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American Institute of Mineral Processing 2012

American Institute of Mineral Processing

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Effective crushing and screening methods for the conservation of

energy in the milling process
Fernando Romero-Lage
TRIO ENGINEERED PRODUCTS Regional Sales Director Latin America
Global Mining Sales Manager
ABSTRACT
Most of the Grinding energy is consumed in maintaining the mill and media in motion, and only a very small fraction is used to render the work of breaking
the ore that surrounds the media. The mill feed ore has a particle size distribution that relies on the ore characteristics and the crushing process. The aim
of grinding circuit design is to select circumstances that augment the probability of breaking characteristic size particles. In a mining operation, a
deterioration in product quality from the crushing circuit can often be concealed simply by sending a coarser product to the next process segment, often
being the grinding section, which could be devastating for the operating cost of the mine. A well developed crushing and screening process can lead to
considerable energy savings in the grinding operation.
Keywords: crushing, conservation of energy, milling
Introduction
As the current tendency of high-energy costs continues to drive down the mining economy, the only means to achieve competitive strength in the mining
market is to maximize the economic efficiency of the mining operation. In the last 30 years, grinding mills have grown in size to meet the increasing
demands in unit capacity. The increase in mill size has increased the energy consumption and therefore the operating cost of the mine. Because of it, we
must seek and evaluate alternative ways to minimize the energy consumption.
Initial considerations
SAG mills are more susceptible to ore changes than crushers. As an example, when the differences in behavior of a precise magnetite and hematite ore
are assessed when subject to crushing forces (as a means to compare the results to those obtained in Semi Autogenous Milling), we observe that the net
crushing pressure exerted by magnetite is about 33% higher than the pressure exerted by hematite. This is interesting, considering that the same
hematite offers 25% more resistance to reduction in the Sag mill than magnetite. The comparison between both reduction methods would conclude that
the crushability work index of Hematite is a lot lower than the crushability work index of magnetite, and, conversely, that hematite has a much higher
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grindability work index than magnetite.

With material that is difficult to reduce by SAG milling, the presence of pebble ports can send the virtually ungrindable fraction, known as Critical size
fraction to a cone crushing circuit. This critical size fraction will be more economical to crush rather than grind. This method, known as Pebble Crushing,
has become an integral part of many profitable and efficient SAG mill circuits.
There are still a couple of instances in which Pebble crushing may not be feasible. Ore changes can be the outcome of poor plant design. Variations in the
feed size or ore hardness can manifest in the ore during the SAG grinding process. Pre-crushing, a pseudo secondary crushing in which the critical size
fraction is virtually eliminated from the circuit, can dramatically reduce the energy consumption and increase the mill throughput.
The development of new generation Gyratory and cone crushers, and large horizontal and multi slope screens have made crushing and screening a
feasible and energy efficient addition to the SAG mill comminution process.
Availability for cone and Gyratory crushers has increased immensely due to technological improvements. A modern cone or Gyratory crusher can offer much
more in throughput and reduction ratio per machine than earlier machines. The new application of cone and Gyratory crushers for reduction of critical size
has extended the acceptance for cone crushers in large-scale operations.
Plant Design Considerations
Primary Crushers

The combination of an adequate feed opening, eccentric throw, constant chamber performance, shaft gyrations per minute, and design horsepower affect
the efficiency, the capacity and the discharge gradation of a Gyratory crusher.
In most SAG mill applications, a surge pile with the discharge product of a Gyratory crusher will feed the mill. It is imperative to have control of the product
size distribution in this surge pile. Nevertheless, the fine fraction (5 minus) of the blasted feed to the primary stage will practically not be affected by
primary crushing. Tests must be carried out in order to determine which is the open side setting for the Gyratory that will yield the right size for
autogenous grinding media in the mill.
Todays latest developments in spider design provide the largest AVAILABLE feed openings in the industry and minimize any lost production due to
bridging problems at the crusher hopper. The old, historic, flat or horizontal spider arm design restricted large feed from entering the chamber. Hence,
manufacturers always had to apply larger than required crushers for the application just because the larger feed material could not enter the crushing
chamber.
The ARCHED arms of the new spider design allow the manufacturer and the customer to use relatively smaller and more efficient Gyratory crushers in all
applications where feed gradation is the primary issue. Not only are these spider designs a standard product line offering for new installations, but they
can also be retrofit through upgrade packages to existing crushers. Thus, it allows flexibility and significant operational advantages to todays existing
base of Gyratory customers without the need of purchasing and installing new larger crushers to meet todays requirements.
Additionally, new Gyratory crushers run at faster speed and are counterbalanced, which provides better (and critical for the SAG mill) control of the ores
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top size.

