International Journal of Mineral Processing, 21 (1987) 65-82 65

Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam - Printed in The Netherlands

Mass Balance Calculations Around Mineral

Processing Units Using Composition Analyses
Within Particle-Size Classes

DANIEL HODOUIN and SOLANGE VAZ COELHO

GRAZZM,Dgpartement de Mines et Me’tallurgie, Universitd Naval, QuPbec (Canada)
Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear, NUCLEBRAS, Belo Horizonte (Brazil)
(Received June 13,1985; accepted after revision November 25,1986)

ABSTRACT

Hodouin, D. and Vaz Coelho, S., 1987. Mass balance calculations around mineral processing units
using composition analyses within particle-size classes. Int. J. Miner. Process., 21: 65-82.

This paper proposes an extension to an already available mass balance algorithm for mineral
processing data. A typical set of data which can be processed by the proposed method contains
flowrates measurement, particle-size analyses, global chemical analyses and, simultaneously,
chemical analyses within particle-size classes. The method which is developed is based on a sub-
optimal approximation of a weighted least-squares procedure where the mass conservation equa-
tions, including the coherency constraints between the chemical analyses within particle-size class
and the global analyses, act as constraints of the optimization problem. An illustration for the
grinding circuit of a uranium-bearing phosphate ore is given.

INTRODUCTION

Determination of the stream flow rates, particle size distributions, chemical

compositions and other properties around a mineral processing unit by a suit-
able mass balance procedure is a basic step in the evaluation of the process
unit. In spite of simplicity of the physical laws of mass conservation, to carry
out a reliable material balancing is often found to be a difficult task in practice.
This is due to several reasons. First, because of the heterogeneous nature of
the streams flowing in a mineral processing plant, there are significant mea-
surement errors. Second, another aspect is the imperfection of the sensors
presently available to the mineral processing industry. Third, the natural dis-
turbances in the ore characteristics and in the process operating conditions are
a source of additional noise in the data. Furthermore, in most cases, main vari-
ables such as the stream flowrates are not measured and must be obtained by
computation, a procedure which is very sensitive to measurement errors in

0301-7516/87/$03.50 0 1987 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.

stream composition, particularly when the plant flowsheet is complex and con-
tains many recycling streams.
It is now well established that the data collected in mineral processing plants
can be significantly improved by appropriate mathematical treatment based
on material balance calculation (Hodouin et al., 1984). The usual least-squares
procedures used in balancing the data act as filters for the estimation of the
steady state values of various parameters under consideration. A number of
programs have been developed, for such material balancing purposes, for
example: Wiegel (1972)) Smith and Ichiyen (1973)) White et al. (1977)) Lynch
(1977)) Hockings and Callen (1977)) Tipman et al. (1978)) Ragot and Aubrun
(1979)) Laguitton (1980)) Hodouin and Everell (1980)) Bloise et al. (1981).
Some of these were reviewed by Reid et al. (1982 ) .
From the point of view of the mineral processing irdustry, the following
aspects of particles heterogeneity are important: mineral composition, libera-
tion degree, chemical composition, surface composition, size and shape, spe-
cific gravity, calorific value. A population of particles can be classified with
respect to one or several of these properties depending on the nature of the
process under consideration. When only one property is considered, the mass
balance problem is solved by writing the conservation equations for the classes
corresponding to this property. Most mass balance packages presently avail-
able are designed for only this purpose. When several properties are simulta-
neously considered the mass balance calculation becomes more complex because
of the cross-classes generated. For instance, in the case of two properties, which
is the subject of this paper, if the first property is divided into n classes and the
second one in m classes, nm cross-classes could be considered for the mass
balance calculation. The importance of the present study can be illustrated by
enumerating some projects where this type of problem should be dealt with:
analysis of comminution and classification processes with respect to particle
size and mineral composition; analysis of flotation process with respect to par-
ticle size and liberation degree or mineralogical composition; and analysis of
coal processing with respect to specific gravity and calorific value/volatile/ash
content.
The objective of this study is to develop a calculation technique for balancing
data involving the simultaneous measurement of two particle properties which
generate cross-classes. A typical example is selected for demonstrating the
applicability of the algorithm for balancing a grinding circuit for which flow-
rates, particle size distributions, global chemical assays and chemical assays
within each particle size interval (cross-classes) were available.

