Effects of tramp grinding steel and iron

fines on comminution, flotation and

cyanidation
H.K. Lin and D.E. Walsh
Professor and professor (retired), Mineral Industry Research Laboratory,
University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK

H. Yen
Former graduate student, Department of Mining and Geological Engineering,
University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK

Abstract
Comminution circuits are widely used in nonferrous and precious metals milling. Steel crushers, grinding mills
and grinding media are typically used in comminution circuits. Comminution circuit wear products, in the form
of metallic iron (steel) fines, are unavoidably produced and report to undersize products in the classification
circuit, i.e., flotation or leach feed, while tramp grinding steel (TGS) reports to classification oversize products
and returns to the grinding mill, building up in the circulating load. In laboratory studies, TGS reduced grinding
efficiency significantly, the impact being dependent upon the size of the TGS present in the mill. Because iron
fines adsorb flotation reagents effectively, iron fines increase reagent consumption and reduce flotation recovery.
Iron fines are also capable of reducing gold recovery in cyanidation circuits via a cementation reaction. When
using filtered gold solution from the cyanidation circuit of an Alaskan gold mine, the gold concentration in
solution was reduced by 0.2 to 2.6% over various reaction periods when iron fines were present in the solution.

Minerals & Metallurgical Processing, 2013, Vol. 30, No. 4, pp. 191-196.
An official publication of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc.

Key words: Cementation, Flotation, Grinding, Tramp metal

Introduction 80% passing 200 mesh at the Pogo Mine, AK is estimated to

Comminution circuits are widely used in copper,
lead, zinc, nickel, cobalt, molybdenum and precious
metal mills. Flotation and leaching processes are usu-
ally preceded by comminution (crushing and grind-
ing) circuits in order to liberate valuable minerals for
effective separation, concentration or dissolution by
the subsequent flotation or leaching processes.
Steel crushers, grinding mills and grinding media
are typically used in comminution circuits. Commi-
nution circuit wear products, in the form of metallic
iron (steel) powder, are unavoidably produced and
report to undersize products in the classification
circuit (flotation or leach feed), while tramp grinding
steel (TGS) reports to oversize productions during
classification and returns to the grinding mill, build-
ing up in the circulating load. Variables affecting the
amount of metallic iron powder and TGS produced in
a comminution circuit include ore hardness, grinding
mill operating conditions, comminution circuit design
and the metallurgy of the steel used for manufactur-
ing crusher liners, mill liners and grinding media.
As one example, a comminution circuit product of
contain approximately 2 kg/t of metallic iron. A finer grind will
generally produce a comminution circuit product with higher
metallic iron fines content.
The objectives of this paper are to examine the effect of the
tramp grinding steel on grinding efficiency and the impact of
iron fines on froth flotation and cyanidation.
Effect of tramp steel on comminution
in tumbling mills
There is a highly significant impact of tramp grinding steel
on grinding efficiency. TGS is defined here as nonspherical
steel particles, which accumulate in the ball mill circuit from
all sources; primarily from semiautogenous grinding (SAG)
and ball mill grinding media and liners. Powell and Smit (2001)
have documented the impact of +11 mm SAG mill ball scats
on reducing SAG mill comminution efficiency. They showed
that SAG mill throughput was increased by 11% at Namibia’s
Novachab gold mine after 30 t of accumulated ball scats were
removed from a total SAG mill grinding media charge of 70
t, and replaced with an equal mass of competent, spherical
grinding media.
However, what seems to have been overlooked until re-

Paper number MMP-12-089. Original manuscript submitted November 2012. Revised manuscript accepted for publication
March 2013. Discussion of this peer-reviewed and approved paper is invited and must be submitted to SME Publications
Dept. prior to May 31, 2014. Copyright 2013, Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc.

MINERALS & METALLURGICAL PROCESSING 191 Vol. 30 No. 4 • November 2013

 Table 1 — Summary of bond mill tests to investigate the impact of TGS on breakage rates.
TGS mass as % of Net grams per Percent decrease
TGS size fraction Media void filling TGS mass (g)
mill media charge revolution in breakage
None 0% ----- ----- 1.86 ------
3.4 x 2.4 mm 40% 2,945 15% 1.74 6%
300 x 125 μm 40% 2,396 12% 1.07 42%
Blend 40% 2,639 13% 1.3 30%
Notes:
(1) TGS blend consisted of 13.3% void filling of each of the following size fractions (3.4 x 2.4 mm, 850 x 600 micron, 300 x
125 μm)
(2) Ptest = 105 micron

Figure 1 — Breakage of 1.41 x 2.00 mm magnetite tracer. Figure 3 — Breakage of 74 x 105 μm magnetite tracer.

