In this interview, Adrian Dance highlights the importance of considering material size in mineral processing and the benefits of rejecting lower-grade material. Historically, focus has been on examining how to make fragmentation better so the process plant can do 20 to 30 percent more throughput.
The next challenge in improving feed quality further is in terms of its composition, value, and grade. Dance is working with Base Metallurgical Laboratories to develop a sensor testing procedure and they have jointly acquired a laboratory-scale X-ray transmission (XRT) sensing unit to perform this test work. These tests can be used in conjunction with crushing and screening to assess the potential for pre-concentration, which can then be applied to scoping or prefeasibility studies. The approach focuses on standardization and independence and explores the unit's applications, including hardness testing and assessment of SAG mill pebbles.
