wear of steel and internal components
(coatings and balls or rods) are also associated with steel-steel contact,
therefore, in general, steel consumption should be relatively constant. This
it means that the effect of a harder mineral, a more or less dense pulp,
a more or less coarse feed granulation or a level of
optimal or inferior processing will generate differences in the wear of steel and
coatings, however, in the long term, due to natural variations
During the process, the average consumption remains constant. This is important.
highlight it, as variations in steel loading rates to the mills bring more
negative effects in the long term that are positive. In effect, a decrease in
ball inventory in the mill generates:
Variation in the collar and therefore in the grinding efficiency.
Reduction in the available power.
Instability in steel consumption, affecting stock.
The "savings in steel" in the short term is not sustainable over time,
It will be necessary to normalize the level in the mill, unless it is generated
a permanent decrease in milling efficiency.

In this regard, a reduction in the wear of the mills, steel and

coating, it is mainly related to the presence of a mineral with
different wear properties, which could vary the requirement of
mill recharge.
The current Conventional Grinding plant consists of 16 separate sections.
on two floors, the A-0 consists of 13 sections with a capacity of 250 tph each and the A-1
with three sections with a capacity of approximately 600 tph.

SAG Milling
The operation of a semi-autogenous mill is essentially unstable due to
that the volumetric filling level is highly variable over time. This level is
occupied both by the grinding medium, generally between 8 and 12%, and the ore
fed, composed of fresh mineral and recirculated from the pebbles plant
and water. The addition of fresh mineral to the mill will mainly depend on:

Grinding capacity of the mill.

Mass transport in the mill.
Characteristics of the mineral.
Size distribution in food.
Solid content in the discharge.
Rheological properties of the internal load.

The variability to which the internal load is subjected directly affects the
power consumption of the mill, suffering as much variation as the level
of filling the internal load.
On the other hand, the characteristics of the semi-autogenous grinding process
they are represented by a series of variables that affect in a way
independent or combined:
Composition of the internal load, from the point of view of the
presence of coarse, intermediate, and fine particles, means of
metal grinding in quantity and size and the addition of water.
Flow of ore and water feed to the mill, from the point
from the perspective of its grain size distribution and grindability.

Design of lifters and the stage of their useful life, characterized

due to the height of the lifter and the angle of attack to the load.
Design of the internal discharge grill and lifespan stage, which
characterizes the size of the spot and the evacuation area.
Size of the metallic grinding media.
Operational speed of the mill.
Design parameters (length and diameter).

The general trend in mill operation is to relate the greater

power with greater grinding efficiency or with higher tonnage, nevertheless,
this statement, widely accepted in conventional milling, is not so
accepted in the SAG mill, as the effect of impact must be considered
from the rocks on the smaller mineral as a natural grinding medium,
affecting the energy efficiency of the process. In general terms, the
The total power requirement of the mill can be broken down into three.
main elements: Power required by balls, by rocks and by pulp. From this
The combination of these three elements inside the mill will affect
clearly the result in the effective use of power in the reduction of
size. In this sense, the composition of the load, between mineral and medium of
grinding affects the treatment capacity. An increase in the proportion of
grinding medium or total load level could translate into an increase in the
processing, however, this effect is conditioned by the characteristics
of the mineral as a grinding medium. Thus, depending on the ease of a
mineral to self-fracture compared to the effectiveness of balls as a medium
crushers, an excess of balls or rocks could go as far as to reduce the
processing capacity of ore at comparable power levels.
On the other hand, a predominant factor when identifying capacity
the grinding of a circuit is clearly related to the design of the circuit to
use. The definition of what type of configuration to use mainly depends on
the characteristics of the mineral, with different possible configurations, because
it is necessary to carry out a series of evaluations before defining the circuit that
finally it will be used. In this regard, in the newer designs of this type
plants, incorporating alternatives for belts and transport methods that allow
modifying the configuration of the equipment allows for increased flexibility of the
plant variations of the mineral from the mine.
In general terms, five circuit configurations are discussed, namely:

FAG/SAG, Simple circuit with autogenous or semi-autogenous mill

harner or trommel and cyclones.
SAC/FAC, with SAG/AG mill and pebble crusher for
recirculation, sieve and cyclones.
DSAG, SAG mill with secondary grinding of ball mills with
direct recirculation of pebbles to the SAG mill.
SABC-A, SAG mills with a secondary ball circuit with
recirculation of crushed pebbles to the SAG (currently implemented)
in Chuquicamata).
SABC-B, SAG mills with a secondary ball circuit with
recirculation of crushed pebbles to the secondary grinding.

