International Journal of Mineral Processing, 12 (1984) 285--304 285

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

THE SIMULATION OF ORE-DRESSING PLANTS

M.A. FORD 1. and R.P. KING ~

' Council for Mineral Technology (Mintek), Private Bag X3015, Randburg 2125
(South Africa)
2Department of Metallurgy, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
(South Africa)
(Received December 8, 1981; revised and accepted June 2, 1983)

ABSTRACT

Ford, M.A. and King, R.P., 1984. The simulation of ore-dressing plants. Int. J. Miner.
Process., 12: 285--304.

An efficient and automated ore-dressing plant simulator has been developed.

In this simulator, stream variables can be used to describe a large number of unique
solid particles that have a wide range of properties. Consequently, a large number of
simultaneous equations need to be solved.
This paper demonstrates how particles can be categorized and the mass balance for
complex recycle systems rapidly achieved. The simulator that has been developed uses
unit modules that are linked together by an executive computer programme. The exe-
cutive, by treating each module in turn, obtains a set of simultaneous equations that
are solved iteratively. The sequence in which the modules are treated is determined by
partitioning and tearing algorithms that select tear streams, thus rendering the system
acyclic. The algorithms are designed to choose the tear set (as there are usually several)
that will allow convergence in the fewest possible iterations. This choice is based on a
criterion that can be extended to apply to all the convergence methods considered. A
simultaneous convergence technique has been developed that is applicable specifically
to linear ore<lressing plants, but can also be applied to non-linear systems. This techni-
que, which is called the reduced Newton method, is shown to exhibit local convergence
under reasonable conditions and is generally superior to direct substitution and to the
bounded Wegstein methods.

INTRODUCTION

At almost every stage in the development of an ore-dressing plant the use

of a computer simulation of the process can be of benefit. For example:
(a) At the research-and~levelopment stage, the economic feasibility of dif-
ferent processing routes can be compared by the use of a simulator that re-
quires a m i n i m u m of data.
(b) At the critical examination stage, once a financially attractive process

*Formerly of the Atomic Energy Board, Extraction Metallurgy Division, Randburg.

0301-7516/84/$03.00 © 1984 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.

286

has been found, different alternatives involving plant size, layout, and oper-
ating conditions should be tested for o p t i m u m performance.
(c) At the pilot-plant stages, even when relatively few results are available,
it might be possible for estimates to be made of the operating conditions on
the full-scale plant.
(d) At the design stage, the simulator can be an aid in determination of
the range of operating conditions, and it may be possible for the safety mar-
gin usually allowed (because of the uncertainty that exists in regard to equip-
ment design) to be reduced; even once the plant has been built, the simulator
can be used to search for the best strategy to raise production, to enhance
the efficiency of the process, and to adapt the plant to different feed mate-
rial and to different product requirements.
However, in spite of their potential, ore-dressing simulators have a brief
history.
Details of crushing-plant simulators, which include screening models, have
been published by Whiten (1973) and Gurun (1973). The simulation of
grinding circuits is fairly advanced, and papers by Luckie and Austin (1972)
and Austin et al. (1975) give basic theory and an example of a cement-
milling circuit respectively.
Scrimgeour et al. ( 1 9 7 0 ) have reviewed and presented models of grinding
and flotation circuits, and Davis (1964), Loveday and Marchant (1973), King
(1973, 1975a) and Sutherland (1977) have described flotation models and
the simulation of these circuits.
Pederson and Gurun (1970) and King (1975b) discussed the techniques of
simulation of ore-dressing plants, though not in detail. Although much effort
has been expended in the development of mathematical models of ore-
dressing operations, simulators that treat either only comminution or only
flotation are the only ones available.
There is clearly a need for a general-purpose ore-dressing simulator that
can utilize existing mathematical models of unit operations, while allowing
for the development of new ones, and combine them in any configuration
for the purpose of simulation.
The simulator described in this paper can be applied to any ore-dressing
plant no matter what particular operations are included in the flowsheet and
no matter what mineral is being recovered. It can handle flowsheets of
arbitrary configuration and complexity.

S T R A T E G Y OF SIMULATION

A simulation programme can be specifically designed to simulate a partic-

ular process with a fixed plant configuration. Such a plant configuration can
be solved by the use of techniques that treat the simulation as a mathemati-
cal problem with fully defined equations and constraintS. A more widely ac-
cepted type of programme, however, is one that is constructed with the use
of a modular approach. In this approach, each process unit is represented as
 287

a separate mathematical model called a "unit module". The unit modules are
connected by data sets that represent the streams of material flowing be-
tween the unit modules.
Although the equation-solving approach may be computationally more ef-
ficient, the modular approach has been used in almost all simulation pro-
grammes (chemical plant simulators). There are good reasons for this.

(1) Flexibility

Any portion of the programme can be used independently or combined

with other modules to represent any kind of flowsheet. In other words, only
a few building blocks are required for the assembling of processes of any
given complexity.

(2) Efficient use of manpower

Computer costs are dropping whereas labour costs are rising. The simula-
tor must therefore be quick and easy to use. With the modular approach,
very complicated unit models can be written by specialists. This means that
the engineer is not required to solve the problems involved in calculation and
then to programme it. In this way, several engineers can work together, each
on different aspects of the same process, and then use the simulator to com-
bine their efforts.

(3) Maintenance of the programme

Once a simulator exists, it is easy for new building blocks to be added or

for old ones to be removed if the modular approach has been used.

