SAG mill modelling in USIM PAC 2:

example of the CVRD Igarapé Bahia circuit

• • ∗ +
Villeneuve , J. , Guillaneau , J.-C. , Martins , M. A. S. , Lopes , G. S.

•
BRGM - Process Analysis Group - France
∗ CEMI - Brazil
+ CVRD - Igarapé Bahia - Brazil

Abstract

A new mathematical model of SAG/AG mill has been included in the last 2.1 version of the
USIM PAC process simulator. This model completes the existing range of possibilities from a
simple flowsheeting approach to the Herbst population balance algorithm.

The approach chosen combines abrasion and breakage mechanisms while allowing to take into
account the pebbles extraction and the efficiency of the classification grate.

An example of plant analysis is presented in cooperation with the gold plant of Igarapé Bahia
from the CVRD Group.

Introduction
SAG/AG mill modelling has been a challenge for years because the comminution in the mill is
essentially a "natural" phenomenon, that is, a phenomenon for which no major controlling
variable has been identified. Three main approaches have nevertheless allowed a more rational
design and steady-state optimisation of SAG/AG milling circuits. These are the good old
"energetic approach", the "kinetic approach" and lately the "database" approach. These
approaches allow respectively a growth in predictivity combined unfortunately with a growth
in experimental work necessary to calibrate the models.
The philosophy which has been the guideline in the USIM PAC modelling effort may be
summarised with: "predictive but usable". It has always been difficult to find the equilibrium
between the necessary simplifications of theory and the uncertainties caused by the amount of
complex experiments allowing to use the theory.
The model presented below is a compromise between the "spreadsheets" models which just
give rough indications of performances and very precise but very "heavy" models. It is within
a range of models in USIM PAC including simple flowsheeting models and the Herbst approach
(Herbst, 1989, Blot, 1991).
The example of the simulation of the industrial circuit of Igarape-Bahia shows how it combines
a good predictivity with a relatively easy use.
 SAG/AG Mill model
This model combines a first order kinetic approach for particles below the size of the discharge
grate, a wear function for the rocks, and a classification function for pebbles extraction.

The terms employed to characterise the different fragments of the feed are represented in the
figure 1.

Maximum diameter
of extracted pebbles

Extracted
pebbles
Feed

Minimum diameter
of extracted pebbles

Particles
Size of the discharge
grate openings :
- below = particles
- above = rocks

Figure 1: Schematic diagram of the different populations of particles in the SAG/AG mill.

1 - Wear of the rocks.

The wear of rocks is considered analogous to that of balls studied by Austin (Austin, 1987).

1.1 - Main assumption.

The mass produced by abrasion per unit time is expressed as :
dm
= ρ. 4π.r 2+ ∆ . V 0 (1)
dt
where :
r : radius of the bloc being weared (unit of length),
∆ : can range from 0 if the wear is proportional to the surface to 0.999 if the wear is
proportional to the volume,
V0 : Wear rate constant, which unit depends on ∆ ((unit of r)/s if ∆=0),
ρ : specific gravity of the material.

This expression means that the mass produced by abrasion per unit time is proportional to the
mass of the rock if ∆ is almost 1, and proportional to its surface area if ∆=0. The coefficient ∆
is generally around 0.6.

The abrasion of a rock generates fines (below the discharge grate opening) and other rocks
which fall into the size class just below.
1.2 - Mass balance of rocks.
The mass balance over one size class of rocks when the mill is operated steadily can be
expressed as:

Variation of mass per unit time = feed flowrate + flowrate of production from the size class just
above - flowrate of disappearance by abrasion - flowrate extracted.

This equation is:

for ∆≠1:
  ri 
3

 mi - 1.  
   m 
0 = Qfi + (1 - ∆ ) V.
ri − 1 i
− 1− ∆ 
− Qexti (2)
 (ri − 1) − (ri ) (ri ) − (ri + 1) 
1− ∆ 1− ∆ 1− ∆

 
 
where :
Qfi : feed flowrate (kg/s),
Qexti : extracted flowrate (kg/s),
V : abrasion rate (unit of r1-∆/s),
m : mass of rocks (kg),
r : radius of a rock (whatever unit of length),
i : index of the size class.