PROCESS VARIABLES

The data to be used for mass balance calculation describes various subdivi-
sions of a pulp stream. The first level of division consists of the division of the
pulp into two phases: solids and liquid. The solids phase can be described by
several classes, depending upon the property of interest: screen size intervals,
chemical elements, minerals, specific gravity intervals, etc. Further, each class
can be divided into sub-classes: particles in a certain specific gravity interval
classified into various size sub-classes, particles in a certain size interval clas-
sified into various specific gravity sub-classes, particles in a certain size inter-
val classified into various chemical element sub-classes or mineral sub-classes,
etc.
Process variables can be attributed to each level of division of the pulp stream.
Level one is described by pulp mass flowrates. Level two is described by solids
and liquid mass flowrates and by their concentration in the pulp (solid fraction
in the pulp or liquid to solid mass ratio). Level three is described by mass
fractions of each class in the solids. Level four is described by mass fractions
in various sub-classes. It may happen that a material property is simultane-
ously described by variables at levels three and four. For example, the data can
consist of global chemical assays as well as chemical assays of particles size
classes. In a coal processing plant the data can consist of global calorific value
and simultaneously of calorific value for each specific gravity class.
Table I gives the symbols used for denoting process variables. Indices are
explained in Table II. In the following, a bar under a matrix symbol indicates
that it is a diagonal matrix built with the elements of the column vector rep-
resented by that symbol. A hat over any of the process variable stands for a
calculated value of the process variable and, more specifically, a value which
minimizes a least-squares criterion. The absence of hat indicates the measured
value or a generic term depending on the context.

FLOWSHEET ANALYSIS

The flowhseet is analysed in terms of networks. A network is a graphical

representation of the mass conservation across process units. Each level of
subdivision and each class and subclass must be considered for network deli-
nition. Theoretically there is one network per phase, class and subclass to be
balanced. However usually many classes or subclasses are relevant to the same
network. In a previous publication (Hodouin and Everell, 1980) all the pos-
sible networks were considered; here, for formulae writing simplification, only
three networks will be considered with their corresponding incidence matrices.
Each row in an incidence matrix corresponds to a given node and each column
to a given stream; the element value is 1 if the stream enters the node, - 1 if
the stream exits from the node and 0 otherwise. The matrices are denoted by
M for the conservation of the solids, by M, for the liquid and pulp conservation
and by n for the conservation of material in classes and subclasses. This does
not reduce the validity of the method which can easily be extended to different
networks for classes and subclasses.
MASS CONSERVATION EQUATIONS

The mass conservation equations of the various components of the pulp can
be written in a condensed matrix form as follows:

Solid phase conservation: A4W =o (11

Liquid phase conservation: M, W, =o (2)
Class i conservation: m WXj =o i=l...n (3)
Class k conservation: mWYk =0 k=...m (4)
Subclass k in class i: m WXJik =0 k= l...m i=...n (5)
When complete analysis of property X is available the following conditions
must be satisfied:

&X;=l j=l...p (6)

Under these conditions, if each class i is further analysed for its subclass k
contents, the process variables must also satisfy the coherency condition
between the overall mass fraction of class k and the summation of the sub-
classes k for all the i classes:

f xjzjk = y/k j= l...p (7)

i=l
k= l...m

In these circumstances, in view of eqs. 6 and 7, eqs. 3 and 5 should be rewritten

up to index n - 1 only to avoid linear dependency of the equations:

T?lWXi=O i=l...n-1 (81

mWXiZik=O k = l...m (9)

c i= l...n- 1

When the class k analyses of property Y are also complete, eq. 4 should be
rewritten accordingly, that is for index k varying from 1 to m- 1. However
when the analysis of property Y is complete for all subclasses also, the coher-
ency eq. 7 would considerably increase the complexity of the problem and the
solution has not been derived here.