In a laboratory study, Kelsall et al. (1968) demonstrated

Figure 2 — Breakage of 354 x 500 μm magnetite tracer.
cently is the impact of TGS on ball mill grinding efficiency.
The quantity of TGS reaching and accumulating in ball mills
has been exacerbated during the past three decades, as SAG
mills have replaced crushers and rod mills for preparing ball
mill feed. SAG mills contribute significantly to the TGS, which
accumulates in closed ball mill circuits. The coarser SAG mill
ball scats are an indicator of finer TGS, which passes through
the SAG mill discharge screen and enters the ball mill circuit.
Here, it builds up due to its high density, its extremely high
Bond work index and the cyclone classifiers that close the
grinding circuit.
that under conditions that correspond to the use of virtually
all available breakage sites within a ball mill, conditions that
should exist in industrial applications with moderate-to-high
circulating loads, the fractional rate of particle breakage was
inversely proportional to the weight of rock solids charged to
the mill. Based on this laboratory work and the industrial scale
SAG mill study by Powell and Smit (2001), Walsh (2011) sug-
gested that a significant increase in ball mill grinding efficiency
can be realized by the removal of TGS from ball mill circuits.
This is simply a probability statement, since, as TGS levels
increase in a material saturated mill (all breakage sites used),
the opportunity for breaking rock particles decreases; i.e., the
probability of ball(s)-liner-mineral contacts decrease, while the
probability of a ball(s)-liner-TGS contacts increase. Further,
it is likely that ball(s)-liner-TGS contacts lead to higher stress
loads within the grinding media and increase grinding media
and liner wear rates.
Walsh studied the effects of TGS on ball mill grinding ef-
ficiency at a laboratory scale using a Bond grindability mill.
His research (Walsh, 2011) showed significant decreases in
grinding rates when TGS was present in the laboratory mill
compared to when it was absent, and his results are summarized
in Table 1. Walsh (2011) also suggested that the presence of
TGS in ball mills leads to overgrinding of already fine particles
sizes present in the mill.
Discussions with the Fort Knox Mine’s metallurgical staff
have defined that grinding media consumptions by the SAG
mill and two ball mills are 14.1 t/d and 10.1 t/d, respectively.
Each ball mill contains approximately 377 t of grinding media.

November 2013 • Vol. 30 No. 4 192 MINERALS & METALLURGICAL PROCESSING

 Table 2 — Breakage rate constants for 1.41 x 2.00 mm Table 4 — Breakage rate constants for 74 x 105 μm
magnetite tracer. magnetite tracer.
% change in % change in
Breakage rate Breakage rate
breakage rate breakage rate
constant (min-1) constant (min-1)
constant constant
Without TGS 0.624 - Without TGS 0.048 -
With 2.38 x 0.547 -12 With 2.38 x 0.055 +14
3.36 mm TGS 3.36 mm TGS
With 0.42 x 0.436 -30 With 0.42 x 0.029 -40
1.19 mm TGS 1.19 mm TGS
With 125 x 0.357 -43 With 125 x 0.012 -76
300 μm TGS 300 μm TGS

Table 3 — Breakage rate constants for 354 x 500 μm

magnetite tracer.
% change in
Breakage rate
breakage rate
constant (min-1)
constant
Without TGS 0.548 -
With 2.38 x 3.36 0.507 -8
mm TGS
With 0.60 x 1.68 0.168 -69
mm TGS
With 125 x 300 0.244 -56
μm TGS

