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Grinding (SAG) steel media such as balls

& are added to enhance the grinding action. Both types accept
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11. Air Lock: The blockage of a conduit by an air pocket which prevents ow – the ow resumes when
the inlet pressure is high enough to dislodge the air bubble.
12. Alternating current: An electric current that reverses direction in a circuit at regular intervals.
13. Analog Output: See manipulated variable.
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14. Angular: Having, a shape consisting of an angle or angles.
404 Basic Mineral Processing Terms 15. Annulus: A ring.
16. Apex: The bottom opening of a cyclone through which the under ow leaves.
17. Apron feeder: A type of feeder that uses a series of overlapping steel plates to convey the load.
18. Assay: The analysis of the ore to determine its chemical content.
19. Attrition: A rubbing away or wearing down by friction.
20. Attrition Grinding: Grinding by wearing away through rubbing and chipping.

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21. Autogenous Mill: A tumbling mill in which comminution is achieved by tumbling ore particles onto
themselves.
22. Automatic Mode: Controller operating mode in which the controller changes the manipulated
variable to effect control.
23. Baf es: Are used to help the mixing action by breaking up circular ow patterns.
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24. Balance cylinder: A cylinder in the crusher lubrication oil line that uses air pressure to force oil under
the hydroset piston, raising it with the mainshaft, whenever the mainshaft jumps as a result of
nipping some hard particle.
25. Ball Mill: A tumbling mill in which steel balls tumble onto ore particles to break them.
26. Belt feeder: A type of feeder that uses a rubber belt to convey the load.
27. Blinding: Blocking or plugging of openings in a lter cloth.
28. Blocking: Blocking is the condition where a single rock is too big to enter the crushing chamber.
29. Bogey ( stacker conveyor): A wheel truck consisting of two wheels. The radial stacker has a total of
six bogeys.
30. Boom (stacker conveyor): A steel structure that supports the belt conveyor.
31. Bornite: (Cu5FeS4) A brownish-bronze mineral which contains copper, iron and sulphur. Bornite is a
source of copper.
32. Bottom shell: The lower casting of the gyratory crusher body comprising the power transmission,
eccentric, and hydroset system. The top and bottom shell castings meet at the crusher choke point.
Terms used in mineral processing 33. Boulder: A large mass of rock. Generally considered too big to be lifted by a man.
34. Bowl Liner: Part that protects the bowl, the outer part that forms the crusher cavity.
1. ABC: Assay Based Controls are changes made to regulatory setpoints that are biased on the level or 35. Breakage: Size reduction by causing rock to fracture.
changes in the level of the valuable metal being recovered. 36. Breakage action: Refers to the method of breakage, eigher by impact or by attrition.
2. ABC Circuit: A two-stage grinding circuit composed of an autogenous mill, a ball mill and a crusher. 37. Breakage event: In comminution modeling the action of size reduction is considered to consist of two
3. Abrasion: Wearing away by rubbing or friction. components, selection and breakage. Taken together, the action is referred to as an event.
4. Acicular: Having the shape of a needle 38. Breakage pattern: The distribution of sizes of all particles produced from the breakage of a parent
5. Activators: Cause a particular mineral to oat with a collector when it otherwise would not. particle.
6. Adsorption: The gathering of a gas, liquid, or dissolved substance on a surface in a condensed layer. 39. Breakage rate: The frequency (number per unit time) of breakage events.
7. Aggregate: A group of unit or parts associated with one another. For example, a particle connected to 40. Bridging: When two or more rocks are individually small enough to enter the crusher but straddle the
a bubble. opening in such a way so as to prevent each other from falling in.
8. Agitator: A device for shaking or stirring. 41. Bull Gear: Also called ring gear, the gear that encircles the tumbling mill and transmits the motion of
9. AG Mill: See autogenous mill. the pinion gear to the mill. The mill rotates as the pinion gear meshes with the bull gear.