Figure 1. Feed size comparison between conventional 54-75 MKII and 50-65 Super Spider
Eccentric throw is an important element as it determines the vector distance when the work equation is applied. (W= f x d). For a given drive horsepower
and pinionshaft speed, the smaller the eccentric throw, the more crushing force can be applied before stalling the crusher. Increasing the throw increases
the capacity. When the speed is fixed the power will go up when the throw is increased, as more work is required due to the increase in volumetric
capacity.
Gyratory crushers are applied on the basis of several critical application elements. When small or average feed gradation and relatively low tonnage
requirements exist, smaller than standard eccentric throws are used with a corresponding reduction in connected horsepower to provide maximum
utilization of the crushing chamber, and more efficient use of applied horsepower. The eccentric throw is adjustable in all Svedala Gyratory crushers.
Svedala crushers have all major functions performed by one hydraulic piston. A single Hydroset cylinder and piston assembly handles all the adjustment
and maintenance of the product setting, the clearing of a blocked crushing chamber and the compensation for wear. This adjustment for setting by a
hydraulic piston can and is frequently accomplished on the move and with great accuracy when incorporated into a network with a Digital Control System
(DCS). By controlling the crusher setting there is a better control the product top size, and of the consistency that the remainder of the circuit will see.

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Figure 2. Detail of the the Hydroset Assembly and the mainshaft position indicator.

Scalping Screens

A scalping screen will normally receive the discharge gradation of the primary crusher prior to being sent to the SAG mill. Customarily, the screen openings
will be selected according to whether the screen will be merely scalping the material to avoid the fines going to the secondary stage or it will also be a
sizing screen. Consequently, a two-deck scalping screen would have a relief or buffer deck and then a sizing deck. The sizing deck may not have to be for
final sizing. If final separation is desired (for instance, a separation of 0.5 inches so the undersize is sent directly to a ball mill), it may be very difficult to
find a screen that will handle such a long fraction, therefore a very large screen may be required. If the screen is used merely for scalping purposes, the
top and bottom deck can be sized to achieve load balance.
When the percent passing the sizing deck is higher than 35%, the use of a Multi-Flo (A.K.A. banana) screen is recommended. The multi-slope effect of
the banana screen provides up to 75% more load capacity depending on the amount of undersize. It is important however, to size the scalping screen so
at least 35% of the material will pass the sizing deck. If this is not the case, an inclined Low Head screen is a more cost-effective choice.
In the example below, a double deck banana screen has been selected to scalp 1796 MTPH of material. The undersize is sent directly to the ball mill, so a
bottom deck opening of 0.5 is required. The primary discharge gradation yields only 13% passing the 0.5 opening.

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Figure 3.
The screen load results are as follows:
Size:

10 x 20

Cap. in: 1796 MTPH --- Load deck 1:158 % --- Load deck 2:181 %
Top Deck Overs (51 mm opening): 1505 MTPH
Bottom Deck Overs (13 mm opening): 254
Bottom Deck Throughs: 38 MTPH
Since most of the material is retained by the 13 mm opening, there is not efficient screening. However, this scalping operation can be justified in increased
primary mill efficiency. Final sizing is not recommended unless enough screen area is provided, which may prove unfeasible.
The best scalping results are achieved with sloped screens. When the application does not allow the use of a multi slope screen, a Low-Head type screen
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at 10, 15 or 20 degrees of inclination is recommended. The cassette type enclosed mechanism of Svedala Multi-Flo and Low Head screens has been
proven as the most reliable and functional vibrating mechanism in the world mining industry.

Figure 4. Detail of a Low Head Mechanism

SAG Mill Screens

SAG-Mill discharge screens are required to perform two functions. The first is to achieve an efficient separation, and the second is to de-water the oversize
material to the point at which it can be conveyed.
Separation depends on the loading and the gradation of the ore. It is common to use the top deck of a mill screen, as a relief or buffer. The openings in
the screening media generally range from 6 mm to 40 mm for the top deck and 0.5 mm to 20 mm for the bottom deck.

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Figure 5
In mill discharge applications it is common for the majority (85% or more) of the feed to pass through the opening in the screen deck.
When a bed depth of material inhibits the free flow of the fluid, the screen must be oversized to allow for efficient screening and good drainage.