Due to the inefficiency presented by overflow discharge for the

SAG mills, the incorporation of discharge grates allows for the retention of the mineral to
interior of the equipment until it meets the size equal to or less than the grills of
download. Currently, SAG mills at the Chuquicamata Plant are used
grills with openings of 3" – 2 ½" and 2 3/4" – 2 ¼", as part of the project of
modification of coatings.

From a practical point of view, the discharge grill acts as

classifier and therefore generates a retention of fine particles inside the
mill, allowing, moreover, to consider that for this reason the discharge flow to
Through the screen is proportional to the mass of fine mineral retained in the mill.
This condition implies that to achieve increases in the mill discharge flow
it is necessary to increase the retained load and therefore the volume of pulp in the
team, considering that the rest of the variables remain constant. A
difference from conventional ball milling, where an increase in the
feeding implies a direct increase in the discharge flow, maintaining the
total power and therefore affecting the particle size distribution in the discharge
which appears thickened, on the other hand, in SAG mills an increase in the flow of
feeding implies an increase in the hold up and therefore in the power,
maintaining with very little variation the specific power and therefore, the
The particle size distribution in the discharge does not change. However, there is a limit.
for the increase in tonnage in the mill, it is necessary to maintain a balance
between the feed flow and the grinding capacity of the equipment.

As we increase the flow, we affect the grinding rate of the

mineral, therefore, once a certain limit is reached, the discharge of ground ore passes
is less than the fresh feed, overloading the equipment. In this sense, the
The basis for a good operation of a SAG mill is the understanding of the
reactions of the mill to operational changes. In this regard, having all the
information available in a clear and timely manner will allow the operator to know about
better way the team's response to mineral variations, grain size of
nutrition, operational conditions, etc. that will allow for a good
operation.

In the case of SAG milling, there are several comminution mechanisms.

that allow the reduction of particle size. In this type of mills
it is due to the action of three mechanisms that can act independently or
simultaneously: Abrasion, compression, and impact. These mechanisms imply
different levels of energy and therefore of fracture, from the generation of a
wide range of "daughter" particle sizes as in the case of fracture by
impact, up to a large separation with very coarse particles and very fine ones
as in abrasion. However, several authors have determined that the best
the way to represent the fracture mechanisms in a SAG mill is more about
the levels of action present inside the mill, where the most important are:

Ball Milling Action on Particles, similar to mills

conventional.

Action of Rocks on Particles, in which the rocks fulfill with

its role as an autogenous grinding medium.
 Rock Autofracture, due to impacts in free fall against
the kidney foot or eventually against the linings.

Based on this classification, a series of models have been developed that

they allow, independently, to mathematically characterize the parameters
of selection function and fracture achieving to represent the behavior of the
process. The main implication of these models is the determination of a
optimal relationship between the mill fill level and the ball level, represented
based on the apparent density of the load, which allows controlling the efficiency
of the process in terms of stability and productivity. An apparent density outside
of range implies an excess of balls or rocks, as the case may be, generating a
decrease in the effective use of power and a reduction in capacity
of the grinding equipment.

The current SAG grinding plant, figure No. 5, is made up of two lines.
from production, sections 16 and 17, each with a Semi-Autogenous mill of 11,000
Hp, and two ball mills of 5,000 HP each. Additionally, the secondary grinding
is supported by the former Slag Plant, now section 18, which consists of two mills.
of 1.750 HP each. All these equipment form a SABC-A circuit.
where the low size of the screens feed the secondary grinding and the over
size of screens, which constitute the pebbles or gravel, returns to a line of
crushing to then be recirculated to the SAG mill. The crushing stage of
pebbles consists of three short head cone crushers HP800, two operational
and a third party on standby.
 Figure No. 4: SAG Mill Circuit, Plant A-2.

. Primary Milling Sag Mills 32'x15' and 11,000 HP

each one.
. Pebbles Harner HarnerosTycan 10.5'x24'.
. Crushed Pebbles (3) HP800 Pebble Crushers.
. Secondary Grinding (4) 18'x26' Ball Mills and
5,000 HP each.
. Section 18 (2) Ball Mills 13'x18' and
1.750 HP each, operating as
part of the secondary grinding.

