CanMicro: microwave-assisted comminution and sorting

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Mineral processing is the practice of separating minerals contained in ores prior to further processing. Comminution, or particle size reduction, is the first stage of mineral processing and is necessary to liberate minerals from one another before they can be separated. Conventional comminution, which is as little as 1% efficient and consumes 30-70% of the energy used in mining, is accomplished by subjecting ore to external forces and significant energy is lost to heat, vibration and noise. The CanMicro process uses microwaves to transmit energy directly to the desired location of breakage and to sort ore to remove barren material prior to grinding, reducing comminution energy by up to 70%. Additional benefits include a reduction in tailings (waste) production of 30% or more, and the increased productivity and the efficiency of downstream separation processes. Utlimately, CanMicro has the potential to make unviable projects economical and extend the life of current mines, resulting in more jobs for Canadians. Although the potential for microwaves to be used in mineral processing has been recognized for many years, scale-up has remained a key challenge. Barriers to scale-up include a lack of fundamental understanding of how microwaves interact with ores, and the fact that high power and high throughputs are required to achieve energy savings. The research objectives are to perform a fundamental study on the microwave amenability of ores, identify ore types that are most amenable to microwave treatment, determine the range of operational overlap for microwave-assisted comminution and sorting, construct a prototype (150 kW, 50 tph) that is scalable to >1000 tph, and demonstrate the energy savings in comminution and benefits for downstream processing through pilot plant testing. The long-term objective is to commercialize CanMicro technology, which will firmly place Canada as a leader in the development of green microwave technology for the mining industry.