Development and Evaluation of Fine Crushing Circuits for Energy Efficient Comminution of Iron Ore

粉碎是矿物加工的能源密集型组成部分，约占加拿大发电量的4%。常用的方法是使用破碎技术，然后在翻滚米尔斯中研磨，以实现矿石中有价值组分与无价值组分的分离。 建议研究的重点是扩大破碎的应用范围，以减少研磨量。 细碎回路的开发有几个潜在的好处。破碎技术的能源效率比滚米尔斯好得多。 破碎技术产生比滚米尔斯更陡的产品粒度分布，从而避免产生难以加工的过细材料。破碎是一种干法工艺，因此细碎粉碎代表了节约用水的机会。 因此，需要设计能够最大化破碎回路中的作用的粉碎工艺。随着新的细碎技术的引入，如高压磨辊（HPGR），立轴冲击式（VSI）破碎机和圆锥破碎的新进展，有可能将破碎机的应用扩展到细粒度。 将进行一项研究，以评估包括这些技术的细碎电路。 该研究将调查一系列流程选项-二级、三级和四级破碎的所有可能组合，包括所有阶段的圆锥破碎机，三级和四级破碎阶段的HPGR，以及四级破碎的VSI。其目标是最大限度地提高破碎回路中的能量利用率，为下游加工准备矿石。 该计划将涉及破碎单元和回路的广泛建模和仿真研究，然后是一系列的实验室和中试规模的调查，以表征铁矿石对每个粉碎设备和工艺回路的响应。该研究将为支持组织和加拿大采矿业提供关于新型细碎回路的设计和操作的信息，这些回路涉及能源效率和对下游加工的影响。 **************

Comminution is an energy intensive component of mineral processing utilizing about 4% of electrical power generated in Canada. The common approach is to use crushing technologies followed by grinding in tumbling mills to achieve liberation for separation of valuable from non-valuable components of the ore. The focus of the proposed research is to extend the application of crushing in order to reduce the amount of grinding. There are several potential benefits for the development of fine crushing circuits. The energy efficiency of crushing technologies is much better than in tumbling mills. Crushing technologies generate steeper product particle size distributions than tumbling mills thereby avoiding the generation of excessively fine material that is difficult to process. Crushing is a dry process, such that fine crushing comminution represents an opportunity to conserve water. Hence, there is a need to design comminution processes that can maximize the effort in the crushing circuit. With the introduction of new fine crushing technologies, such as High Pressure Grinding Roll (HPGR), Vertical Shaft Impact (VSI) crushers and new advances in cone crushing, there is a potential to extend the application of crushers to fine particle sizes. A study will be performed to assess fine crushing circuits that include these technologies. The study will investigate a range of flowsheet options - all possible combinations of secondary, tertiary, and quaternary crushing involving cone crushers for all stages, HPGRs for tertiary and quaternary crushing stage, and the VSI for quaternary crushing. The goal is to maximize energy utilization in the crushing circuit to prepare the ore for downstream processing. The program will involve extensive modelling and simulation studies of the crushing units and circuits, followed by a series of the bench- and pilot-scale investigations to characterize the response of iron ore to each comminution device and process circuit. The research will inform the supporting organizations and the Canadian mining industry about the design and operation of novel fine crushing circuits with respect to energy efficiency and impacts on downstream processing. **************