STREAM VARIABLES

In ore-dressing plants the process streams contain solids and liquid. The
liquid is usually water, dissolved chemicals not being considered. The solids
are particles with size and mineral-content distributions. This fact gives each
particle a unique set of physical properties.
In any physical separation or transformation unit, each particle will
behave according to its own physical properties, and those of the particles
surrounding it. The creation of a simulator based on the behaviour of each
individual particle is impracticable because of the large number of particles
involved, b u t particles with properties that fall within certain limits can be
grouped according to those properties. This is a discrete distribution but, if
the limits are infinitely narrow, the distribution will be continuous and could
possibly be represented b y a mathematical function, which can describe the
complete distribution b y the use of a few parameters. However, the achieve-
ment of an accurate representation is difficult if not impossible. For ex-
ample, a particle size distribution will often be log normal over most of the
288

size range except for the larger sizes, where deviations occur. Even where the
feed to the system can be adequately represented by a single functional
form, it is unlikely that the product or recycled material will retain the same
functional form, because particles are selectively removed from certain sec-
tions of the distribution, causing severe kinks. In any event it has been cus-
t o m a r y for the mineral-processing industry to use a discrete distribution,
such as a size distribution, to facilitate measurement. Consequently, most of
the ore<iressing models developed so far are based on discrete rather than
continuous distributions.
The choice of discrete categories is determined largely by the require-
ments for the unit model. Each unit operation uses some or all of a particle's
physical properties as separation criteria, for example, specific gravity, size,
floatability, reflectivity, magnetic susceptibility, etc. All these properties are
dependent on four fundamental characteristics of particles: size, grade, sur-
face distribution of minerals, and shape. As there is no convenient method
for the description of shape, and as none of the existing models use shape, it
will not be considered specifically here.
The average surface-area fraction of a mineral c o m p o n e n t of a large un-
biased sample of particles will equal the average volume fraction (E1-Soudani,
1975) but, if the particles are separated on the basis of a surface property,
the sample will become biased in the product streams and the direct relation
between grade and surface exposure will no longer apply. Therefore, in a
separation of this kind, an independent surface distribution must be used.
If a particle is to be completely specified, the categories of its size and
grade must be given. The surface-area distribution is necessary only if a sur-
face property is to be used for separation. If friability or any other property
n o t directly related to size, grade, or surface is to be used, this property
distribution must also be expressed independently. In terms of discrete dis-
tributions this means that an n<timensional grid of variables (where n is the
number of independent properties) must be used to adequately describe the
solid particles in the stream. This can be very expensive in terms of computer
storage and computation time. For example, if each of the distributions is
made up of five discrete classes and four independent properties are re-
quired, the number of variables per stream will be 54 = 625. However, most
plants will require only size, grade, and perhaps one other distribution to
describe the streams. The simulator programmed by Ford (1979) uses a
three<limensional grid, catering for D-classes, G-classes and S-classes. The D-
and G-classes refer to size and grade distributions respectively. The S-classes
can be any third independent physical property, depending on the situation.
The value carried as the variable in the DGS-class is the actual mass of solids
in that category.

PARTITIONING AND DECOMPOSITION

The preceding section clearly shows that each stream in a flowsheet could
be described by a few hundred variables, so that, in a system with tens of
 289

streams a few thousand equations would need to be solved simultaneously.

Obviously an efficient strategy must be adopted if such a calculation is to be
successful. However, it is not always necessary for the entire system to be
solved simultaneously. For example, if there are no recycle streams, the com-
puter can sequentially calculate, from the known feed streams, the product
streams for each unit operation until the complete system has been solved.
Similarly, if unit modules can be grouped into nodes so that there is no re-
cycle from any node to any previous node, then each node can be solved in
turn and the number of variables needing simultaneous solution can be re-
duced. Nodes consisting of only one unit module are called "simple nodes",
whereas nodes with more than one unit module are called "complex nodes".
If the grouping is such that the complex nodes cannot be broken down any
further (in the sense that it is not possible for one to form a group of unit
modules that does not have a recycle to a previous node), it is called "parti-
tioning".
The complex nodes can be large and, if they are too large for simultaneous
solution, an iterative solution scheme should be used. During the iterative
procedure in the solution of a complex node, each unit must be evaluated
once per iteration. This implies a knowledge of all the inputs to each unit be-
fore its outputs can be determined, which is impossible for a complex node.
It is therefore necessary to guess some of the inputs to start the iteration.
These guessed inputs are called "tear streams".
In every system there are many permutations of the order in which unit
modules can be evaluated and, depending on the order chosen, different tear
streams will be needed. Just as choice of the order determines the tear
streams, the choice of tear streams that render the system acyclic will fix the
order in which unit modules can be evaluated. This selection of tear streams
to render the system acyclic is called "decomposing" the system.
Methods for partitioning and decomposition have been reviewed by Kehat
and Shacham (1973), Motard et al. (1975) and Ford (1979). For partition-
ing, methods based on "pathsearching", or methods based on Boolean opera-
tions performed on the adjacency matrix have been developed. The path-
searching methods are based on t h a t of Sargent and Westerberg (1964) where
vertices (unit modules) are traced until one that has been encountered is re-
encountered. All vertices traced between these two encounters form a cyclic
net, and are lumped into a pseudo-vertex, the tracing being repeated until no
more cyclic nets are found and all vertices have been traced. The m e t h o d in-
volving the use of the adjacency matrix takes powers of this matrix until no
further changes occur, which presents an ordered picture of the cyclic nets.
Once the flowsheet has been partitioned, each complex node must be
rendered acyclic. Many investigators have used different approaches in their
attempts to find the o p t i m u m decomposition. The most usual criteria have
been the tearing of the minimum number of streams or variables or tearing
to give the minimum sum of weighting factors arbitrarily assigned by the
user to each stream. However, none of these criteria are sufficiently descrip-
tive of the real measure of computational efficiency, which is the rate of
290