MASS BALANCE PROBLEM FORMULATION

The above written mass conservation equations cannot be verified for the
measured values of the process variables as they usually contain random errors.
 69

TABLE I

Symbols for process variables

Level Process variable scalar Matrix Matrix Measurement Diagonal

notation notation dimension standard variance
deviation matrix

1 pulp flowrate WI WP (PJ)

2 solids flowrate w, W (P,l)

liquid flowrate WY WW (PWJ 1
pulp dilution D, D (PJ)
(liquid to solids ratio)

3 mass fraction in class i X; X (PJ) fli, V,

of x property
mass fraction in class k Y," Yk (PJ) ukl Vk
of Y property

4 mass fraction in subclass Ztk (PJ) V,k

k ( YPW=~Y) of 2:” uijk
class i (X property) Zk (np,l) Vk

Furthermore, missing data cannot be extracted from this system of equations

because it is usually inconsistent (more equations than unknown variables).
The technique used consists in filtering the data by a weighted least-squares
procedure applied to the model of mass conservation equations. The filtered
variables, noted with a hat, are those which minimize (see Tables I and II for
notation) :

j=l i=l k=l

TABLE II

Indices for process variables

j Index of stream in solids network j= l....p

i Index of class (level 3) for property X i= l....n

k Index of class (level 3) and corresponding k= l....m

subclass (level 4) for property Y

h Index of stream in pulp/liquid network h= l....p,

70

under the constraints:

H( w$r~,Wj, WT, Dj, $7 P;, 2:“) =(I (11)

where H= 0 is a condensed notation for the constraints to be verified. J appears

as a sum of squared residuals functions: J,, Jzx, Jzv, Jir, where J, corresponds
to flowrates and dilutions, Jzx to property X classes, Jzy to property Y classes
and J3 to subclasses. Accordingly H can be partitioned into H,, H,,, HZ>,,H3.

COMPUTATION ALGORITHM

The method selected for solving the mass balance problem is a hierarchical
decomposition of the minimum calculation into simpler sub-problems. The
technique, already described by Hodouin and Everell (1980)) handles the inde-
pendent relative solids flowrate (IRSFR) at a supervisory minimization level
and the other variables at lower levels. The relative flowrates are the ratio of
any stream flowrate W’ to the flowrate IV, of a reference stream (usually
selected as the circuit feed). For a given set of IRSFR values, say 8, relative
ore flowrates in all stream of the circuit are calculated using eq. 1. If M is a
(q xp) matrix (q nodes and p streams), there are r=p- q - 1 IRSFR, since
q+ 1 is the rank of the system of eq. 1 with respect to independent flowrates.
When 8 values are selected by the supervisory algorithm, the lower minimi-
zations are performed using ore flowrates values calculated according to:

IV= JVl (L0+l) (12)

where L and 1 are matrices of dimensions (px r) and (px 1), respectively,
deduced from the incidence matrix Morganized in a row echelon form ( Hodouin
and Everell, 1980 ) .
The minimization of J is performed, at parallel lower levels, for the micro-
scopic variables (X, Y, 2) and the macroscopic variables ( WI, IV,, D, IT,).
For the present study the initial structure of the BILMAT algorithm (Hodouin
et al., 1981b) was kept the same and the program modified to introduce level-
four data processing. The decomposition scheme presented in Fig. 1 leads to a
sub-optimal solution giving priority to X and Y variables. The search for the
true optimal solution would require much more computation capacity. How-
ever for circuits flowsheets of reasonable size, the optimal solution can be eas-
ily calculated as will be shown later.
The supervisory algorithm makes use of the conjugate-gradient free-deriv-
ative minimization technique described by Powell (1969). The minimization
algorithm with respect to mi uses a successive parabolic adjustment method
(Box et al., 1969). Calculation of X and Y values which minimize Jzx and Jzy
and of 2 values which minimize J3 are directly obtained by analytical methods
without derivative calculation (Hodouin and Everell, 1980). This is the case
 71

1 INIllAL,lZATION t-G*

t
CALCULATION OF # SUPERVISORY
INDEPENDENT RELATIVE -
ALGORITHM -
SOLIDS FLOWRATE 8

MINIMIZATION OF

MINIMIZATION OF
ND

Fig. 1. Flowchart of the minimization algorithm of BILMAT (sub-optimal solution).

also for the calculation of mP, mWand D which minimize J1 (Hodouin et al.,
1981b). Only the minimization procedure of J3 will be detailed here.