Hence, at these consumption rates, and given that much of the

consumed SAG mill grinding media enters the ball mill circuit,
it is apparent that TGS can quickly build up in the closed circuit
ball mills. Further, discussions and preliminary sampling of
the ball mill contents and discharge at the Fort Knox mill have
demonstrated that a broad size distribution of TGS (including
TGS as coarse as 2.5 cm or 1 in.) is present in and discharged
from the ball mills.
Also, by using a Bond mill approach, the effect of TGS on
ball mill grinding efficiency was investigated using TGS and
ore obtained from the Fort Knox Mine. Several size fractions
of magnetite were selected as tracers to better study the effects
on grinding of various sizes of TGS added to the mill. The same
TGS loading as Walsh (2011) (Table 1) was used. As shown in
Figs. 1, 2 and 3, first-order kinetics can be used successfully to
describe the breakage of the magnetite tracer sample:
d m t / dt = - k (mt) (1)
where mt is the mass of the feed size at time t and k is the
breakage rate constant of the feed size with units (min-1).
The integrated form of the equation may be written as:
log [mt / mo] = - k (t) (2)
where mo is the mass of the feed size at t = 0.
The breakage rate constants were calculated from the slopes
of the lines of Figs. 1-3 and are shown in Tables 2-4. A com-
parison of the breakage rate constants without and with TGS
present in the mill indicates the decrease in grinding efficiency
when TGS is present. The only exception occurs when the
largest TGS size fraction (2.38 x 3.36 mm) is present with the
smallest magnetite tracer (74 x 105 μm); here, the breakage
rate constant increases by 14% compared to grinding without
TGS. Walsh ( 2011) proposed this effect from size distribution
Figure 4 — Predicted variation of breakage rate constants
(Si) with ball diameter for dry grinding of quartz (Austin
et al., 1984).
data and surface area measurements generated from Bond mill
products and circulating loads, and from the slight impact of
2.38 x 3.36 mm TGS on the Bond mill production rate (Table
1). While 2.38 x 3.36 mm TGS retards the breakage rates of
coarse ore in the Bond mill, it accelerates the breakage rates
of fine ore.
This is not unexpected and can be postulated from the well-
known figure (Fig. 4) by Austin et al. (1984). This figure shows
the breakage rate constants for various particle sizes of quartz
as a function of grinding media sizes used in a mill. What is
important to this discussion is not the actual or absolute values
of breakage rate constants, but the trend that finer grinding
media breaks finer ore particles more efficiently. One can
imagine a similar shaped curve for 2.38 x 3.36 mm grinding
media or TGS far to the left of this figure, and plots for finer
TGS even further left. This line of reasoning led Walsh (2011)
to suggest that the presence of TGS can lead to overgrinding
in ball mills, while at the same time retarding overall grinding
efficiency in ball mills.
Besides the significant reduction in ball mill grinding ef-
ficiency, other negative impacts on physical processes in the
closed-circuit grinding mill environment associated with TGS
include wear of hydrocyclone feed pumps, wear of hydrocyclone
component parts, increased flow resistance within ball mills,
increased bearing load for ball mills, a decrease in gravity
concentration circuit performance, and an increase in gravity
concentration circuit maintenance, due to heavy scale buildup
in downstream circuits.