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Figure 6
There are several methods of reducing the bed of material on the deck of a screen. The first is to change the angle of inclination. Although this may
increase screening efficiency and carrying capacity, it will have a negative effect on the dewatering capability of the screen. The second is the use of a
relief deck, as previously mentioned will also decrease the bed depth. The bed depth should also be balanced to allow the bottom deck to perform a good
separation within the parameters outlined above.

The second function of a mill discharge screen is to reduce the amount of moisture in the oversize product. Since most mill screens discharge onto a closed
circuit belt conveyor, it is necessary to reduce the surface moisture of the screen overs. This moisture level is normally in the 5-15% range depending on
the characteristics of the conveyor belt and material being conveyed.
Under normal conditions, the first 1/4 to 1/3 of a screen is used to remove the far-size material. The remainder of the deck removes near-size material and
drains the water from the screen. The percent solids coming onto a mill discharge screen is normally in the range of 40% to 75%.

There are also mechanical aspects of a screen that must be taken into consideration.

The first of these mechanical factors is the G-Force, which is calculated as follows:

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G-Force = (RPM)2 x (Throw in Inches) / 70,400

In horizontal dewatering screens it is important to maintain a G-Force of 4.5 to 6.0 with straight-line motion. These values compare to G-Forces of 3 to 4
for typical circular-motion inclined screens. As aperture sizes decrease and bed depths increase, screens should be operated near the top end of this GForce range for maximum performance.
The second mechanical limit is the Carrying Capacity of a screen. The Carrying Capacity is defined as the maximum amount of material that can be carried
over the decks before the momentum of the screen body is overcome by the weight of the material. Svedala engineering has developed an empirical
method for calculating the value of this mechanical limit. The carrying capacity is a function of the following parameters:

Screen weight (W)

Screen speed (N)

Screen throw (T)

Screen length (L)

Material travel rate over decks (S)

Empirical constant (K)

Carrying Capacity (C) is calculated as follows:

C = W x S x T2 x N2
KxL

The signs of exceeding carrying capacity are easily identified. These include:

Irregular material distribution and/or travel rate along the screen decks

Differences in throw when screen is empty or loaded

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Bottoming and failure of screen isolation springs

Failure of cross tubes in the screen body

Carrying capacity can be increased by augmenting the momentum of the screen. This is accomplished by providing the screen with a larger throw, or
increasing the speed and making a heavier screen.
Secondary Crushing and Pebble Crushing
In a cone crusher, the amount of force produced inside the crushing chamber is a simple torque relationship with the throw (force times length of lever
arm). As the crusher throw is reduced, the maximum permissible power input must also be reduced to prevent it from becoming mechanically overloaded.
As the crusher is set tighter on the CSS, pressures in the crushing chamber increase. The smaller the throw, the more tighter the crusher can be set
before the pressures become excessive. How tightly a crusher can be set before the pressures become excessive is a function of the bulk density and
work index of the stone, as well as the particle size distribution and the moisture of the feed.
Although there is a measurable horsepower justification in adding a pebble crushing circuit, it is very difficult to simulate what happens to critical size
pebbles when they are sent back to the SAG mill. It is yet to be analyzed to what degree they are ground down on the second pass in the SAG mill, as
opposed to building up as a recirculating load on the crusher. "Critical size" pebbles, typically 25 mm - 60 mm, often accumulate in conventional
autogenous mills and SAG mills, reducing the efficiency of the milling circuit. This critical size material may be removed from the primary mill, crushed, and
fed to the secondary ball mill circuit for further grinding. If the critical size is removed from the primary Gyratory product prior to the SAG mill, it will be
conventionally denominated Precrushing. If it is removed by the Sag mill screens, it will be known as Pebble crushing.
For finer products it is found that a smaller crusher simply does the job more efficiently. Basically, the finer the desired end product, the tighter a smaller crushing
unit could be closed down before the pressure in the crushing chamber causes damage to internal components the cone crusher to burn out its eccentric bushing,
or causes the bowl to float on spring loaded designs of crushers. The savings are realized from operating a more efficient crushing circuit. Another alternative is to
design the flow sheet with an open circuit and thus avoid the final screening in closed circuit.
Along with control of the crusher, the feed arrangement must also be controlled to ensure positive continuous choke feeding. This is easily accomplished
when a bin storage unit is placed ahead of the crusher. A variable rate vibrating pan feeder typically accommodates variations of the feed rate to insure
choke feeding. Controls should also be placed in the crusher feed hopper, and feed bin indicating high or low levels of material. Notwithstanding, the best
and most practical way to guarantee crusher efficiency and product-size efficacy is the use of Automatic Setting Regulation
Automatic Setting Regulation - ASR Plus
Automatic setting regulation for hydraulic crushers has been available for over 30 years. More than 2500 systems have been successfully installed and
operated to date. This technology gives way to setting adjustments against small changes in the feed characteristics. The system makes possible to
utilize crushers up to full installed power at all times, while avoiding any risk of machine overload.