convergence of the decomposed network. This rate is determined by the

spectral radius of the Jacobian of the decomposed network interfaced with
the convergence procedure. Several authors have minimized this combined
spectral radius by minimizing the spectral radius of the system Jacobian.
Ford (1979) has shown that this assumption is valid for a non-negative
Jacobian and that, in general, it is likely to hold good.
Use of the system Jacobian directly as a measure of convergence rate has
the difficulty that the solutions must be known before it can be calculated
and compared for each tear set. Upadye and Grens (1975) have developed an
a priori criterion called the " m i n i m u m double tear" criterion, which they
show will select the tear set that has a system Jacobian with the minimum
spectral radius when the system Jacobian is non-negative. Their claim, based
on extensive examination of cases, is that this generally holds good. The cri-
terion " m i n i m u m double tear" implies that no cycle should contain more
than one tear stream (if there is more than one) and, if this is not possible,
there should be a minimum number of cycles with more than one torn
stream.
Ford (1979) has shown that weighing each stream, as follows:
Wk = A Mk + X for A>Nc-2
and then selecting the tear set with the minimum weighted sum will apply
the " m i n i m u m double tear" criterion.
Here Wk is the weighting assigned to stream k ; Mk is the number of cycles
that contain stream k; X equals one for minimizing torn streams as well as
double tears, X equals the number of variables in stream k for minimizing
torn variables as well as double tears; and Nc is the total number of cycles
in the node.
Algorithms for calculation of the minimum weighted sum were reviewed,
and an adaption of the dynamic programming technique of Upadye and
Grens (1972) was found to be the most appropriate and was used. This algo-
rithm tests combinations of cycles opened until the system is rendered
acyclic.
The weighting method and the tearing algorithm both require the cycle-
stream matrix. The cycle-stream matrix is a matrix containing lists of stream
numbers associated with each cycle.
The m e t h o d selected by Ford (1979) to determine the cycle-stream ma-
trix is based on the "pathsearching and backtracking" algorithm of Johnson
(1975). The essence of this algorithm operation is as follows:
Elementary circuits are constructed from a root stream S. At each step a
stream is added, thus extending the elementary path. If the duplication of
circuits is to be avoided, no stream with a stream number greater than S
can be used. Further, a stream V is blocked when it is added to some
elementary path beginning in S. It stays blocked for as long as every path
from V to S intersects the current elementary path of a stream other than
S.
 291

The cycle-stream matrix is necessary for the tearing algorithm, and conse-
quently it has been possible (by application of the principle that if any two
cycles have a c o m m o n stream they must belong to the same complex node)
for this matrix to be used for partitioning with very little extra computa-
tional effort.

SYSTEM SOLUTION

Once the tear streams have been selected it is possible, by the assigning of
values to the variables in these streams, to sequentially calculate the variables
in all the other streams and eventually those in the torn streams. If the as-
sumed and calculated values in the torn streams are not sufficiently similar,
the calculations are repeated with a new set of assumed values.
The iterative method in which the calculated set of torn variables becomes
the new assumed set for the next iteration, is called "direct substitution".
The rate of convergence of this scheme is often slow; for acceleration of the
rate, methods like the " b o u n d e d Wegstein" (Wegstein, 1958) and the "domi-
nant eigenvalue" m e t h o d (Orbach and Crowe, 1971) have been used.
Newton-like methods, based on an (n+l)-point sequential-secant method
have also been used (Barnes, 1965; Broyden, 1965; Rosen, 1967); these
methods converge fast when they do converge, but can easily diverge if the
initial guess is poor. A further disadvantage of the Newton-like methods is
that the computing costs for the determination and inversion of the system
matrix of partial derivatives are high.
The iterative scheme can be described by reference to Fig. 1. X is the vec-
tor of all estimated variables in all tear streams (n. m elements, where n is the
number of variables per stream and m is the number of tear streams). (P(X) is
the vector of all calculated variables in all tear streams (n.m elements). F is
the vector of all the feed variables o f the system, and P is the vector of all
the product variables of the system.
r I
I L

System

Fig. 1. A n illustration o f a system variables.

Solution of this system requires that the following equation be satisfied at

the solution X*:
X * = (P ( X * ) (1)
For this to be accomplished by an iterative method, previous values of X
and q~(X) can be utilized in the determination of the next set of X values.
This procedure can be represented as follows:
Xk+l= G(X ~) k = 0 , 1 , 2 , (2)
292

where G ( X ) is a function of X and ~ ( X ) , and k is the iteration index.

