5.

2 Introduction to Comminution
 Comminution is the process of size reduction, which is the first and most energy-intensive stage of mineral processing. In the context of
metalliferous mining, comminution is used to liberate (unlock) the valuable minerals from gangue for subsequent separation and
concentration. Typically, blasting is first stage of comminution, where explosives are used to break the in-situ ore just enough so that it
can be handled by mining machinery, followed by crushing and grinding.

 Comminution not only represents the largest energy and operating cost in mining, it is also be the main production driver or bottleneck.
The current research motivation is to improve design (capex) and efficiency (opex). Watch the following video to have an
overview of the importance of comminution for the mining industry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ5YToRDiVg

Unit Operations

 Comminution is a stage process, combining different unit operations in flowsheets to progressively reduce the particle size of
the ore until the required liberation is achieved. The most commonly used unit operations in different comminution stages are described
in Table 01 and their operational size ranges are illustrated in Figure 1. These unit operations are discussed in more detail in relevant
sections.
Table 1: Typical comminution unit operations

Subscript: indice en bas (inférieure)

Pebble = galet
Breakage Mechanisms

 Most rocks are hard and brittle (fragile), i.e. high stress(tension) for small deformation, leading to major breakage due to tensile failure.
As shown in Figure 2, the crystalline lattice (treillis, filet,grillage)of minerals can break if extended by tensile stress generated by
compressive loading.
Generally, the main types breakage mechanisms are: impact, compression, attrition and abrasion (shear) as illustrated in Figure 3
and the video icon below the image. Abrasion is a surface phenomenon which results when two particles move parallel to their plane of contact
and small pieces of each other are torn out of the surface, wearing out the parent particles which remain practically intact. Attrition results when
small particles are trapped between two larger particles and subsequently broken in preference to the larger ones. In impact or compression
breakage, the impacting particle or media (balls, rods, crusher plates, etc) moves perpendicular to the plane of contact and the resulting breakage
is directly related to the specific energy (kWh/t).

Particle Size Distributions

 Every process stream in comminution circuits is made up of material within a range of particle sizes. The particle size distribution (PSD)
is a mathematical function which defines the relative amounts particles according to size. PSDs are typically measured by means sieve
analysis, where a sample of material is screened using a series of sieves of different sizes and separated into discrete size fractions, as
shown in the following video: Video 3
 The particle size distribution (PSD ) is typically described in terms of a simple mass percentage retained or a cumulative mass percentage
passing a certain screen aperture. As shown in Table 2, the standard sieve sizes used to measure PSDs can be described according to the
width of the screen opening (i.e. size) or according to the number of openings per one linear inch (Mesh no.), which is more commonly
used in US.
There are many other ways of measuring PSDs, such as hydrocycloning, ultrasound attenuation, and laser light diffraction. These methods are
especially useful for very fine sizes (below 100 microns), where screens are often impractical. Figure 4 summarises the various techniques that
are used to measure particle size in different ranges.

Reference measurements and size comparisons

In routine screen measurements, it is sufficient to measure the percentage passing on a single screen, but for a detailed analysis, the whole
distribution is measured as previously described. In cumulative particle size distributions, it is possible to read either the percentage passing a
certain size or the size that corresponds to a chosen percentage passing, as shown in Figure 5 for the 80% passing sized (P80). Thus, the relative
particle size of two samples or streams can be easily compared only by looking at their cumulative size distribution curves. In Figure 5, notice
that the product curve is to the left of the feed curve. As a distribution gets finer, it will always translate to the left on this type of plot because
it requires a smaller opening to pass the same amount of material.

 Typically, the 80% percentile or P80 is used as a single parameter to represent the PSD. However, completely different distributions may
have the same or similar P80 size as shown in Figure 6. Therefore, this parameter should be used with caution and the whole PSD should
be considered in detailed analyses or designs.
Reduction Ratio
 Reduction ration is a quantification of the amount of size reduction in a given stage of the comminution process. Typically, it is calculated
as the ratio of the 80% passing size of the feed (F80) to the 80% passing size of the product (P80), i.e.

Reduction Ratio (RR) = F80/P80. Coarse crusher for example usually reduction rations between 4 and 8, while some grinding
operations have reduction ratios of over 100. This parameter is widely used because when a population of particles is reduced in size, the
P80 certainly becomes smaller.

Theory of Comminution

 The comminution theoretical models are based on empirical relationships between energy input and the reduction in particle size, from
feed to product. All theories assume that the material is brittle, so that no energy is adsorbed in processes such as elongation or
contraction, which is not finally utilized in breakage. The tree versions of the same basic equation are the following:
Comminution Modelling

 There are several approaches to comminution modeling, but they can be simply divided into the following categories:

Phenomenological energy-based models

 Variations of the theoretical models previously presented with modifications or correction factors for a range of operating conditions
 Cannot predict the complete product size distribution and effect of operating variables on circulating load or classification performance

Population balance models, PBM (or black box models)

 Uses simple matrix algebra and empirical functions to describe the breakage
 Estimates the product size distribution as a function of feed and operating conditions
 Figure 8 shows the PBM mass balance for a single size fraction (i) inside a mill
Mechanistic or fundamental models

 Consider each element within the process

 Relies on heavy computational power to run FEM (Finite Element Modelling), DEM (Discrete Element Modelling), CFD (Computational
Fluid Dynamics) or combination
 A graphical representation of the charge motion in DEM simulation is show in the following video:

Video 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QP7KN7v4nks

Liberation
 The goal of comminution is to achieve mineral liberation by breaking grains of valuable mineral free from gangue so that they can be
separated from each other. Comminution breaks down larger particles to produce smaller particles. When those particles are about the
same size as the average grain size of the valuable mineral, the result will be particles that contain only valuable mineral, particles that
contain only gangue, and middlings, or particles that contain both valuable and gangue minerals, as illustrated in Figure 9.