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Figure 7. Detail of the ASR Plus console

A machine with high power input can reduce the material to a finer size so that the majority of the crusher discharge passes through the final screen
mesh, instead of being returned from the screens. Against hard ore, automatic setting regulation will directly sense ore body hardness changes and cause
the crusher to close its setting to draw full motor power at all times without operator assistance. Against meteorological changes automatic setting
regulation will directly sense and respond to the variations in moisture in the same manner.
The ASR system also offers different regulation modes. If a certain product size is required, the ASR can be set to Auto CSS mode, which will maintain a
uniform product size, whereas the Auto A mode will provide maximum draw of power and pressure. The auto Cycle mode will allow the user to combine
both Auto A and Auto CSS modes.
A Hydrocone operating under ASR will compensate continuously for wear and keep the optimum setting at all times. As the ASR system is adaptive, it will
learn to predict the wear rate within a few days and will therefore automatically recalibrate itself so that the optimum setting is maintained at all times.

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Figure 8. The setting remains almost constant when a hydraulic crusher uses automatic setting regulation.
ASR Plus provides five pre-programmed crushing formulas:

Operating statistics: power, pressure, setting, energy consumption, lubrication oil temperature, operating time, and liner wear.

Calibration method: completely automatic metal-to-metal, or manual with lead.

Communication serial port for connection to DCS.

Continuously monitored performance.

Continuous compensation for wear and no performance losses between adjustments

Applications

A typical SAG mill circuit is shown in figure 9 below. This circuit uses a 62-75 Super Spider Gyratory crusher with an OSS of 6.5. The SAG mill has difficulty
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handling the critical size fraction, thus, the recirculating load amounts to almost 200% of the fresh feed. The Sag mill screen sees the amount of near size
increasing, and this causes additional recirculating material going to the mill, which will inhibit the pass of fresh feed.

Figure 9: Conventional SAG mill circuit with no pre- or post- crushing

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In Figure 10 below, we have added a scalping screen to remove the natural fines that are under 0.5, so they can be sent directly to the ball mill. This
addition to the circuit relieves the SAG mill from some load, however, the situation does not change as far as the critical size is concerned. Additionally the
percent passing 0.5 drops considerably, causing further inneficiency in the sag mill screen, which is forced to recirculate more material to the SAG mill. A
choice of a banana screen as the scalping screen is not the best solution because the bottom deck opening is set at 0.5. and only 13% of the gyratory
discharge will pass the 0.5 opening.

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Figure 10. SAG/Ball mill circuit with pre-scalping, and feed of fines to ball mill.
For the circuit in Figure 11 below, a crusher has been added to the secondary stage. The scalping screen is merely separating the critical fraction (in this
case, 4 by 2) and sending this to the secondary crusher. The crusher eliminates a lot of the critical size, but the near size is still a problem for the sag mill
screen. A decrease in the energy in the mill should be noticed at this point, yet the SAG mill discharge screen is still very inefficient, and the recirculating
load is only slightly reduced.

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Figure 11
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In figure 12 below, the problem with the SAG mill discharge screen has been resolved by adding another screen to the circuit. Now the recirculating load
drops considerably, allowing for a lot more fresh feed to go into the SAG mill. The fine material separated by the scalping screen is now bypassing the Sag
Mill.

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Figure 12
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In the example below (Figure 13), another screen has been added after the secondary crusher. This screen will be a product screen. The top deck will be
simply a buffer or relief deck, whereas the bottom deck will establish the final separation of product to the ball mill. Additional energy savings will be
obtained from bypassing the fine material to the final milling stage.

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Figure 13
According to popular belief, twenty to twenty five per cent of the SAG mill feed is pebbles. In reality, this number is closer to fifteen per cent, meaning that
in most instances, the crushers sent to a site have dramatically more capacity than is required to crush the pebbles. In most of the cases these pebbles
have a significantly higher work index than most of the SAG mill feed ore. The net result is that the crushers invariably are run trickle fed.
The amount of pebbles generated is highly variable. The charge will steadily build up as a recirculating load, and then eventually get crushed down on the
second or third pass. What the pebble crusher can do, though, is produce a steady stream of minimum 90% passing 19mm end product, which simply does
not build up in a SAG mill.
A pebble crusher is very prone to packing, having been fed a constant stream of soaking wet material. When a pebble crusher operates well, mill
throughput can increase from ten to fifteen per cent. The costs of properly setting up a pebble crusher can literally be recovered within weeks.
In figure 14, a pebble crusher has been added to the initial mill circuit. The results are more favorable than the conventional SAG mill/Ball mill circuit of
figure 3, but additional revisions must be done to the circuit, such as increasing the SAG mill screen and pebble screen area. With no control of the critical
size prior to the SAG mill the performance of the SAG mill will be more subjective to changes in the ore body.

