REDUCTION PLANT REPORT

REDUCTION PLANT REPORT

NAME……………………………………MUKONDO ATIPAISHE SHAMEL

DISTRIBUTION…………………………….MR E MUTANDIRO

MR T MUPFUMI

MISS I NGWENJE

PERIOD OF ENGAGEMENT……………3 WEEKS

INSTITUTION…………ZIMBABWE SCHOOL OF MINES

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 BACKGROUND......................,…………………………………………….4

1.1Objectives…………………………………………………. 4

2.0 SHEQ ASPECT…………………………………………………..……………..4

2.1 Safety, health, environment and quality aspects at the Reduction plant….5

3.0 PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM…………………………………………………..6

3.1 Description of the process flow diagram…………………………7

3.0 LITERATURE REVIEW………………………………………….8

4.1 Comminution…………………………………………….…………..8

4.2 Principles of comminution……………………………………….9

4.3 Crushing…………………………………………………………….10

4.5 Materials handling……………………………………………….10

4.5 Screening…………………………………………………………..11

4.6 Hand sorting (conveyer 8)…………………………………… .....11

5.0 KEY EQUIPMENT…………………………....................12

5.1 Apron feeder…………………………………………………………12

5.2 Vibratory feeder…………………………………………………….…13

5.3 Jaw crusher…………………………………………………….…..13

5.4 Screens…………………………………………………………….14

5.5 Conveyer belts………………………………………………………15

5.6 Cone crusher (tertiary) and Symon’s cone crusher……………………16

5.7 Plant automation and control………………………….…………………17

5.8 Problems encountered during crushing at the plant………………………18

6.0TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS OF EQUIPMENT…………….……….18

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7.0 RECOMMENDATIONS…………………………………………….20

8.0REFERENCES……………………………………………20

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Showing the processing flow diagram...............................................................................6

Figure 2: Strain of a crystal lattice resulting from tensile or compressive stresses............................9
Figure 3:showing a labelled diagram of an apron feeder……………………………………12
Figure 4:Vibrating feeder diagram……………………………………………………………..12
Figure 5:showing boulders falling into the jaw crusher from the apron feeder...............................14
Figure 6 :showing a scalping screen which is 28mm......................................................................15
Figure 7 : showing a primary screen which is 45mm……………………………….………15

Figure 8: showing conveyor belt number 3………………………………………..16

Figure 9 :showing a general cone crusher.......................................................................................17

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1.0 BACKGROUND

Explosives are used in mining to remove ore from their natural beds, and blasting is
regarded as the first stage of comminution at Bikita Minerals. The second stage of
comminution becomes a series of crushing stages which is done at the Reduction plant
(primary and secondary section). Crushing reduces the particle size of run-of-mine ore and
other feed types at Bikita minerals to such a level that separation of the mineral and
gangue are substantially produced as separate particles (Wills & Nappier-Munn 2006).
Large boulders of about 26cm are crushed to an approximate size of less than 90mm. The
main aim of the reduction plant is to progressively reduce particle size of the ore for
effective separation in the Dense Medium Separation Plants and dry grinding plants.

1.1 Objectives
 To unlock the valuable mineral from the gangue by size reduction.
 To achieve suitable size for hand sorting different minerals.
 To achieve the required size which can be easily handled by downstream
equipment like belts and screens.

2.0 SHEQ ASPECTS

These aspects include risks and hazards identified within the work place. Employees
accompanied by shift foreman undertake risk assessment forms before attending to their
routine works in order to identify possible hazards within the workplace and their
mitigation and control. Tabulated below are SHEQ issues and their mitigation.

2.1 Safety, health, environment and quality aspects at the Reduction plant.

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Risk Effect Mitigation

Safety
Flying particles Eye injury Wear safety goggles
Moving equipment Injuries, death Follow proper safe work
procedures, avoid cleaning
the belts in motion or
rotating equipment.
Sharp edges of the ore Injuries Wear gloves
(lacerations during hand
sorting)
Slipping Falls, injuries Housekeeping

Health
Dust particles Pneumoconiosis Wear dust masks.
Noise (from crushers and Ear damage Wear ear plugs.
screens)

Environment
Noise pollution Ear damage Lubricate machinery
regularly.