CALCULATION OF i

At this stage of the calculation algorithm (see Fig. 1) the values of 8,2, P
are considered constant and the minimization is performed only with respect
to the .?s. The criterion J3 as well as the constraints & =0 can be partitioned
according to the subclasses:

J3= f Jsk (2,) = f (Z,-2,)” V,’ (2, -2,) Hsk (2,) =O (13)
k=l k=l

k= l...m
and each problem can be processed separately.
When the coherency constraints between level 3 and 4 variables ( eq. 7 ) are
not required the decomposition can be extended to the classes i by minimizing:

(14)

under:

rn@&& =0 i= l...n (15)

k= l...m

and the minimization can be performed separately for each couple of i and k
indices. However when the coherency constraints are required the minimiza-
tion problems for the various indices i are coupled and the problem must be
solved for each k index.
In the simplest case (eq. 15)) the solution is obtained by writing, for the
Lagrangian:
9ik =Jsik(Zik) +Atm@xiZ& (16)
the following stationarity conditions:
Vikl~ik+~i~mt~-ViklZik=O (17)

m@d%iiik =O

in which elimination of the Lagrange multipliers A leads to the solution:

2, =Z& - V&Xi Wmt (mwXi Vi,Xi Wmt) -‘mWXiZ, (18)

For the more complex case, where the coherency constraints between level
3 and 4 variables are active, the minimization of Jsk must be performed under
Lefollowing matrix system of equa Ins:
m@X, 0
0

= 0 (19)

or in a more condensed form:

A& = ak (20)
 73

Using the Lagrange method for minimizing Jsk under this constraint, the solu-
tion is given by:
&=.Z,-V,At (AVkAt)-’ (A&-Cak) (21)
The matrix calculation required in this equation can be simplified, by making
use of the particular structure of the matrix A, in order to decrease the size of
the matrices to be handled by the program. This leads to the following set of
equations:
i= l...n- 1

(22)

(23)

with:

(24)

and:
(Yik= (m@$iVi,xi@mt)-l (25)
A much more complex situation occurs when the subclass analyses are com-
plete. Under these circumstances it is too difficult to take simultaneously into
account this new constraint and the coherency constraints between level 3 and
4 variables. However, when the coherency constraint is ignored, the solution
follows a procedure similar to the previous one, performing the decomposition
with respect to index i instead of index k. Only the final result for any class i
of property X is given here:
iik=Zik-Vik(~i~mtFik+Fim) k=l...m-1
Zi, = Zi, - Vi, Fi, (26)
where:
Fik =(~ik( m@XiZik -m@‘VikFim) k=l...m-1
m-l

Fi,= ( C Vi,@ximtCYikmxi@Vik
k=l

(27)
74

-
, 42%01/h

t
GALL MILL
t
ORE T WATER

62 kg/h 17QOf/h
0 SAMPLING POINT

Fig. 2. Pilot grinding circuit flowsheet.

A typical simple application of this formula occurs when the finest particles of
a screen analysis (minus 400 Tyler mesh for instance) are analyzed for par-
ticles size by an other technique (cyclosizing, sedimentation, etc. ) . In this case,
the index i in the formulae refers to the last level 3 class, i.e. corresponds to n.
It can be used also in the general situation where mass fractions in class k
(y,k) are not available and consequently, do not generate any coherency con-
straint between level 3 and 4 variables.

CASE STUDY

The application of this new version of the BILMAT program is performed

in a pilot grinding circuit used by NUCLEBRAS - Centro de Desenvolvimento
da Technologia Nuclear - to recover uranium and phosphate from the Itataia
ore body, located in North Brazil. The major components of this ore are calcite
and uranium-bearing apatite. The processed data concerns the first stage of
the physical treatment, that is, the grinding of the material to reduce particle
size to - 48 mesh, minimizing the fraction of - 400 mesh. The product thus
obtained constitutes the feed to the hydrocyclone and flotation units.
The schematic drawing of the circuit is presented in Fig. 2. This pilot circuit
has a capacity of 160 kg/h and includes a rod mill and a spiral classifier. The
inlet water points and the four sampling points, one for solids and three for
pulps, are shown in Fig. 2.
The purpose of the sampling procedure was to determine the performance
 75

TABLEIII

Resultsof BILMAT (third calculationof Table V) for macroscopicvariablesand X and Y variables(MV = measuredvalue;
CV=coefticientof variationfor themeasurementerror( %I) ; FV= filteredvalue;ADJ= Wof adjustment
of themeasured
value1