1.3 - Influence of mill diameter on abrasion rate.

The value of V is determined by:
V = V 0.D 0.66 (3)
where:
V0 : wear rate of the rocks,
D : mill diameter.

1.4 - Pebbles extraction.

The rocks which diameter is between a maximum and a minimum diameters corresponding to
the apertures of the grates for pebbles extraction are considered to be "critical".
The two grates for pebbles extraction are represented by two classification functions expressed
by:
1
ci = α
if xi < x50
 x50 
1+   (4)
 xi 
ci = 1 if xi ≥ x50
where:
ci : proportion of feed to the coarse product,
α : slope of the classification,
x50 : size at which 50% of the feed report to the coarse product,
xi : geometric mean diameter of rocks in size class i.

The grate for the way back of fines into the mill is considered as perfect, that is ci = 0 if xi < x50.
The flowrate of extracted pebbles is supposed to be proportional to their mass in the mill. The
global expression is:
Qexti = mi.Cmaxi.(1 - Cmini ).effi (5)
where:
Cmax : classification by the extraction grate,
Cmin : classification by the return grate,
effi : extraction efficiency.

The extraction efficiency depends on the length of the mill according to:
 Dpebmax 
effi = aeffi.  (6)
 L 
where:
aeffi : adjustment parameter, playing the role of a kinetic constant,
Dpebmax : maximum diameter of the rocks in the mill,
L : mill length.

1.5. Distribution of fines produced by abrasion.

The fines are distributed according to their distribution function determined with four
parameters:
γj βj
 Bsupi   Bsupi 
Bi, j = ϕj.  + (1 − ϕj).  (7)
 Drefab   Drefab 
where:
Bi,j : fraction of fines produced by wear of rocks of component j which report to size
class i
Bsupi : upper size of size class i,
ϕj : adjustable parameter,
γj : adjustable parameter,
βj : adjustable parameter,
drefab : adjustable parameter.

The parameters ϕj and βj depend on the mill filling according to the relations:
ϕj = ϕj.(1+ 5. (Pp-0.2)) (8)
βj = βj.(1+ 5. (Pp-0.2)) (9)

if the mill filling is between 0.1 and 0.5.

Starting with size class 1 (top size), the mass of rocks in each size class is calculated.
This calculation allows the total holdup to be determined, the holdup of rocks in the critical
size, and the flowrate of production of fines by abrasion.
Even simple, this description of the behaviour of the rocks allows a predictive calculation of
the holdup using mainly one parameter, V0, which has to be "calibrated" with measurements
of the volumetric filling of the mill.

2. Power calculation.
The power calculation is the following (Austin, 1990):
 
 ρs  ρs   *  0.1 
PW = 10.6. D 2.5
. L. (1- 1.03.Pp) (1 − ε). . Pp + 0.6. Pb.  ρb -   . N . 1 −
 csol  csol  
 2( 9 −10N* ) 

(10)
where :
PW : Calculated power (kW),
ε : porosity of the load, typically 0.3,
ρb : specific gravity of balls (ton/m3),
ρs : mean specific gravity of rocks (ton/m3),
csol : weight fraction of rocks in rocks+water,
Pp : fractional volume filled with the load of rocks,
Pb : fractional volume filled with balls,
N* : fraction of critical speed.

3. Grinding of the ore.

The ore is ground according to the kinetic description of grinding, assuming the compensation
hypothesis (Herbst, Bascur, 1979).
The coefficients of the selection function are determined by adjustment on the basis of grinding
data from continuous pilot-scale or industrial site grinding.

• the selection function S is modelled by the following form:

Pu  d  d 
2

Si = S1 . .exp z1 .ln i + z 2  ln i  
E
(11)
Hpart  d iref  d iref  
 
where:
d : mean diameter of the particles in the particle size class i,
i
Hpart : holdup of particles in the mill,
S1E, z1, z2 : selection function parameters,
diref : reference size,
Pu : useful power.