A sufficient condition for the local convergence of this scheme is given by
the 'Ostrowski Theorem', and the rate of convergence is given by the Linear
Convergence Theorem (Ortega and Rheinboldt, 1970). Both of these theo-
rems use p [ G ' ( X * ) ] , which is the spectral radius (absolute value of the maxi-
m u m eigenvalue) of the matrix of partial derivatives of G(X) with respect to
X at X = X*. The theorems state that, if p [G'(X*)] < 1 then system will ex-
hibit local convergence, and the smaller this value, the faster will be the con-
vergence.
For Newton's method:
G(X) = X - - [ I - - q~'(X)]-' [ X - qs(X)] (3)
and, for the quasi-Newton methods where ~b'(X), which is the matrix of par-
tial derivatives of ~ ( X ) with respect to X, is approximated by Q(X):
G(X) = X-- [I-- Q(X)]-' [ X - q~(X)] (4)
If Q(X) in eq. 4 is set to the null matrix, then G(X) = q~(X) which is direct
substitution whereas, if Q(X) only approximates the diagonal elements of
'(X) with the remainder of the matrix null, this becomes Wegstein's meth-
od. An intermediate convergence scheme is obtained if Q(X) is chosen to be
identical to @(X) except that some elements of Q(X) are set equal to zero.
Partial differentiation of eq. 4 with respect to X at X = X* leads to:
~'(x*) = U - Q(x*)]-' [ ~ ' ( x * ) - Q(x*)I (5)
so that p [ G ' ( X * ) ] equals zero for Newton's method and p [~'(X*)] for
direct substitution.
According to Tausky (1964) and to Varga (1962):
p ( A ) ~ p(IAI) ~ IIAI[1
n

where []AIII = max E ]ai,jl and ai,j represents the elements of A.

l <~j<~n i = 1
Ford (1979) has shown that I]~'(X*)[[, < 1 for physically realizable sys-
tems if q5'(X*) ~> 0, and it is shown in the Appendix that, for the intermedi-
ate convergence scheme, p [ G ' ( X * ) ] < 1, if p[l~'(X*)]] < 1. Under these
conditions, therefore direct substitution and the intermediate scheme will
exhibit local convergence. It is further suggested by Ford (1979) that, even
if • '(X*) contains a few negative elements of relatively small absolute value,
this result will still hold good. For linear systems, q~'(X*) will be non-
negative and constant, so that convergence will be global.
The rate of convergence of this intermediate scheme will depend on which
elements of ~ ' ( X * ) are chosen to be the non-zero elements of Q(X). For a
linear unit model, the matrix of partial derivatives of o u t p u t variables with
respect to input variables will be constant. As a result of the way in which
the variables are selected (discrete DGS-elasses), the elements of each column
 293

of this matrix (the unit-transformation matrix) will be equal to the mass

fraction of a particular input variable corresponding to each output variable.
Consequently, the transformation matrices of linear separation units will be
diagonal, the transformation matrix of a mixer unit (combining several input
streams into a single output stream) will be the identity matrix, and the
transformation matrix of a comminution unit can be arranged so that the
upper triangular elements are zero (because particles break only from larger
to smaller sizes). Similarly, grade- and surface-category transformations
(liberation) in ore-dressing unit operations (excluding conditioners) can oc-
cur only with an accompanying change in size class. The net result is that,
for a linear system, the system-transformation matrix will contain a large
number of zero elements. Ford (1979) showed, in fact, that a linear system
can usually be solved simultaneously in as many steps as there are size~lasses
while requiring only the inversion of n matrices of size m by m, where n is
the number of variables and m the number of tear streams.
Discrete variables are chosen so that the interaction between them would
be minimized. Therefore, in a non-linear system, although ~'(X) would not
be expected to be constant or to have many zero elements, the elements cor-
responding to those that are zero in the linear system should be relatively
small. This suggests that, if the elements that are dominant in the linear sys-
tem (the interactions between the same variable in each tear, i.e., the same
DGS-class) are chosen to be the non-zero elements of Q(X), a favourable
convergence rate should result. Ford (1979) has named this convergence
scheme the 'reduced Newton method'.
Although Wegstein's and quasi-Newton methods use secant approxima-
tions to the elements of Q(X), it is relatively simple and inexpensive for the
exact derivatives in Q(X) to be obtained for the reduced Newton method.
Each unit model calculates the partial derivative of each output variable with
respect to the same input variable, and the product of these diagonal ma-
trices along the paths between the tears will provide Q(X).
For demonstration of the advantages of the reduced Newton method, a
flotation plant, which uses a non-linear model for each cell, has been simu-
lated. The flow diagram of this plant is shown in Fig. 2.

Tailing
Concentrate

Fig. 2. Flow diagram of simulated flotation plant.

294

Units 1 to 4 are banks of flotation cells. (In this way the number of cells,
i.e., units, in each bank could be varied without changing of the plant con-
figuration). Units 5 and 6 are mixing nodes. The stream variables were cate-
gorized into three G-classes (grade), two S-classes (flotation rate) and a vari-
able number of D-classes (size). Each stream also contains a single variable
for the water flow. The problem was solved at four levels of complexity
as follows. The number of cells in each bank were increased from two to
eight in steps of two while the number of D-classes was simultaneously
increased from one to four so t h a t the number of variables in each stream
were 7, 13, 19, and 25 respectively. The four levels of complexity are
labelled SET 11, SET 22, SET 33, and SET 44 in Table I.