Quality
Poor recording of feed Inaccurate mass balancing Accurately read and record
tonnage of feed going to the DMS data on the meter and
practise belt cutting where
there is no weightometer
(conveyer 4 &3)

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3.0 PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM

BIN

STOCKPILES
APRON FEEDER

JAW CRUSHER
(primary crusher)

CONVEYER 2

FEED CHUTE
STOCKPILE

CONVEYER 3
STOCKPILE
CONVEYER 4 CONVEYER 5

BIN 12 DECOUPLING SCREEN

VIBRATING
28mm
FEEDER

STOCKPILE
CONVEYER 12

CONVEYER 6
-28mm

+28mm
SECONDARY SCREEN
28mm

FEED CHUTE
BIN 11
chute
CONVEYER 7
CONVEYER 11

CONVEYER 8(HAND
SORTING)
CONVEYER 9 +28mm SCALPING
SCREEN
50MM

CONE CRUSHER SYMONS CRUSHER

(Tertiary crusher) (secondary crusher)

CONVEYER 10

Figure 1: Showing the processing flow diagram

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3.1 Description of the process flow diagram.

The low grade sinks and pollucite from stockpiles is fed into the feed bin by the front-end
loader at certain time intervals. The feed is then conveyed to a 36 x 25-inch jaw crusher
(primary crusher) by the use of an apron feeder. The primary crusher reduces the ore to the
size of -90mm and low grade sinks are mostly _28!mm.The jaw crusher undersize is
discharged onto conveyor belt number 2 through a receiving chute which then conveys the
feed through the discharge chute to conveyor belt number 3 up the tunnel to the 28mm
scalping screen. The undersize (-28mm or -19) is conveyed to surge bin (bin 12 ) by
conveyor belt number 4 and it is transported via a chute to conveyor belt number 14 if it
is petallite or hand sorted ore and conveyor belt number 13 if it is pollucite. The oversize
(+28mm) is then conveyed by conveyor belt number 5 to a vibrating feeder which
discharges to conveyor belt number 6 before it is passed on to conveyor belt number 7
through a discharging chute. The ore from conveyor belt number 7 is then fed onto the
45mm primary screen. The undersize (-45mm) is discharged to conveyor belt number10
via a launder, the oversize (+45mm) goes to conveyor belt number 8 where hand sorting of
different mineral species which are petalite, lepidolite, Spodumene-quartz-intergrowth and
feldspar is done. The ore from conveyor belt number 8 is then discharged onto conveyor
number 9 which discharge into the Symon’s cone crusher which crushes up to 28mm, from
the crusher, undersize material is discharged onto the conveyor belt number 10 which
conveys the ore to the secondary screen which is 28mm (if its lepidolite the screens are
changed to19mm).The oversize (+28mm) from the secondary screen is transported by
conveyor belt number 11 to the tertiary cone crusher, from the crusher, the undersize is
discharged onto conveyor belt number 10 and it is transported back to the 28mm
secondary screen where the undersize (-28mm) is discharged to the conveyor belt number
12 via a chute to the surge bin. ROM ore, it is conveyed by conveyor belt number 13 to the
stockpile and if it is petallite (hand sorted) it is conveyed by conveyor belt number 14 to
the stockpile (on a pad).

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4.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

4.1 Comminution

Minerals are usually finely disseminated and intimately associated with the gangue, they
must be initially "unlocked" before separation can be undertaken. This is achieved by
comminution in which the particle size of the ore is progressively reduced until the clean
particles of mineral can be separated by such methods as are available. Comminution in its
earliest stages is carried out in order to make the freshly excavated material easier to
handle by scrapers, conveyors, and ore carriers, and in the case of quarry products to
produce material of controlled particle size. Explosives are used in mining to remove ores
from their natural beds, and blasting can be regarded as the first stage in comminution.
Comminution in the mineral processing plant, takes place as a sequence of crushing and
grinding processes. Crushing reduces the particle size of run-of-mine ore to such a level
that grinding can be carried out until the mineral and gangue are substantially produced as
separate particles. Crushing is accomplished by compression of the ore against rigid
surfaces, or by impact against surfaces in a rigidly constrained motion path. Crushing
involves primary and secondary crushing and at some plants tertiary crushing is included
for further liberation of valuable minerals.