Stream Circuitfeed Ballmilldischarge Coarseproduct Fineproduct

Variable
MV CV FV ADJ MV CV FV ADJ MV CV FV ADJ MV CV FV ADJ

Pulpflowrate - - 163.4 - - - 701.7 - - - 366.5 - - - 839.5 -

Waterflowrate - - 1.6- - - 304.9 - - - 131.4 - - - 677.7 -
Solidsflowrate 161.8 1 162.1 0.2 402.9 1 396.8 1.5 236.4 1 235.0 0.6 158.4 1 161.8 2.1
Pulp% solids 99.0 0.2 99.0 0 53.9 4 56.5 4.9 65.6 4 64.1 2.2 19.4 4 19.3 0.1
Wateraddition 170 4 172 1.0 454 2 454 0 50.4 2 50.4 0.0 - - - -

+ 0.25 16.9 3.6 16.9 0 00 00 0000 0000

0.2514 12.9 3.8 17.9 0 00 00 0000 0000
416 6.8 4.5 6.8 0 00 00 0 0 00 0 0 00
618 4.3 5.3 4.3 0 00 00 0 0 00 0 0 00
8/10 5.8 4.7 5.8 0 00 00 0 0 00 0 0 00
10/14 5.6 4.8 5.6 0 00 00 0 0 00 0 0 00
14120 6.0 4.7 6.0 0 00 00 0 0 00 0 0 00
20128 3.9 5.6 3.9 0 0.5 23.0 0.5 4.8 0.9 14 0.9 1.5 0 0 0 0
28135 5.8 4.7 5.8 0 5.0 5 5.4 7.2 8.9 4 8.4 5.4 1.0 13 1.0 4.7
35148 3.5 5.8 3.5 0 13.0 4 13.5 3.4 10.2 3 14.8 2.1 4.3 5 4.2 1.1
48165 4.4 5.2 4.4 0 20.1 3 20.5 2.1 28.4 3 28.2 0.7 9.5 4 9.4 0.8
65/106 4.0 5.5 4.0 0 24.2 3 23.2 4.5 25.8 3 26.7 3.4 17.8 4 18.0 1.1
100/150 3.6 5.8 3.6 0 9.1 4 8.9 1.8 7.3 4 7.4 1.4 11.1 4 11.2 0.6
150/200 2.5 6.9 2.5 0 5.7 5 5.5 2.9 3.1 6 3.2 1.9 8.9 4 9.0 1.1
200/270 3.0 6.4 3.0 0 4.1 5 4.8 1.5 2.0 8 2.0 0.6 8.9 4 8.8 0.9
270/400 1.6 9.4 1.6 0 4.2 5 4.1 1.3 1.1 12 1.1 1.5 8.5 4 8.5 0.5
- 400 9.3 4.1 9.3 0 13.5 4 13.5 072. 2.3 7 2.3 0.3 30.0 3 29.8 0.6

PA 12.9 4 12.9 0 14.6 4 15.8 7.6 19.0 4 17.8 6.8 13.3 4 12.9 3.1
U,Cs 1170 2 1173 0.3 1260 2 1269 0.7 1340 2 1334 0.4 1180 2 1173 0.6
CaO 33.6 2 33.5 0.1 36.3 2 37.1 2.2 40.2 2 39.6 1.5 33.8 2 33.5 0.7
SiO, 18.9 2 19.1 0.9 16.1 2 15.8 1.7 13.5 2 13.6 0.8 19.1 2 19.1 0.1
AI& 4.7 3 4.8 0.7 3.8 3 3.6 6.4 2.7 3 2.8 2.5 4.7 3 4.8 2.2
Fe& 4.0 4 3.9 1.8 3.2 4 3.4 7.2 3.2 4 3.1 4.9 4.0 4 3.9 2.3

of the circuit by an evaluation of the flowrates and concentration values, in

order to compare various possible flowsheet organizations to obtain the best
metallurgical results. Only one set of data is processed in this paper, for dem-
onstration of the proposed balancing method.
The experimental work in the pilot plant consisted of a 16-hour run under
steady state conditions. Samples were collected manually from the four points
specified above, according to a time length previously established. The proce-
dure consisted of taking three samples from each stream to ensure represen-
tative mean data. These samples were submitted to chemical analysis, particle
size distribution and chemical analysis in each particle size interval. The water
flowrates were measured and controlled by means of rotameters (see Fig. 2))
and the ore flowrates obtained from pulp weighing and pulp percentage of sol-
ids measurement.
The measured variables values can be found in Tables III and IV, corre-
TABLE IV