Classification
Within the grinding process, regardless of the methodology used, it is
separation of the product that meets the required conditions is necessary
for the following processes of the rest of the material, therefore, all the circuits of
grinding includes classification stages that allow this separation to be carried out,
in order to optimize power utilization and maximize capacity
processing.
In this sense, the different milling stages present different
classifiers that perform this separation, as well as in SAG mills there is
discharge grid in the mill and the screens, in the rod and ball mills is
it has discharge or overflow grills for primary grinding, and
hydrocyclone-type classifiers mainly for secondary grinding.
As mentioned earlier, there are different configurations among
mill and classifier, however, the current separation systems present
inherent deviations from the 'perfect' cut, making it clear that the teams of
Separation does not behave ideally, always generating a short circuit of
flows of fine particles in the discharge and coarse ones in the overflow. According to

As shown in figure No. 3, the red line represents the perfect cut, where all
particle larger than the cut size is sent to the mill, and all particle below this
indicator is taken out of the circuit.
 Zone1

Zone2
d50c

Figure No. 5: Classification Efficiency Curves.

However, the equipment used for flow separation, independent

the way to carry it out (gravitational, magnetic, chemical, etc.) presents
distortions with respect to the ideal cut. For this reason, efficiency is used
classification, defined for each size range, that represents the amount
relative to that size that is recovered in the download (coarse flow). By
for this reason, for larger particles, the efficiency values approach 1, and
for minors, to zero.
According to what is shown in figure No. 3, the actual classification efficiency
it significantly deviates from the ideal cut, whose main result is the projection
from the curve to the "y" axis, called "short circuit" and represents a fraction of the
pulp that goes through the classifier without generating separation, that is, it maintains the

same characteristics of the feeding flow. For this reason, to evaluate

The efficiency of separators uses a corrected efficiency (green line in figure)
No. 3) which represents the efficiency in separation for each size range for
the fraction that is effectively classified by the separation equipment.
As can be seen, a real cut does not present such a clear separation.
thick particles being dragged in the cyclone overflow, zone 1, and sending
fine particles back to the mill, area 2. Therefore, the objective is to improve
or changing the classifiers is to obtain a cut that allows getting closer to the most
the corrected efficiency curve resembles the perfect cut curve.

Process Control
Due to the large number of variables that affect the outcome of the
operation of a grinding section, the operational control becomes a
main element when seeking to maximize the benefit provided by the
section, both from the perspective of production within the standards
required downstream in the process, such as in energy consumption and
wear elements.
The incorporation of these control criteria involves the definition of:
Critical control variables.
Manipulable variables
Disturbances
Those that will together allow to define the methodology to use for
maintain the operation of the section stable within its natural variability.
According to this classification, the main variables that affect the
operations of this type of sections (SAG and Conventional) can be classified as
agreement to:
1. Critical Control Variables. Power consumed, Density of the
discharge pulp
mill (SAG), Mill fill level, Pressure in the rests of
mill (SAG)
Circulating load.
2. Manipulated Variables. Fresh ore flow, Water flow to
mill
Mill (SAG) rotation speed, Ball addition.
3. Disturbances. Mineral hardness, Granulometric distribution of
alimentación fresca, Mineralogía de la mena, Desgaste de las corazas,
Desgaste de las bolas, Densidad del mineral, Variaciones
uncontrolled water and mineral.

The objectives of control in a grinding circuit must be clearly defined.

specified. However, the first objective that must be faced for any
The control strategy is to stabilize the operation of the plant and subsequently
project future optimizations.
For the above, it is necessary, in order to achieve control of the parameters
keys in the operation of the sections, having the following information:

SAG Milling
Fresh food.
Consumed power.
Rest pressure.
Addition of water.
Recirculation flow (pebbles).
Pebbles Crusher Power.
 Bar Mills
Fresh food.
Consumed power.
Addition of water.

Secondary Grinding
Power of Mills.
Drainage pond level.
Addition of water.
Feed density to cyclones.
Feed pressure to cyclones.

Additional
Feed Granulometry to SAG.
Feeding Flow to Cyclones.
Particle size in cyclone discharge and its % of solids.
Variable speed pump.
Automatic opening and closing of cyclones.

In this context, the information systems existing in plant A2

they allow to respond to almost all the indicated requirements, however, it is
it is important to indicate the low availability and reliability of the reported information
for many of these systems.
The previous definition accounts for the information requirements.
necessary to achieve adequate online control of the plant operation and
allow the proper incorporation of expert control systems both in the
SAG grinding like conventional.
In this context, as a way to start the work of definition of
automatic control strategies that allow for stable management and
trustworthy the automatic operation of the section both from the point of view of the
SAG milling, Kops system currently in operation, such as the incorporation of
Control systems for secondary grinding must perform work on:
Installation of flow meters on all water lines to the
secciones, a saber: descargas de baterías de ciclones, líneas desde
floor pumps to tanks, wash water lines for screens. In
In this context, during the tests with cyclones, a series were installed.
of water lines towards the equipment discharges, flows that is
necessary to measure online.
 Flow meters and densimeters for battery feeding
cyclones. It is necessary to review and calibrate the existing instrumentation and
install and calibrate the missing one (section 18).