4.2 Principles of comminution

Most miinerals are crystalline materials in which the atoms are regularly arranged in
three-dimensional arrays. The arrangement of atoms is determined by the size and types of
bonds holding them together. In the crystalline lattice of minerals, these inter-atomic bonds
are effective only over small distances, and can be broken if extended by a tensile stress.
Such stresses may be generated by tensile or compressive loading as shown in figure

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Figure 2: Strain of a crystal lattice resulting from tensile or compressive stresses

Comminution theory and Laws.

Comminution theory is concerned with the relationship between energy input and the
particle size made from a given feed size.

Rittinger’s law (1867), states that the energy consumed in the size reduction is
proportional to the area of new surface produced. The surface area of a known weight of
particles of uniform diameter is inversely proportional to the diameter.

E=K ( 1 1
−
d p df )
where, E is the energy input, d p is the product particle size, d f is the feed particle size and
K is a constant. The law applies in the range 10-1000 m i.e. fine grain range

Kick’s Law (1885) states that the energy consumed in size reduction is proportional to the
reduction in volume of the particles concerned.

log R
E=K
log 2

where R is the reduction ratio

f
R=
p

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where f is the diameter of the feed particles and p the diameter of the product particles. The
law applies to particles above 10 000 m

Bond’s law (1952) states that work input is proportional to the new crack tip length
produced in particle breakage, and equals the work represented by the product minus that
represented by the feed. In particles of similar shape, the surface area of unit volume of
material is inversely proportional to the diameter. The crack length in unit volume is
inversely proportional to the square root of the diameter. For practical purposes the size in
microns in which 80 % of the feed and the product pass is selected the criterion of particle
size.

W =10W i
( √1P − √1F )
where W is the work input in kilowatt hours per ton, W i is the work index.

The work index is the comminution parameter which expresses the resistance of the
material to crushing and grinding. Numerically it is the kilowatt hours per tonne required
to reduce the material from theoretically infinite feed size to 80% passing 100 m. The law
applies in the range of ball mill and rod mill grinding i.e. 30-3000 m.

4.3 Crushing.
Crushing is generally a dry operation and is usually performed in two or three stages.
Crushing may be in open or closed circuit depending on product size required. In open
circuit crushing, the product is screened and the oversized material goes for secondary
crushing, the product thereof is then combined with the undersize from the screen and is
then routed to the next operation.

Primary crushing

Boulders are achieved by primary crushers, which are heavy duty machines that are
always operated in open circuit, with or without heavy-duty scalping screens . At the
reduction plant at Bikita there is only one type of primary crusher which is a 35 by 25-inch
jaw crusher.

4.5 Materials handling

Materials handling involves transportation, storage, feeding, washing and removal of

harmful materials. At the reduction plant ore transportation started from ore being
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transported by vehicles from the quarry then stocked at the stockpiles. The front end loader
the feed the ore into the bin where the chute moves ore from the

bin into the apron feeder. From this stage ore is transported through the plant by use of
conveyer belts, chutes, feeders and being stored at stockpiles and bins. Water sprays are
used during washing of the ore. Electromagnets are used to remove harmful materials like
pieces of iron and also vibrating scalping screens are used to remove wood.

4.6 Screening
Screening, also called mechanical classification, is a separation process which
utilizes the differences in particle size. The particles which are smaller than screen
opening pass through the screen while larger particles either remain on the screen or
fall off at a designated place. The reduction plant at Bikita minerals consists of decoupling
screen(28mm), scalping screen(45mm), and the secondary screen (28mm when crushing
Pollucite & 19mm when crushing petallite)

4.7 Hand sorting (conveyer 8)

This process is feasible when the ore is liberated at a coarse size usually +45mm. Hand
sorters assess according to the differences in physical properties of minerals namely
petalite, lepidolite, pollucite, Spodumene-quartz-intergrowth and feldspar as shown in
figure 4 below. Hand sorted minerals are temporarily stored in bins and then off-loaded
into dumb trucks which transport to stockpiles separately. Hand sorting is also done to
reduce contaminants or gangue which might affect the product of the valuable mineral
produced. For example, pollucite separates similarly to petalite in the dense medium
separator but it contains an element(caesium) which affects the quality of petalite product.