Besults of BILMAT (third calculation of Table V) for the variables Z in some particle size intervals

Barticle size Chemical Circuit feed Ball mill discharge Coarse product Fine product
interval compound
(Tyler MV CV FV ADJ MV CV FV ADJ MV CV FV ADJ MV CV FV ADJ
mesh )

+0.25 p205 16.1 4 13.2 22.2

U308 1180 2 1194 1.2
CaO 38.3 2 39.6 3.2
0 0 0
SiO, 12.9 2 13.2 2.1
AW3 2.9 3 3.5 17.3
Fe,O, 2.5 4 2.5 2.3

28/35 B205 12.9 4 12.2 5.3 13.7 4 12.9 6.6 12.9 4 13.5 4.5 4.4 4 4.4 0.1
W8 1080 2 1084 0.4 1150 2 1138 1.0 1180 2 1181 0.1 590 2 590 0.0
CaO 31.5 2 31.8 0.9 36.1 2 36.1 0.1 38.7 2 37.6 2.8 16.7 2 16.7 0.0
SiO:, 19.7 2 19.9 1.1 15.5 2 15.3 1.0 12.7 2 14.0 9.2 32.6 2 32.7 0.4
AW, 4.7 3 5.3 10.5 3.8 3 3.7 2.2 3.1 3 3.3 6.5 9.1 3 9.1 0.2
Fe.& 4.0 4 3.9 1.2 2.8 4 2.8 1.8 2.7 4 2.6 0.8 5.0 4 5.0 0.2

48165 BZCS 11.0 4 10.6 3.4 16.9 4 16.1 4.7 17.5 4 17.6 0.5 9.8 4 9.7 1.1
ws 986 2 980 0.3 1240 2 1230 0.9 1320 2 1290 2.6 990 2 979 1.1
CaO 27.9 2 28.1 0.6 39.7 2 38.3 3.7 42.5 2 39.7 7.1 32.4 2 32.2 0.5
SiO? 22.5 2 22.7 1.0 13.5 2 14.4 6.2 10.97 2 13.5 18.5 18.5 2 18.4 0.5
A&‘& 6.2 3 6.9 10.5 2.9 3 3.0 3.6 2.3 3 2.6 9.9 4.9 3 4.8 2.4
Fe& 4.7 4 4.6 1.1 2.8 4 2.7 2.6 2.6 4 2.7 4.5 2.8 4 2.8 0.6

100/150 B*O5 11.1 4 10.8 2.7 18.1 4 18.9 4.1 22.6 4 21.8 3.9 17.0 4 16.1 5.a
w, 1070 2 1072 0.2 1280 2 1396 1.3 1430 2 1407 1.7 1220 2 1190 2.9
CaO 27.9 2 28.0 0.5 40.7 2 40.1 1.4 43.8 2 43.0 2.0 37.7 2 37.4 0.8
SiO, 27.1 2 22.3 0.7 12.6 2 13.4 5.7 11.2 2 11.8 4.4 15.3 2 14.9 2.6
AN, 6.6 3 7.3 9.1 2.7 3 2.8 1.4 2.2 3 2.2 2.6 3.3 3 Y3.3 1.9
Fe& 4.7 4 4.7 0.9 3.2 4 3.3 3.4 3.8 4 3.8 1.0 2.9 4 2.8 1.4
 200/270 P,O, 10.5 4 10.3 2.1 17.5 4 17.0 2.6 21.6 4 21.7 0.5 15.6 4 15.5 0.6
u&l 1310 2 1313 0.2 1310 2 1326 1.2 1510 2 1501 0.6 1300 2 1268 2.5
CaO 26.6 2 26.7 0.4 39.2 2 38.8 1.0 42.2 2 42.1 0.4 37.9 2 37.8 0.4
SiO, 23.9 2 24.1 0.7 13.8 2 13.9 0.8 12.1 2 12.3 1.9 14.4 2 14.4 0.2
AlA 8.3 3 9.1 9.5 3.1 3 3.2 1.4 2.5 3 2.5 0.7 3.5 3 3.4 2.0
F&J, 5.2 4 5.1 0.8 3.3 4 3.3 0.6 3.3 4 3.3 0.1 3.3 4 3.3 0.3