TABLE I

Comparison of convergence methods

SET Problem Direct Bounded Reduced

size substitution Wegstein Newton

No. o f No. o f No. o f Time No. o f Time No. o f Time

units variables iterations (s) iterations (s) iterations (s)

11 8 7 29 2.33 29 2.39 13 1.60

22 16 13 9 1.97 9 1.97 4 1.42
33 24 19 11 3.40 9 3.04 3 1.76
44 32 25 14 6.43 12 5.75 2 1.97

Each problem was simulated with direct substitution, the bounded Weg-
stein m e t h o d , and the reduced Newton method, respectively. The results in
terms of computation time and the number of iterations are given in Table I
and Figs. 3 and 4. When the problem is small, the computational savings of
the reduced Newton m e t h o d in relation to direct substitution is low. i.e.,
about 30% (SET 11 and 22). However, as the size of the problem increases,
the savings become very marked at 48% and 69% for SETS 33 and 44 respec-
tively. The reasons for the decrease in the number of iterations with increas-
ing size of the problem for the reduced Newton m e t h o d in this example are
as follows. Firstly, the initial guess of the torn variables (a vector with all
elements equal to one) happens to be closer to the solution when the size of
the problem increases, and secondly, with this model, the banks of cells tend
to behave more linearly as the number of cells per bank increase.

EXAMPLES

Two examples are presented to demonstrate the versatility of the simula-

tor: the first is a simulation of a bulk sulphide flotation plant that processes
an ore containing three sulphide minerals that are incompletely liberated.
The distributed rate constant model is required for the flotation cells be-
 295

Direct
51 substi

~~ 3 U
'7/ wegstein

1- Newton

0
11 22 33 4~I
Set

Fig. 3. Complexity of problem versus execution time.

30'

25'

"6 ~ 20'
p==_o
E
=~~ 15- Direct

1o.

S" ~ Reduced
~ I ~ _ Newton _

11 2'2 33 44
Set

Fig. 4. Complexity of problem versus number of iterations.

cause experimental observations of the flotation characteristics of this ore

have shown that significant departures from first-order kinetic behaviour oc-
cur. Significant variations of flotation rate occur with particle size and the
degree of liberation is obviously a strong function of particle size. The
second example is a single ball-milling circuit with the mill in closed circuit
with a hydrocyclone. This example was chosen to demonstrate the ease
with which the simulator may be used to investigate the effect of equipment
characteristics on the predicted performance of the circuits.

Bulk sulphide flotation circuit

The flowsheet for the plant is shown in Fig. 5. The complex nature of the
ore and the complexity of the flowsheet (particularly the considerable
a m o u n t of recycle) makes it almost impossible to compute the plant mass
 STREAMSOLID WATER REC. GRADE REC. GRADE REC. GRADE REC. GRADE
FLOW FLOW OF OF OF OF OF IIc {iF OF 0"~
TIHR M-~8/HR CHAL C H A L PENT P E N T PYRR P Y R R GANG GANG

2 83.22 18~,79 184,81 19,87 I@8.31 12.31 i ~ . 2 7 IZ49 I@@.01 84.59

9 43.42 71,~ 8.59 1,20 9.42 1 , 5 9 41.~ 5 , 4 8 88.~ 91.78
4 41,33 05,~ ~ 9,84 5.28 ~94 18.33 2 , 2 4 97.7~ 95.85
5 2.~1 8,~ 3,15 9 , ~ 4"13 14,34 ~ 4 8 b~5@ 9,~ 7,57
5 19,88 59. 48 98.~4 31,28 88,83 ~5,79 97. 12 27,82 2,51 5, 14
7 19,8~ 88, 4~ 98,24 31,28 88,83 95,79 97,12 27,82 ~ 51 5, 14
8 18.89 ~.71 94.81 32,57 94,71 37,~ 8~),818 25,37 ~ 3 8 5,80
8 18089 44.21 94,81 32,57 94,71 87,~ 8@.b~ 25,37 P - ~ 5,~
1o 1,11 ~8,8~ 1,83" 9 , 4 4 2,18 14.81 13,52 8@,~ ~,21 7.58
11 1,18 33,24 l . f ~ 9,44 2.17 14"~7 13,79 8@.18 9 , 2 1 7.81

13 ~-11 24"~ 3,15 9 , 8 8 4 , 1 3 14,84 25.48 88.5~ 9,~ 7,57

15 9,~ 4"5~
18 ~.~ I~
17 18,87 ~87 94.58 ~ 8 8 94,68 37,11 83,:93 25,31 2,3~ 4"9~

~ - -~ HODS [H
tJ~ive~sity of t½~ ~itw<itecs~]n
Modu[~ O~e O~e==im~
Pl~nt Simul~to~

SULK SULPHIDE FLOTATION CIRCUIT 5

Fig. 5. F l o w s h e e t and o u t p u t f r o m s i m u l a t o r o f a bulk sulphide f l o t a t i o n circuit.

 297

balance by manual methods and computer simulation in one form or another

is essential. The flowsheet represents an existing operating plant and the min-
eralogical texture and degree of liberation of the ore was determined approx-
imately by direct microscopic observation of the particles in the feed stream.
The complex mineralogy and the degree of interlocking of the different
mineral phases required an extensive classification of the particles by grade
(the G classes in the simulator). The plant metallurgists considered that the
particle spectrum could be adequately characterised by 3 size classes and 11
grade classes.
The flotation behaviour of the ore was modelled using the discrete distrib-
uted kinetic model. The standard Imaizumi and Inoue graphical technique
was used to evaluate the kinetic constants and to establish the distribution of
these constants over the particle population. The complete characterisation
of the feed material to the plant is given in Tables II, III and IV.
The behaviour of the material in the flotation cells was modelled using the
King model (King, 1973, 1975a) specifically so that the effect of variations
in aeration rate and of variations in cell volume could be investigated. The
kinetic constants determined by the Imaizumi and Inoue graphical technique