Pu is calculated from the following formula:

 H - Hcrit - Hball 
Pu = PW.  (12)
 H - Hball 
where:
H : total holdup in the mill,
Hcrit : holdup of particles in the critical size (pebbles),
Hball : holdup of balls.
• the transport of material in the mill is characterised by a series of two perfect mixers which
respective volumes are determined by an adjustable parameter. The discharge grate creates
an internal circulating load in the second mixer.

Application of the model

Basically, the parameters which determine the capabilities of the model for sizing purposes are
those of equations 1 (wear rate) and 10 (power calculation). When trying to calibrate the model,
these parameters have to be determined first. The most important is V0.
Once the relations between power, percent filling and wear rate have been adjusted, the second
step of the calibration of the model is to fit the parameters of the breakage and selection
functions. The fit should normally be very good, at least graphically.

Description of the Igarape-Bahia comminution circuit.

CVRD-IGARAPE-BAHIA plant is located in Parauapebas, state of Para, Brazil. This plant

processes gold ore and produces around 1.000 pounds (450 Kilograms) of gold monthly. It has
been revised and amplified since 1994 and nowadays its production is about 2000 pounds (900
kilograms). Originally, the Igarapé-Bahia gold ore is comminuted in three stages to feed the
leaching and CIP (Carbon In Pulp) circuit. These three comminution stages are:
• Primary crushing: it is the first stage and its put into practice by means of ROM (Run of
mine) crushing, by using vibrating screen for scalping and a jaw crusher size 80 x 50 cm.
• Semi-autogenous grinding: it is the second comminution stage and receives all the ore fed
in the mill, after having been reduced in the primary crushing below 4" to 7". The SAG
mill, measuring 3.5 m in diameter and 3.5 m in length, is processed in open circuit with a
ball load of approximately 15%. The SAG grinding product is sent to the 20" hydrocyclone.
The cyclone underflow is sent to a 0.8 mm screen for the removal of occasional organic
materials. The overflow is sent to a third stage of comminution in ball mills.
• Grinding in a ball mill: this is the third grinding stage. The mill product is pumped to the
same vibrating screen which removes the SAG grinding organic material. The undersize of
this screen is the final product of the three comminution stages, and is sent to CIP circuit.
Its oversize is fed back to the mill. Thus the ball mill operates in closed circuit with the
screen, only the top-size of the product sent to leaching and CIP circuit being limited.

After the expansion of the comminution circuit, the plant of Igarapé Bahia began to operate
with two parallel lines. Each of them had the SAG grinding circuit modified from an open
circuit to a closed circuit with the conic crushing.

The two first stages of grinding are represented on the figure 2. The splitter allows the
simulations to be made in closed or in open circuit.
 Run of mine
1

11
1 2

3
2
4
3 10
Splitter
4 9
5
6

To ball mill
8 7
7 6
5

IGARAPE - BAHIA SAG mill circuit

Figure 2: Flowsheet of the two first stages of comminution.

Experimental tests and sampling

Several tests under several operational conditions were aimed at determining the grinding
performance level and enable the construction of a simulator for SAG grinding.
The sampling campaign has been directed to tests with a type of ore considered as an average
of the mine. The experimental tests have been elaborated by varying the feeding rate and
percentage of solids in the mill as independent variables. The power and the particle size
distributions of the sampled flows around the mill were measured. The sampling was in
standard conditions of usual operation, that is, only the pulp density being controlled. It was
selected two sampling campaigns for the calibration of USIM PAC. Both of them had the same
blending of the types of the ore related with their hardness according to the usual classification
at that time. The basic difference between these campaigns is the particle size distribution of
the feed stream. The top size of the feed stream of the grinding stream were 10.16 cm (4") and
20.32 cm (8") respectively. The main objective of these campaigns was to study the influence
of the particle size of the feed stream on the grinding efficiency.

Model calibration.

The investigation was made of the residence time distribution in the mill from tests with NaCl
(sodium chloride). The SAG grinding of Igarapi-Bahia has the same behaviour of one to two
mixers connected in series and the average residence time of the particles was between 3 and 4
minutes, which was used to estimate the actual porosity of the load assumed to be filled with
pulp.