5.0 KEY EQUIPMENT AT THE REDUCTION PLANT.

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Key equipment used at the reduction plant includes apron feeder, jaw crusher, cone
crushers, scalping screens and belts.

5.1 Apron feeder

The apron feeder is one of the most widely used feeders for handling coarse ore, especially
jaw crusher feed. It is ruggedly constructed, consisting of a series of manganese steel pans,
bolted to strands of heavy-duty chain, which run on steel sprockets. The rate of discharge
is controlled by varying the speed or by varying the height of the ribbon of ore by means
of an adjustable gate. They require less driving power and provide a steadier, more
uniform feed.

Figure 3 showing a labelled diagram of an apron feeder

5.2 Vibratory feeder

Vibratory feeders are feeders in which the aggregate flows from a simple opening in the
bin, onto the inclined deck of the feeder, which may be a simple grizzly or a pan
enclosed on three sides as shown in figure 3. Vibratory motion is created by a system of
eccentric shafts or electromagnetic vibratory units. The cyclic movements of the feeder
body move the material by enlivening it and physically providing a forward component of
thrust. The feeder is usually equipped with a grizzly at its discharge end.

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Figure 4 :Vibrating feeder diagram

5.3 Jaw crusher

The distinctive feature of this class of crusher is the two plates which open and shut like
animal jaws (Grieco and Grieco, 1985). The jaws are set at an acute angle to each other,
and one jaw is pivoted so that it swings relative to the other fixed jaw. Material fed into the
jaws is alternately nipped and released to fall further into the crushing chamber. Eventually
it falls from the discharge aperture. At the reduction plant, a 36 by 25-inch Double-toggle
Blake crusher is used. It has a gap size of 90mm depending on the ore being fed. The sizes
of boulders which are fed at the primary section are reduced from approximately 240 mm
to 90 mm. The working principle of this model is that an oscillating movement of the
swinging jaw is effected by vertical movement of the pitman. This moves up and down
under the influence of the eccentric. The back toggle plate causes the pitman to move
sideways as it is pushed upward. This motion is transferred to the front toggle plate and
this in turn causes the swing jaw to close on the fixed jaw. Boulders falls into the mouth of
the crusher and compressed by the jaws as shown in figure 4, which are moving relative to
each other at a rate depending on the size of the machine and which usually varies
inversely with the size. Crushed ore size depends on the gap size required but usually -
90mm.

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Figure 5 : showing boulders falling into the jaw crusher from the apron feeder

5.4 Screens

Vibrating screens are sometimes placed ahead of the secondary crushers to remove
undersize material, or scalp the feed, and thereby increase the capacity of the secondary
crushing plant.

5.4.1 Scalping screen (28mm):

This screen is the first screen after primary crushing which is used to separate undersize(-
28mm) from oversize (+28mm). The undersize is then transported by conveyer number 4
straight to the surge bin. The oversize is then conveyed for further crushing.

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Figure 6 :showing a scalping screen which is 28mm

5.4.2Primary screen:

It is 45mm screen which separate the oversize required for hand sorting as well as for
secondary crushing and the undersize which goes into conveyer number 10 to the
secondary screen.

Figure 7 showing a primary screen which is 45mm

5.4 .3 Secondary screen:

It is a 28mm screen which screens the +28mm which has to be re-crushed by the Cone
crusher (in the closed circuit) and also the -28mm which has to be conveyed to the bin and
then conveyer 13 for further processing in dense medium separators.

5.5 Conveyer belts

They mainly used for handling bulk loose material. Single flight lengths of belts ranges
from 25 to 110m with feasible speeds of 1.73ms -1 varying with different belt numbers and
their purposes. Conveyer belts consist of drives(pulley), idlers (troughing, returning and
impact idlers), shuttles and trippers.

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Idler

Conveyor belt

Trip wire

Figure 8 showing conveyor belt number 3

5.6 Cone crusher (tertiary) and Symon’s cone crusher

The shorter spindle of the cone crusher is not suspended but is supported in a curved,
universal bearing below the gyratory head or cone. The design of the shell allows a much
greater head angle while retaining the same angle between the crushing surfaces (Wills &
Napier-Munn 2006). This gives the cone crusher a high capacity. A cone crusher is rated
by the diameter of the cone lining.