T A B L E II

T h e particle size d i s t r i b u t i o n in t h e feed ( t h e D classes)

Size 250 u m 125 u m 45 ~ m

Mass f r a c t i o n 0.11 0.27 0.62

TABLE III

The distribution of particle grades in the feed (the G classes)

Class Class description of particles Mass Mass Mass

No. by mineral content fraction of fractionof fractionof
this class in this class in this class in
Chalco- P e n t - Pyrr- Gangue 250 ~m 125 ~ m 45 ~ m
pyrite landite hotite fraction fraction fraction

1 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.100 0.101 0.101

2 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.165 0.124 0.102
3 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.296 0.080 0.043
4 0.5 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.000 0.001 0.000
5 0.0 0.5 0.5 0.0 0.000 0.003 0.000
6 0.5 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.000 0.008 0.000
7 0.33 0.33 0.33 0.0 0.000 0.000 0.000
8 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.98 0.003 0.000
9 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.5 0.85 0.008 0.000
10 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.5 0.045 0.072 0.000
11 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.210 0.600 0.754
1.000 1.000 1.000
298

TABLE IV

Distribution of specific flotation rate constants (the S classes)

G class* Specific flotation rate constant, s -1

5.15 X 10-5 8.87 x 10-6 0.0

1 0.85 0.1 0.05

2 0.85 0.1 0.05
3 0.00 0.918 0.082
4 0.85 0.1 0.05
5 0.85 0.1 0.05
6 0.75 0.2 0.05
7 0.65 0.3 0.05
8 0.572 0.344 0.084
9 0.529 0.437 0.034
10 0.30 0.10 0.60
11 0.00 0.00 1.00

*See Table III for a description of each G class.

are given in Table IV and the S classes o f the simulator were used to accom-
m o d a t e the distribution of rate constants. Thus the full three-dimensional
distribution structure of the simulator was used in this example. With 3 flo-
t a t i o n rate constants, 3 particle sizes and 11 grade classes, the simulator ac-
c o u n t e d for 99 variables in each stream. The simulator was used to assess
comparatively small changes in plant performance with variations in circuit
configuration, head grade and aeration rate. Consequently this detailed
knowledge o f the behaviour o f each of the three minerals and the degree of
interlocking due to mineralogical intergrowth had to be allowed for other-
wise the small changes were simply lost in the approximations made. This
example is typical o f the c om pl ex plant descriptions that axe possible using
the mathematical models o f ore dressing operations t hat have been success-
fully developed over the last 15 years and demonstrates nicely tbe ability of
t h e simulator to a c c o m m o d a t e the c o m p l e x i t y of real ore dressing systems.
The specific flotation rate constant of zero in Table IV represents the non-
floatable fraction of each particle t ype and apart from G class n u m b e r 11
which represents the c o m p e t e l y liberated gangue, the fraction of non-float-
able c o m p o n e n t was comparatively small.
The description o f the plant feed material as given by the data in Tables
II, III and IV p r o d u c e d a very close simulation of the actual plant operating
behaviour as measured by assays taken on samples from 6 of the plant
streams. Once the efficacy of the models used for the flotation cells and the
validity o f the data had been established, the simulator was used effectively
t o establish the response of the plant to variations in plant configuration,
aeration rate and cell volume. T he standard o u t p u t f o r m a t from the simula-
t o r is shown in Fig. 5.
 STREkM ~ I O W^~ REC. ~ REE.
FLOW Fl.0!~ OF OF O~= I~=
T/I'IR M-IS/HR PYRI pYTII ~

404o4g 121. 43 ,~72.w42 LgP-..r.5~44~E~7 7?o4~

4~4.4~ $21,4352~,*0 22,5~ 449.07 "/7.4'~
464,44~ 411. 84 5~-, 4@ 2 ~ 4 ~ 0 7 77,4~

404, A8 411,04 ~ , 4 0 ~ 44,9.8'7 77,4~

304,32 0~,~42~.13 2 ~ 1 8 ~ 4 ~ , 4 ~ 78,74

MO~S~M
U~iv~P~ity o~ tH~ ~itwate~o~
Modular 0~ ~e~sim 9
Pl=~t ~imui=tor

BALL MILL CIRCUIT FOR WITWATERSRAND QUARTZITE i~

Fig. 6. Flowsheet and o u t p u t ~ o m simulation of a ball-milling Circuit.

300

A ball-milling circuit

This e x a m p l e illustrates t h e ease w i t h w h i c h t h e s i m u l a t o r m a y be u s e d to

c h o o s e o p e r a t i n g c o n d i t i o n s f o r t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f a r e q u i r e d p r o d u c t . Figure
6 s h o w s a simple closed-circuit ball-milling circuit as is o f t e n used o n S o u t h
A f r i c a n gold mines. T h e p r o b l e m is to find o p e r a t i n g c o n d i t i o n s f o r the
h y d r o c y c l o n e t h a t will p r o d u c e a p r o d u c t t h a t is 80% passing 75 ~ m and t o
o b t a i n an a s s e s s m e n t o f t h e circulating l o a d t h a t will be r e q u i r e d .
T h e s t a n d a r d b r e a k a g e / s e l e c t i o n f u n c t i o n m o d e l was used f o r t h e ball mill
using b r e a k a g e a n d s e l e c t i o n f u n c t i o n s f o r W i t w a t e r s r a n d q u a r t z i t e as deter-
m i n e d b y T a u t e ( A u s t i n et al., 1977). T h e s t a n d a r d Plitt m o d e l was used t o
model the hydrocyclone.
99.9 . . . . . , , , , . . . . . , , ,// / / , r . . . .