MINERALS & METALLURGICAL PROCESSING 193 Vol. 30 No. 4 • November 2013

Figure 5 — Copper recovery during the first stage of flotation
using various collectors and concentrations with iron fines
present (Lin et al., 2008).
Effect of iron fines on flotation
Studies of the effects of metallic iron powder on the flotation
of sulfide minerals and gold and platinum ores have reported
galvanic reactions when metallic iron powder comes in con-
tact with minerals during the flotation process (Bocharov and
Sapozhnikov, 1977; Van Deventer et al., 1992, 1993; Teague
et al., 1999; Marsden and House, 2006; Ekmekci et al., 2006;
Bocharov and Ignatkina, 2007). Bocharov and Sapozhnikov
(1977) used metallic iron as a flotation modifier to control the
oxidation of sulfide and iron species on the surface of pyrite
and sphalerite. In a flotation study of a complex sulfide ore,
Van Deventer et al. (1992) added metallic iron in different
quantities to a laboratory, ceramic grinding mill. They reported
that the best recovery of chalcopyrite, copper grade and copper-
lead selectivity in the flotation tests were obtained under the
condition of oxygen-saturated pulp milled in the presence of
metallic iron. Stable and well-drained froth, with low ratios of
solid/water recovery, was observed when milling the ore in the
presence of metallic iron (Van Deventer et al., 1993). In the
absence of metallic iron, a brittle froth with fine bubbles and
high recoveries of iron-bearing gangue minerals was reported.
The brittle froth was explained by the enhanced flotability of
iron-bearing gangue minerals, which ruptured films due to
bubble overloading (Van Deventer et al., 1993). In addition,
more stable froth was observed during the flotation of a plati-
num group mineral-bearing Merensky ore in the presence of
metallic iron than in the absence of metallic iron (Ekmekci et
al., 2006). In a flotation study of free and refractory gold ores,
Teague et al. (1999) proposed that metallic iron added to the
mill caused the rest potential of pyrrhotite to decrease, hence
preventing the formation of iron oxide and hydroxide films on
the surface of pyrrhotite. Formation of oxide and hydroxide
films depresses the flotation of the mineral. A similar discus-
sion has been reported elsewhere (Marsden and House, 2006).
However, more recently, Bocharov and Ignatkina (2007) re-
ported the marked depression of copper, zinc and iron sulfides
during flotation in the presence of metallic iron powder and
some modifiers; the depression effect increased with increas-
ing levels of metallic iron powder. Peng et al. believe that the
galvanic contact between steel grinding media and sulfide
minerals during grinding leads to the oxidation of the iron
media; oxidized iron species then precipitate on the surface
of sulfide minerals (Peng et al., 2002; 2003a; 2003b). The iron
November 2013 • Vol. 30 No. 4 194
Figure 6 — Copper recovery during the first stage of flota-
tion using various collectors and concentrations with iron
fines absent (Lin et al., 2008).
oxidation species depress galena, pyrite and chalcopyrite in
subsequent flotation tests.
Hydrocarbon solids and elemental minerals such as bi-
tuminous coals (Aplan and Arnold, 1991), gold (Cook and
Rao, 1979; Lin et al., 2002; Bissue, 2007), placer platinum
(Bissue, 2007) and elemental sulfur (Lin, 2003) respond well
to flotation processes. Therefore, metallic iron, as in the forms
of elemental iron and steel, is also expected to be naturally
hydrophobic and to float readily. Reported contact angles of
70-90° for steel in water (Johnson, 1998; Sutherland and Wark,
1955) also indicate the flotability of iron fines.
Lin et al. (2008) demonstrated that the iron fines that resulted
from grinding floated well during the flotation of a chalcopyrite
ore. The presence of the iron fines had an adverse impact on the
flotation of sulfide minerals, especially at the low concentrations
of more selective collectors (Figs. 5 and 6). They proposed that
iron fines competed with sulfide minerals for the adsorption
of collectors used in the flotation tests. Walsh confirmed this
proposition while on sabbatical leave with CSIRO Australia in
2009. Using a real-time UV monitoring system, Walsh and his
CSIRO hosts showed that the xanthate concentration in solu-
tion decreased sharply when a sample of iron fines was added
to a xanthate solution, thus confirming xanthate adsorption by
iron fines (Hao et al., 2010).
Effect of iron fines on gold cyanidation
Cementation is one of the two processes used in the mineral
industry to recover gold from gold-bearing solutions. Zinc
dust is added to the solution to precipitate gold. The involved
electrochemical reactions are:
Zn = Zn+2 + 2e Eo = 0.76 V (1)
Au+ + e = Au Eo = 1.68 V (2)
The overall reaction is:
Zn + 2Au+ = Zn+2 + 2Au Eo = 2.44 V (3)
The cementation reaction is very favorable thermodynami-
cally and has fast kinetics.
In the copper industry, scrap iron has been used to precipi-
tate copper from copper-bearing solutions with the reactions:
Fe = Fe+2 + 2e Eo = 0.41 V (4)
MINERALS & METALLURGICAL PROCESSING
 Cu+2 + 2e = Cu Eo = 0.34 V (5)
The overall reaction is:
Fe + Cu+2 = Fe+2 + Cu Eo = 0.75 V (6)
Copper ions can be precipitated relatively rapidly.
Iron dust has been used to precipitate gold and other pre-
cious metals in a Brazilian precious metal plant (Sobral and
Granto, 1991). The cementation reactions are:
Fe = Fe+2 + 2e Eo = 0.41 V (4)

Fe+2 = Fe+3 + e Eo = -0.77 V (7)

Au+ + e = Au Eo = 1.68 V (2)

The overall reactions are:
Fe + 2Au+ = Fe+2 + 2Au Eo = 2.09 V (8) Figure 7 — Gold cementation with 0.35 g iron fines in the
solution.
Fe+2 + Au+ = Fe+3 + Au Eo = 0.91 V (9)