-400 PA 4.8 4 4.7 3.0 10.9 4 10.4 4.3 12.3 4 12.4 0.3 10.4 4 10.2 1.6
w, 860 2 864 0.5 1290 2 1199 7.6 1260 2 1265 0.4 1180 2 1192 1.0
CaO 15.2 2 15.3 0.7 29.4 2 28.5 3.1 30.8 2 30.7 0.3 28.3 2 28.3 0.2
SiO, 39.9 2 41.3 3.5 24.9 2 25.9 3.9 21.7 2 22.6 3.9 25.9 2 26.3 1.4
&O, 4.8 3 5.7 16.0 7.0 3 6.9 1.2 5.9 3 6.1 2.8 7.4 3 7.1 4.6
FedA 9.3 4 8.9 4.7 5.8 4 5.9 2.2 5.3 4 5.3 0.3 6.1 4 6.0 1.1
 NCCPENDENT REIJTI
ORE FLOWRATES

IYES I

END I

Fig. 3. Flowchart of the minimization algorithm (optimal solution).

sponding to one of the mass balance calculations performed with these data.
The evaluated standard deviations are also given as variation coefficients in
percent.

RESULTS

The data were balanced for five different conditions of utilization of the
computer program. Tables III and IV give the results for one of these calcula-
tion sets, referred as the third calculation in Table V which presents the con-
ditions and some results corresponding to the five calculation sets. The true
minimum (optimal calculation of Table V ) has been calculated by a free-deriv-
ative minimization technique (Powell, 1969) of Jzx+ Jzy+ min ( J3) working
on a set of independent X and Y variables, and a minimization of J3 by the
previously described technique. The J1 part minimization and the overall min-
imization with respect to the IRSFR are performed as in the standard BIL-
MAT algorithm (see Fig. 3).
The Table V results show that, when the coherency constraints are not acti-
vated, the two solutions are very close. However the constraints, when acti-
vated, introduce a strong coupling between the levels 3 and 4 variables and
large adjustments on level 4 data for the sub-optimal solution. For the true
 79

TABLE V

Least-squares criterion and mill throughput values for five different mass balance calculations on
the grinding circuit data

Calculation Without coherency constraints With coherency constraints between

between levels 3 and 4 variables levels 3 and 4 variables
Criterion
sub-optimal optimal sub-optimal optimal sub-optimal
reweighted

J, 6.6 6.9 9.0 6.6 6.6

J 2x 10.3 13.7 9.8 26.6 10.4
J ZY 21.9 21.8 21.5 82.9 21.9
J3 81.2 73.5 861.3 188.7 225.0
J 120.0 115.9 901.6 304.1 263.9

Relative flow- 2.470 2.467 2.453 2.471 2.471

rate through
the mill

optimal solution, the adjustments are spread on levels 3 and 4 as indicated by

the values of the different parts of the least-squares criterion. This is con-
firmed in Table VI, where the residuals are compared for the optimal and sub-
optimal solutions both with active coherency constraints. The residuals are

TABLE VI

Residuals analysis for sub-optimal calculations (S.O.C.) and optimal calculation (O.C.), when coherency
constraints between levels 3 and 4 variables are activated

Stream (j) Circuit feed Mill discharge Coarse product Fine product
Option
Variables S.O.C. O.C. S.O.C. O.C. S.O.C. O.C. S.O.C. 0.c

J 29 0 10.9 6.0 6.5 3.3 5.7 0.5 3.5

- p*o5 0 0.73 1.2 1.57 -1.20 -1.09 -0.40 0.33

Ws 3 7 9 21 -6 12 -7 -3
CaO -0.05 -0.25 0.83 1.68 -0.60 -0.06 -0.25 -0.45
k SiO, 0.17 0.02 -0.26 -1.18 0.11 -1.32 -0.03 -0.18
Al&, 0.06 -0.25 -0.23 -0.43 0.07 -0.09 0.10 -0.18
Fe@, -0.07 -0.03 0.24 0.23 -0.15 -0.19 -0.09 -0.05