USIM PAC was used to calibrate the mathematical model of SAG. In order to calculate and
calibrate the parameters of the model, a reverse simulation was done using the experimental
data.
The results of the calibration of the model for both different situations were satisfactory. They
have showed that the predicted and the experimental data fit very well. The following figure
presents some results of this calibration with the particle size distribution of the measured and
predicted products as well.
 Size distribution curve
100.0

90.0

80.0

Cumulative Passing (%)

70.0

60.0

50.0

40.0

30.0

20.0
Sag mill feed (Stream: 3, experiment #13)
10.0 Sag mill product (Stream: 4, experiment #13)
Sag mill product (Simulated stream: 4)
0
10 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000
Particle size (µm)

Figure 3: Sag mill model calibrated with test #13.

Simulation.

Using the SAG model, already calibrated, it was made the simulation of two different top size
of the feed stream, which had as the main objective the comparative evaluation of the grinding
phenomena. It was also investigated the % solids influence in the grinding. To understand the
effect of these variables on the SAG grinding performance, the calibration parameters were
obtained for each situation separately. With the simulation results, it was possible to evaluate
the comparative performance in each case.
This task would be nearly impossible using only experimental tests because of the strong non-
linear behaviour of these variables in the grinding. It is quite difficult to quantify the influence
of each variable on the global performance of the grinding by the use of operational tests.
Considering that the model had been properly calibrated in controlled situations the simulation
allowed to compare the grinding performance of those tests. It must be emphasised that the ore
fed had the same characteristics.
The following table presents the results of the comparative performance of each situation,
which has been studied. The main conclusion were:
• The biggest grinding capacity (SAG) could be reached from the feed with the biggest top
size,
• The prediction of power is good enough,
• The SAG grinding models can represent with good accuracy the operation performance and
they have been shown to be a very effective tool for investigating the options which can be
used to enhance or adapt the process.

Conclusion
The simulation has shown good capacity in investigating the optimisation options for the global
SAG/balls grinding circuit and for the rest of the plant all together.
The USIM PAC software allows the total integration of all unit operations and is a powerful
tool, which can be used to study and understand the global process. The model described in this
paper completes the range of SAG/AG mill models, from very simple ones to rather
phenomenological ones. These several models allow to adapt the objectives of the simulation
according to the available data.
In the application of the Igarape-Bahia grinding circuit, it is recommended the investigation of
the following options, which will allow to optimise the global process:
• influence of the diaphragm opening of the SAG mill,
• influence of the ball load in the SAG mill,
• modification on the circuit configuration
• study of the influence of the particle size distribution on the product, in the ball milling
circuit, CIP (carbon in pulp) and the global process performance.

Acknowledgements
This paper is the BRGM contribution n° 96020 for which the work was in part financed by a
BRGM research project.
References
Austin L.G., Menacho J.M., Pearcy F., A general model for semi-autogenous and autogenous
milling, Proceeding, APCOM 87, SAIMM, Johannesburg, Vol. 2, Metallurgy, pp 107-126,
1987.

Austin L.G. , "A mill power equation for SAG mills", Minerals & Metallurgical Processing,
Vol 7, nø1, pp 57-62, Feb.1990.

Blot, P., Oblad, E., Herbst, J., Villeneuve, J., Guillaneau, J.-C., 1991, "Integrating and Using
an Advanced SAG/AG Mill Model in the USIM PAC Mineral Processing Simulator",
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of the 90's for the Mineral Industry", Vancouver, BC, Canada, September 15-18, pp. 439-449.
[1991.f].

Herbst, J.A., Pate, W.T., and Oblad, A.E., 1989, "Experiences in the Use of Model-based
Control Systems in Autogenous and Semi-Autogenous Grinding Circuits", Proceedings of the
SAG-89 Conference, Vancouver, BC, Canada, pp 669-686.

Herbst, J.A., Bascur, O.A., 1979, "A program for the simulation of steady-state circuit
behaviour, using a small computer", Report of the Department of Metallurgical Engineering,
University of Utah, Salt Lake City.