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Figure 14
In the following example (figure 15), precrushing is added to the SAG mill circuit with pebble crushing. One can see that most of the benefits that we were
looking for have been achieved. Once again, fine-tuning of the plant will involve adding more screening area to improve the efficiency of undersize
removal.

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Figure 15
Ultimately, in this last example, (Figure 16) post screening is added to the secondary stage, which will remove the fines prior to the SAG mill. This scenario
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will provide the highest SAG mill efficiency.

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Figure 16
An introductory ratiocination of the benefits of adding precrushing suggests that the potential advantages would be moderate. Additionally, pebble
crushing could be replaced by precrushing. In the following example, the benefits have been pondered using empirical and test data. Let us keep in mind,
however, that the precrushing and pebble crushing products in this example were still being sent to the SAG mill, instead of being prescreened and sent
to the ball mill. If prescreening had been done, the additional benefits shown in figure 9 would have been observable. Even though the precrush benefits
observed in the chart below are moderate, the add-on benefit of precrushing (on the order of 8-10% in fresh throughput) may still justify the additional
capital investment.

Conclusion

The implementation of technological innovation for grinding circuits can help the mining industry surpass historical production figures. The ore hardness
and its heterogeneity, as given by its variation in specific gravity values, will cause constraints in the SAG mill circuit. The effective implementation of
precrushing and pebble crushing will minimize the consumption of energy in the milling stages and consequently infer a considerable improvement in the
efficiency of the mining plant. Considerations for efficient crushing and screening will lead substantial energy savings.
References

Bond, F.C., 1960, Crushing and Grinding Calculations, British Chemical Engineering, pp. 373385, 543448.
Motz, J.C., 1978, Crushing Mineral Processing Plant Design, Chap. 11, SME-AIME, New York.
Taggart, A.F., ed., 1947, Handbook of Mineral Dressing, 2nd ed., Wiley, New York.
Weiss, N.L., ed., 1985, SME Mineral Processing Handbook, Vol. 1, Sec. 3B, SME-AIME, New York.
SME Mining Engineering Handbook 2nd Edition, Volume 1 Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc. Littleton, Colorado 1992
Ottergren, Christian , New Crushing Technologies in Mining Applications, SME Annual Meeting Preprints, November 1999
Ottergren, Christian, Improvements in Crusher Control, SME Annual Meeting Preprints, November 1998.
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Ottergren, Christian, co-authored by CODELCO Divisin El Teniente, Reducing production cost by Crushing Circuit Improvement, SME Annual Meeting
Preprints, January 2000.
Crocker, B.S., 1985, Pebble Mills, SME Mineral Processing Handbook, Vol. 1, Sec. 3C, N.L. Weiss, ed., SME-AIME, New York, pp. 3C-94 to 3C-107.
Mular, A.L., and Jorgensen, II, G., 1982, Design and Installation of Comminution Circuits, AIME, New York.
Rowland, C.A., 1987, New Developments in the Selection of Communition Circuits,Engineering and Mining Journal, Feb., pp. 3438.
Rowland, Jr., C.A., and Kojos, D.M., 1978, Rod and Ball Mills, Mineral Processing Plant Design, A.L. Mular and R.B. Bhappu, eds., AIME, New York, pp. 239
278.
Nichols, James, Vibrating Screen Theory and Selection, Allis Chalmers Corporation
Grant, Douglas, Hornung, Richard, Rouch, Keith, Sheth, Pradip, Predicting Screening Performance, Allis Chalmers Advanced Technology Center,
Moses, John & Gray, Lyle DSM and Pulp Sizing Methods, Svedala Australia Limited.
Bothwell, Mark, Selection of Sag Mill Discharge Screens
Pizarro P., Luis Implementacion del Pre-chancado en Circuito Molienda SAG, Minera Chilena, Marzo 2001.
Herbst, John, Reduction of Pebbles by Prescreening and Crushing to Increase SAG Throughput, July 2000.
Pre-crushing Cone Crushers Are Back, Mining Magazine, July 2000.

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