99
///
95

9O
85
80

o~ 7 0
c
"~ 6 0

D_ s o

~ 35
ao;-
25b

15

10 I I I I I I i L [ I I I I ~ I i I] I I I J J i , i
1 1Q 100 1000
Porticle size, )Jm

Fig. 7. Simulated particle size distribution in ball-milling circuit product. Curves are iden-
tified in Table V.

TABLE V

Simulated results for ball-milling circuit

Simulation Conditions 80% passing

number size
Hydrocyclone Spigot % solids in (~m)
diameter, m m diameter, m m hydrocyclone
feed

1 1000 116 35 38
2 1000 80 35 45
3 760 88 50 69
4 760 88 53 75
 301

The circuit is shown in Fig. 6 and the particle size distributions predicted
under various operating conditions are shown in Fig. 7. The results indicate
that the shape of particle size distribution is not very sensitive to circuit
parameters although the 80% passing size varies over a considerable range.
The variations of D~0 is summarised in Table V.

CONCLUSIONS

The simulator that has been developed first reduces the size of the prob-
lem to its smallest possible dimensions by partitioning and then decom-
poses the complex nodes to render them acyclic and suitable for iterative
solution. The iterative scheme is then accelerated by a convergence scheme,
which is especially suitable for ore<iressing plants. This convergence scheme
is expected to exhibit local convergence for non-linear systems and to be
more efficient in terms of computer time than either direct, substitution or
the b o u n d e d Wegstein methods. The scheme has exhibited good convergence
properties for all flowsheets that have been investigated to date.
The simulator is based on the description of the particulate state in terms
discrete distributions of particle size, mineralogical composition and any
other property that is significant for the ore dressing operations involved.
This allows a comprehensive description of the feed material and of the solid
in any stream in the plant. The material balance is obtained for each particle
type and the particle size distribution, grades and recoveries are obtained for
each plant stream. The simulator has been shown to be effective for large
plants and feed material that requires many distinct classes for its descrip-
tion.
The sequential method of solution has been shown to be effective and it
allows an unlimited range of models to be used for the individual unit opera-
tions. It has been shown to be effective even for highly non-linear models.
The algorithms used for decomposition, partitioning and calculation are
comprehensively described by Ford (1979) and the use of the system in an
interactive mode is described by King (1983). The entire computer package
is available from the Department of Metallurgy, University of the Witwaters-
rand, Johannesburg.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors acknowledge with thanks the financial assistance given by the
Atomic Energy Board and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

APPENDIX

Proof of convergence of quasi-Newton methods. Proof that p[G'(X)] ~< 1

when p[Iq~'(X)l] ~< 1 and V (X) = [I -- Q ( X ) ] - I [cp'(X) -- Q(x)]. Q(X) is
identical to (P'(X) except that some elements of Q(X) are set equal to zero.
302

Definitions: Q = Q(X) and • '= • '(X)

B = IC[ implies biy = Iciyl for all i, j and
O & R stands for Ortega & Reinboldt (1970).
1. IQI < I(I)'l by initial condition
•". p(IQI) ~< p(l~'l) Varga (1962) p. 42
•". p(IQi) < 1 by initial condition.
2. Choose A = ( I - IQI) - [ ( P ' - QI
N o w [q)' QI /> 0
- by definition
and ( I - IQI)-'/> 0 as p(IQI) < 1, O & R p. 45
:.A is a weak regular splitting O & R p. 56
3. [(I)' - QI = Iq)'1 IQ[
- by initial definition of Q,
.'. ( I - IQI) - Iq)' - Q[ = I - I~'1
i.e.A = I - I ( P ' [
and A -1 = ( I - I ( I ) ' [ ) -' > 0 asp(Iq)'l)~<l, O & R p . 45.
4. A is a weak regular splitting and
A -1 /> 0 b y 2 a n d 3 ,
.'. p [ ( I - IQI) -I [ ( P ' - QI] < 1 O & R p. 56
k
5. ( I - I Q I ) - ' =lim ~ IQt i asp(IQI)~< 1, O & R p . 45.
k~ i=0
k
~> lim [~ Qil Wylie (1960) p. 642
k~i=O
= I(I-- Q)-ll a s p ( Q ) < p(IQ[)<~ 1
•". ( I - I Q I ) - ' I ( P ' - Q I ~> I ( I - Q)-ll I O ' - QI
/> I(I - Q)-' ( q ) ' - Q)I Wylie (1960) p. 652
/> ( I - - Q ) - ' ( ~ ' - - Q)
.'. p [ ( I - IQ[) -~ I~p'- QI]
i> p [l(I -- Q)-~ ((P'- Q)I] Varga (1962) p. 46
/> p [ ( I - Q)-' ( ~ ' - Q)] Tausky (1964) p. 127
Consequently, p [G'(X)] < 1 when p [I(P'(X)I] < 1.

