MODELLING AND SIMULA TION TECHNIQUES APPLIED FOR OPTIMISA TION OF MINE TO MILL OPERA TIONS AND CASE STUDIES

Mine fragmentation can int1uence the operational performance of the comminution sections of the treatment plant. Recent work at the Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre (JKMRC) has proven that changes in blast design can have dramatic effects on overall profitability whether the mine feeds a milling or crushing comminution plant. Field experimentation in this arca is often found to be difficult because of high implementation costs and insufficient understanding about thc cffect of fragmentation at different stages in a comminution circuit. Modelling and simulation of blasting and comminution processes provides a more economic alternative to explore the impact of blast design changes on thc down stream opcrations. The JKMRC has been conducting rcsearch in understanding and modelling of comminution for thc past three decades and hence are ideally placed to determine the blast fragmentation/milling interactions as well as the effcct on further downstream comminution steps. This paper brietly describes the techniques utilised and results obtained from case studies where optimisation of mine to mil! processes were conducted.