Inline Particle Size Analysis (PSI). Increase the

reliability and availability of this instrument. In this regard, it has been
I have been working on the incorporation of a calibration program.
and regular and scheduled maintenance of the equipment, just like
modifications in the arrangement, in order to avoid dependence
of its emergency systems operation such as floor pumps.
Automatic cyclone selection. In this line, the
installation of this type of systems, however the necessity would be the
implementation of imaging systems in order to control the
status of the cyclone download to check for any kind of malfunction
operational.
Implementation of online granulometric analysis system
of food (PETRA). Currently in development, they have
initial calibrations of the system have been carried out. Currently, they are presented

problems with the system hardware, which is currently being

revised and resolved by automatic control. Once this is finished
theme, it is necessary to continue with a sampling campaign of
method of reviewing measurements and conditioning the result of the
measurement.
Implementation of electronic ear. System currently in
development, waiting for the battery system installation
on behalf of SAE.
Implementation of solids percentage measurement in the discharge of

cyclones. Theme not yet evaluated.

Process Optimization
Once the information sources have been implemented, calibrated, and certified.
previously exposed, it will be possible to know the behavior of the sections and their
variability in response to natural disturbances, allowing for better understanding
both the response of the section and its operation in steady state.
In order to make optimizing improvements to the sections, it will be necessary to have
initially with mathematical models that allow predicting the response
of the sections to different disturbances, in order to be able to define the
actions and criteria for operation and control. Therefore, it becomes necessary to
implementation of sampling campaigns that allow certifying the results of the
information provided by electronic instruments and characterize in form
periodically the behavior of the sections, as well as being able to find
the causes of existing operational variations. Additionally, it will allow the
implementation of resource management improvements, related to:
Reduction of the maximum size of particles fed to the section
of grinding.
Rationalize the grinding medium loading policy.
Increase the overall energy efficiency of the section.

In the line of optimizing operations, several authors have proposed a

a series of general recommendations that allow for increasing the efficiency of the
grinding processes in a SAG and conventional plant. These criteria and
functionalities have been summarized into 15 classified rules for Grinding
Conventional, SAG and general standards.

Conventional Milling
Maintain the maximum load level in the mill.
2. Increase the rotation speed.
3. Increase the fineness of the feed to the circuit.
4. Reduce the fineness of the ground product to the minimum allowed.

5. Determine the optimal size of balls to recharge.

6. Maximize the solid content in the cyclone discharge.
7. Maximize the water dosing to the pump box.
8. Increase the pump capacity.

SAG Milling
9. Maximize the use of installed power.
10. Increase the fineness in the fresh feed to the circuit.
11. Determine the minimum fineness of the transfer product to the
Secondary grinding.
12. Recharge balls of the largest commercially available diameter.
13. Determine the optimal bulk density of the load.

General
14. Implement an expert control system.
15. Establish alliances with suppliers and consultants.

On the other hand, the incorporation of improvements in the grinding sections goes
mainly to improve power utilization (grinding media) and the
classification, both intrinsically linked, mainly because a good
classification efficiency will reduce the presence of fines in the mills,
avoiding or reducing over-milling and therefore improving efficiency
energy of the section.
In this line, considering in addition to the advice for the operation
previously indicated, a widely used optimization criterion in the
ball milling accounts for:

The optimal dilution of solids in the feed to cyclones, as well as

the optimal circulating load is one that necessarily results from operating
con:
The minimum solid content in the overflow product of
cyclones.
The maximum solid content in the discharge of the cyclones,
operationally feasible to operate.

In this way, with the incorporation of high-density work systems

in the download (close to cordoning), it allows reducing the fine bypass in
the cyclone, making the grinding process more efficient by having particles
thicker inside the mill.
In summary, it can be stated that to achieve a good result in the process
For milling and classification, it is necessary to take into account:

Stabilize the fresh ore fed into the circuit and relate it to the
power available in the secondary grinding stages.
Having online information systems available to
operators for key control parameters: pressure of
mill downtime, fresh and recirculated feed flows,
pulp flow meters to cyclones and for water addition, pressure of
feeding to cyclones, densimeters for feeding to cyclones,
pump speed, product measurement (%+65#) and % solids in
line of cyclone discharge.
Operate the mills at the maximum possible power (over 95%).
Operate the cyclones at high pressures and close to the cordoning off.
to ensure filling and maximize capacity and efficiency of
classification.
Provide sufficient water to stabilize the operation.
Periodically monitor the operation of the elements in the field.
from the section on ways to early identify deviations in
the operating conditions.