REFERENCES

Austin, L.G., Luckie, P.T. and Wightman, D., 1975. Steady-state simulation of a cement
milling circuit. Int. J. Miner. Process., 2: 127--150.
Austin, L.G., Luckie, P.T. and Klimpel, R.R., 1977. Grinding Theory and Practice, S.A.
Inst. Min. MetaU., Johannesburg 1977, Chapter 7.
Barnes, J.G.P., 1965. An algorithm for solving non-linear equations based on their secant
method. Comput. J., 8: 66--72.
Broyden, G.G., 1965. A class of methods for solving non-linear simultaneous equations.
Math. Comput., 19: 557--593.
Davis, W.J.N., 1964. Development of a mathematical model of the lead flotation circuit
at Zinc Corporation Ltd. Proc. Australas. Inst. Min. Metall., 212: 61--69.
E1-Soudani, S.M.M., 1975. The fundamental equations of quantitative microstructural
analysis. Metallorgraphy, 8: 297--327.
 303

Ford, M.A., 1979. Simulation of ore dressing plants. Ph.D. Thesis, University of the
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
Gurun, T., 1973. Designing of crushing plant flowsheets by simulation. In: M.D.G.
Salamon and F.H. Lancaster (Editors), Proceedings 10th International Symposium on
Application of Computer Methods in the Mineral Industry. South African Institute of
Mining and Metallurgy, Johannesburg, pp. 91--98.
Imaizumi, T. and Inoue, T., 1965. Some aspects of flotation kinetics. 6th Int. Miner.
Process. Conf. Cannes, pp. 581--583.
Johnson, D.B., 1975. Finding all the elementary circuits of a directed graph. Siam J.
Comput., 4: 77--84.
Kehat, E. and Schacham, M., 1973. Chemical process simulation programmes - - 2, Parti-
tioning and tearing of systems flowsheets. Process Technol. Int., 18: 115--118.
King, R.P., 1973. Model for the design and control of flotation plants. In: M.D.G. Sala-
mon and F.H. Lancaster (Editors), Proceedings 10th International Symposium on Ap-
plication of Computer Methods in the Mineral Industry. South African Institute of
Mining and Metallurgy, Johannesburg, pp. 341--350.
King, R.P., 1975a. Simulation of flotation plants. Trans. Metall. Soc. AIME, 258: 286--
293.
King, R.P., 1975b. Simulation of ore-dressing plant. J.S. Afr. Inst.' Min. Metall., Special
Issue October: 152--156.
King, R.P., 1983. MODSIM - - A modular approach to the design, balancing and simula-
tion of ore dressing plant flowsheets. Research Report G9 Department of Metallurgy,
University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
Loveday, B.K. and Marchant, G.B., 1973. Simulation of multicomponent flotation plants.
In: M.D.G. Salamon and F.H. Lancaster (Editors), Proceedings 10th International
Symposium on Application of Computer Methods in the Mineral Industry. South Afri-
can Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Johannesburg.
Luckie, P.T. and Austin, L.G., 1972. A review introduction to the solution of the grind-
ing equations by digital computation. Miner. Sci. Eng., 4: 24--51.
Motard, R.L. Schacham, M. and Rosen, E.M., 1975. Steady state chemical process simula-
tion. AIChE J . , 2 1 : 417--436.
Orbach, O. and Crowe, C.M., 1971. Convergence promotion in the simulation of chemical
processes with recycle -- the dominant eigenvalue method. Can. J. Chem. Eng., 49:
509--513.
Ortega, J.M. and Rheinboldt, W.C., 1970. Iterative Solution of Non-Linear Equations in
Several Variables. Academic Press, New York, N.Y.
Pederson, W.S. and Gurun, T., 1970. Unit operations design programmes. Min. Congr. J.,
56: 6--68.
Rosen, E.M., 1967. A review of quasi-Newton methods in non-linear equation solving and
unconstrained optimization. In: Proceedings of 21st National Conference. Association
for Computing Machinery, Los Angeles, pp. 37--41.
Sargent, R.W.H. and Westerberg, A.W., 1964. Speed up in chemical engineering design.
Trans. Inst. Chem. Eng., 42: T190--T197.
Scrimgeour, J.H.C., Hamilton, R.E. and Toong, T., 1970. The use of mathematical model-
ling in developing advanced control systems for mining industry processes. CIM Bull.,
Oct.; 1181--1190.
Sutherland, D.N., 1977. An appreciation of galena concentration using a steady state flo-
tation model. Int. J. Miner. Process., 4: 149--162.
Tausky, D., 1964. Recent Advances in Matrix Theory. In: H. Schneider (Editor), Proceed-
ings of Advanced Seminar Conducted by the Mathematics Research Centre, U.S.
Army, at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison
and Milwaukee.
Upadye, R.S. and Grens, E.A., 1972. An efficient algorithm for optimum decomposition
of recycle systems. AIChE J., 18: 533--539.
304

Upadye, R.S. and Grens, 1975. Selection of decomposition for chemical process simula-
tion. AIChE J., 21: 136--142.
Varga, R.S., 1962. Matrix Iterative Analysis. Prentice Hall Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
Wegstein, J.H., 1958. Accelerating convergence of iterative processes. Commun. ACM, 1 :
9--13.
Whiten, W.J., 1973. The simulation of crushing plants with models developed using mul-
tiple spline regression. In: M.D.G. Salamon and F.H. Lancaster (Editors), Proceedings
10th International Symposium on Application of Computer Methods in the Mineral
Industry. South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Johannesburg, pp. 319--
323.
Wylie, C.R., 1960. Advanced Engineering Mathematics. 3rd Edition McGraw-Hill, London.