Cone crusher(tertiary) at the reduction plant have capacity of about 50 t/h, with a discharge
setting of 20-18 mm. The Symon’s cone crusher has a capacity of about 70t/h with a
discharge setting of 50mm. The material passing through the crusher is subjected to a
series of hammer-like blows. The high-speed action allows particles to flow freely through
the crusher, and the wide travel of the head creates a large opening between it and the bowl
when in the fully open position. This permits the crushed fines to be rapidly discharged,
making room for additional feed.

Feed platform

Crushing chamber

Closed side setting

Figure 9: showing a general cone crusher

mantle

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Closed side setting of a cone crusher

The closed side setting defines the reduction ratio in cone crushers and has a significant
effect on the product gradation, capacity and power draw. It is measured from the bottom
of the mantle to the bottom of the bowl liner at their closest point during the gyrating
cycle.

5.7 Plant automation and control panels.

The plant consists of control panels both at the primary and secondary section. These
panels are used to start up the plant in an orderly manner to avoid blockage and choke ups.
The last equipment is the first to be started. At the primary section conveyor 5 is first
started followed by conveyor 4, decoupling screen, conveyor 3, conveyor 2, oil pump, jaw
crusher, apron feeder then lastly the fan. At the secondary section the oil pump for the
cone crusher is first started followed by the cone crusher, Symons cone crusher, conveyor
13, conveyor 12, secondary screen, conveyor 10, conveyor 11, vibro, conveyor 9,
conveyor 8, primary screen, conveyor 7, conveyor 6, and lastly vibrating feeder.

In the secondary section of the plant automation devices are installed which monitor rate
of feed to the secondary section through controlling the vibrating frequency of the vibro
feeder. The device also shows the amount of feed in the feed bin which is deposited into
by conveyor belt number 11 and the amount of feed in the cone crusher. This is vital in
avoiding over feeding in the crushing circuit which leads to choke ups and also to optimize
the plant in ensuring maximum feed is in the circuit.

5.8 Problems encountered during crushing at the plant.

During the crushing process at the reduction, several problems could have encountered
leading to delayed production and also target meeting. Some of the problems encountered
at the plant were jaw crusher choke ups by large boulder which could have fallen at a
wrong angle, feeding of hard rocks like greenstone which is difficult to crush. Shut down
of electricity and also change over from electricity to generators played a big role in
delaying crushing and production. Screen blockage or tripping also contributed to shut
down of the plant and wait for fitters to attend to the problem thereby delaying meeting the
target per shift. At the secondary section pump choke ups would occur from time to time
due to accumulation of fines in the water pump therefore stopping the secondary section.
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Spillage cleaning and Symon’s crusher choke ups also played a role in delaying
production.

6.0 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS OF EQUIPMENT

Apron feeder

Width: 1120mm

Length:15.4

Size of the apron feeder: 42inches

Angle of inclination: ≈ 17 ,

Primary crusher

Jaw crusher

Size- 36× 25 inch

Gap size 90 mm

Capacity. 350t/h

Secondary and tertiary crushers

Symonds crusher. Cone crusher

Opening siding setting. 150mm. 35mm

Size of the crusher. 3ft. 175t/h

Closing siding setting 35. 18

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7.0 RECOMMENDATIONS
Through spending a few weeks at the reduction plant learning and appreciating hands on at
the section, I have discovered a few possible areas which can be looked into if it is
possible which are listed below:

 I recommend installation of a weightometer on conveyer number 3 to account for

feed which has been crushed per shift.
 I also recommend a grizzle which allow fines to be screened first and act as cution
for large boulders falling onto the apron feeder to avoid choke ups and failure of
the flights(plates).
 Installing metal detectors starting from conveyer number 3 to avoid tripping or
blockage of screens.
 Proper controlled and efficient water sprays at the reduction to minimise dust
emissions.

8.0REFERENCES

Wills. B.A & Napier-Munn T.J., 2006, Will’s Mineral Processing Technology: An
introduction to the aspects of ore treatment and Mineral recovery, 7 th ed., pp 108,
Butterworth Heinemann, USA, ISBN-13: 978-0-750-64450-1.

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Grieco, F.W. and Grieco, J.P. (1985). Manufacturing and refurbishing of jaw crushers,
CIM Bull., 78(Oct.), 38.

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