As shown in Rxns (8) and (9), precipitation of gold ions

by iron fines or ferrous ions is thermodynamically favorable.
Since iron fines from wear products of comminution circuits
have high reactivity (i.e., fresh surfaces), iron fines could have
an adverse impact on the recovery of gold from industrial
cyanidation circuits.
Oxidation of iron dust produces ferric or ferrous ions in
cyanidation circuits (Rxns (4) and (7)). Ferric and ferrous ions
form very stable complexes with cyanide ions (Ritcey, 1989):
Fe+2 + 6CN- = Fe(CN)6-4 (10)

Fe+3 + 6CN- = Fe(CN)6-3 (11)

The competition among Fe+2, Au+ and Fe+3 to form cyanide
complexes with free cyanide ions could have an adverse effect
on gold cyanidation. Formation of iron-cyanide complexes
should increase cyanide consumption and decrease the rate
of gold dissolution.
Unless intentionally removed, iron fines generated from
comminution circuits will eventually enter leach circuits. Ce-
mentation of gold by iron fines is likely to occur in the leach
tanks. Recently, the authors conducted tests to examine the
kinetics of cementation. Filtered gold solution from two gold
cyanidation tanks of a gold mine in Alaska was used in these
tests. The solution contained approximately 20 ppm of gold
and 540 ppm of free cyanide with a solution pH of 10. Iron
fines samples were generated by operating a laboratory ball
mill with media only; no ore was present. In each test, 500 mL
of gold solution were placed in a glass reactor; agitation of
200 rpm was provided. Solution samples were taken periodi-
cally for gold analyses. One test, with an addition of 0.35 g of
iron fines at the start of the test period, showed that the gold
concentration decreased by 0.3 to 2.2% over various reaction
periods (Fig. 7). In another test, with the addition of 4 g of iron
fines at the start of the test period, the gold concentration in
solution decreased by 0.2 to 2.6% over various reaction periods
(Fig. 8). These decreases in gold concentrations of solutions
are believed to be caused by cementation, as no other reason-
able explanation can be accepted. The reaction residues from
both tests were examined using SEM and electron microprobe
methods, to search for the formation of cemented gold on the
iron fines. However, no conclusive results were obtained, due
to low gold content of the reaction residues.
As shown in Figs. 7 and 8, with either 0.35 g or 4 g of iron
Figure 8 — Gold cementation with 4 g iron fines in the
solution.
fines added to the solutions, the kinetic trends are similar.
Initially, the gold concentration in solution decreases rapidly;
cementation of gold is proposed as the predominant reaction.
Beyond the initial gold concentration decrease, it is postulated
that the newly deposited gold ore redissolves, as free cyanide is
available in solution and the gold cyanidation reaction becomes
significant. It is suggested that the resulting fluctuations in
gold concentrations observed in Figs. 7 and 8 are the result of
competing reactions, cementation and cyanidation.
The free cyanide concentration in solution used in this study
was relatively high compared to many other gold mines. A high
free cyanide concentration is expected to be more favorable
for redissolution of cemented gold in both reaction rate and
recovery. Therefore, the impact of iron fines on gold cyanida-
tion is expected to be more severe for gold mines, which apply
a lower free cyanide concentration in their cyanidation circuit,
such as the Fort Knox Mine near Fairbanks, AK. The Fort
Knox Mine applies an order of magnitude lower free cyanide
concentration in its cyanidation circuit than the free cyanide
concentration used in this study.
Conclusions
Research results show that TGS reduces breakage efficiency
in laboratory grinding mills. Finer TGS reduces the break-

MINERALS & METALLURGICAL PROCESSING 195 Vol. 30 No. 4 • November 2013

age efficiency more severely. Iron fines can reduce flotation
recovery of sulfide minerals. The competitive adsorption of
flotation reagents by the iron fines is an important factor for
the reduction of recovery of sulfide minerals, especially at low
concentrations of more selective collectors. In gold cyanidation
circuits, iron fines can precipitate dissolved gold species and,
therefore, reduce cyanidation efficiency and recovery.
Since TGS and iron fines have broad, adverse impacts on
grinding, flotation and cyanidation, these areas of research and
inquiry warrant further attention by academia and industry.
The reduction of TGS and iron fines in industrial milling cir-
cuits can be efficaciously achieved using magnetic separation
principles and equipment. Trunnion magnets on SAG and ball
mills are suggested. The application of wet magnetic separa-
tors to process selected cyclone underflows in closed grinding
circuits may also be of benefit.
Acknowledgments
Mr. X. Chen’s assistance in analyses is greatly appreciated.
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