Survey and Simulation-Based Process Optimization for Industrial Comminution Circuit – A Case Study of Gold Production

Other conference contribution, 2025

Optimization of the comminution section plays a crucial role in achieving high leaching efficiencies downstream. The comminution section should be optimized to produce the liberated particles required for leaching and maintain the optimum feed rate. For circuits involving both crushing and milling to prepare particles for leaching, an integrated approach is required to ensure that the comminution circuit is energy efficient in producing the suitable particle size for each operation step (crushing, screening, milling, classification) to reach an efficient process. This study presents a comprehensive optimization analysis of the comminution circuit involving crushing and milling at one of the Gold Mines in the Republic of Guinea. The study aimed to develop a framework for integrated optimization of crushing, milling and classification (cyclone) processes to enhance throughput and product quality reporting to the downstream process. This research aims to address these complexities by systematically investigating the comminution circuit to identify root causes and optimize the upstream processes that impact their performance. The investigation encompassed production data analysis, site surveys, model calibration, simulations, and scenario-based circuit optimization. Two major challenges are addressed – throughput increase for hard ore in coarse comminution crushing circuit coupled with ore blending of hard and soft ore suitable for increasing the two different mill throughputs.