J 3kl . p205 55.5 8.7 7.6 6.8 3.7 4.1 3.3 4.2
W.3 1.0 2.7 20.4 15.7 3.0 13 4.7 4.4
CaO 6.7 5.2 14.9 5.4 27.6 1.9 0.5 3.3
k SiOz 7.2 0.1 100 17.4 287 13.6 5.9 2.9
=%C, 246 26.9 13.5 15.1 35.5 3.2 9.4 38.7
Fe,O, 2.4 1.4 2.6 3.7 2.0 1.4 0.3 0.5
 higher for X and Y variables in the true optimal solution and lower for Z vari-
ables compared to the sub-optimal solution.
The distribution of the sum of squared residuals in the criterion is very het-
erogeneous with sub-optimal solution when coherency constraints are active.
This could mean that the accuracy of the 2 variables measurements is globally
overestimated. In fact, looking into more details to the results (Tables III and
IV), it appears that only some variables are responsible for the high value of
J:,. These variables, particularly SO, assays in mill discharge and coarse prod-
uct and A&O, assays in circuit feed, produce residuals which are up to ten times
the measurement error standard deviation. The residuals analysis shows that
only 112 variables among the 282 2 variables contribute by a value 500 to the
J:< part of the least-squares criterion and that 11 other variables, the residual
of which are greater than three times the measurement standard deviation,
contribute by a value of 120. It, is obvious that these 22 measurement values
can distort t.he overall calculation. This is why in a fifth calculation (Table
V) , the standard deviation of these 22 variables were increased, taking half of
the observed adjustment as a rough approximation of these standard devia-
tions. The results clearly indicate that a more correct weighting of these out-
liers produces results closer to the true minimum calculation where such outliers
are eliminated because of the possibility to distribute the inconsistencies on
the X and Y variables.
The filtered data obtained by this procedure of mass balance calculation can
then be used for usual metallurgical calculations which are necessarily
(Hodouin et al., 1984) more reliable and allow a more precise analysis and a
better discrimination between different operating conditions. In the present
case, for instance, the screw classifier selectivity can be plotted for the various
chemical species and could be interpreted in terms of the differential classifi-
cation behaviour of the minerals in the ore. Filtered data on Fig. 4 indicates a
more consistent behaviour. This mineral dependent behaviour results in dif-
ferent circulating load ratios for the various minerals, which can be indirectly
observed using the individual chemical species analysis: 203% for phosphorus,
174% for calcium, 167% for uranium, 115% for iron, 105% for silicon and 86%
for aluminium. The differential grinding kinetics could also be more favorably
studied using filtered data rather than raw data.

CONCLUSION

By this study the mass balance package BILMAT has been improved by the
addition of an algorithm for processing analyses in subclasses of components
classes of the ore, including the possibility to handle the coherency constraints
between analyses of the same components in classes and subclasses.
 81

I ’ 1 /-
0
0

--______.____________________ ___-_

80
t
.

I-
O
cl
RAW
DATA
ii ’
260 .
0
A
0
D l

u .
8 BALANCED
DATA I
:0 A
0 ’

01 27W400
’ ’ ’ l50/200
’ ’ 65AOO ’ ‘*70NOO
’ ’ 35148 - ’ ’ HA’200 ’ ’ 35I48
’ ’ 65AOO ’ ’ ’
TYLER MESH

Fig. 4. Percentage of particles to screw classifier coarse product as a function of size.

The efficiency of the algorithm has been tested using grinding data on a
uranium-bearing phosphate ore. The sub-optimal solution proposed is very
efficient when the coherency constraint between classes and sub-classes is not
required, although it should be more carefully used when these constraints are
activated. For complex data such as simultaneous size distributions and chem-
ical analysis, the proposed computer program greatly simplifies the calculation
and allows more reliable metallurgical conclusions.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

CANMET of the Energy, Mines and Resources department of Canada and

the CRM of the ministere de 1’Energie et des Ressources du Quebec are thanked
for their financial support and interest for this project. The first author is
grateful to the CETEM of the Ministerio das Minas e Energia of Brazil for the
opportunity given for developing collaboration with Brazilian institutes.

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