10. AG/SAG: Types of grinding mill which use the feedstock wholly or partly as the grinding media. In 42. Bushing: A xed or removable cylindrical metal lining used to constrain, guide, or reduce friction.
Autogenous Grinding (AG) large pieces of rock in the feed break other rock. In Semi-Autogenous 43. Bypass: The fraction of ne particles entrained by water in the classi er under ow.
44. Cake Loading: Weight of lter cake per unit area of lter cloth.
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45. Cake Washing: Removal of solution from a cake by displacing it with water.
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46. Calcite: (CaCO3) A colourless or white
Consulting & mineral which isOrecomposed of calcium carbonate.
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instrument. This is usually done by comparison with a standard instrument.
48. Carbonate: A compound which contains a carbonate group (CO3) composed of carbon and oxygen. In
a carbonate mineral the carbonate is attached to a metal.
49. Cascade Control: A control methodology where a series of controllers in which the output of one
controller is the set point of the next.
50. Cascading: The motion of the charge in a tumbling mill which occurs when the grinding media roll
down from the top of the load to the toe of the load.
51. Cataracting: The motion of the charge in a tumbling mill which occurs when the grinding media are
ejected from the top of the load onto the toe of the load.
52. Cavitation: The formation and subsequent collapse of bubbles in a liquid.
53. Center of gravity: The point where the mass of a body is balanced in all directions A bar that is
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balanced on a fulcrum is acting on the fulcrum through its center of gravity.
54. Center of Gravity: Point where the mass of an object is perfectly balanced in all directions.
55. Centrifugal Force: The force that pushes a rotating object outward.
56. Chalcocite: (Cu2S) A black mineral which contains copper and sulphur. Chalcocite is a source of
copper.
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57. Chalcopyrite: (CuFeS2) A brass-yellow mineral which contains copper, iron and sulphur. Chalcopyrite
is an important source of copper.
58. Choke feed: When the crusher chamber is full and there is material above to keep it full.
59. Choke Feed: Crusher operation where the crusher cavity is kept full.
60. Choke point: See choke zone.
61. Choke zone: That region between the mantle and concaves where the unit area, and therefore the
unit volume, is at a minimum.
62. Choking: When the downward ow of rock in the crusher is stopped for some reason.
63. Circuit: A link of all otation stages.
64. Circulating Load: The quantity of material recycled in a closed circuit. The circulating load is
calculated by dividing the ow of material in the recycle by the ow of material in the feed.
65. Clari cation: Removal of suspended solid particles from water usually by allowing the particles to
settle.
66. Classi cation: The separation of a mixture containing particles of different sizes into a stream
containing coarse particles and a stream containing ne particles.
67. Class of lever: A rst class lever has the fulcrum between the load and the applied force (e.g.
Crowbar, scissors). A second class lever has the load between the ful-crum and the applied force (e.g.
Nutcracker, bottle opener). A third class lever has the applied force between the fulcrum and the load
(e.g. Tweezers).
68. Cleaners: A stage in a otation circuit that treats concentrates from previous stages.
69. Closed Circuit: A grinding circuit in which the under ow from the classi er at the mill discharge
returns to the mill while the over ow leaves the circuit. In a normal closed circuit, the feed enters
the circuit through the mill. In a reversed closed circuit, the feed enters the circuit through the
classi er.
70. Closed side setting: The minimum distance between mantle and concaves at the choke zone.
71. Closed Side Setting: The minimum gap between crusher surfaces.
72. CMC: Carboxy Methyl Cellulose is a depressant that adsorbs in preference to collectors and gives
hydrophillic products.
73. Coagulant: Chemical additive that causes particles to attract each other to form aggregates.
74. Coagulate: The change from a liquid form into a thickened mass.
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75. Coalescence: What happens when two or more bubbles join together to form a single large
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76. Comminution: The breaking of large&particles into small
Oreparticles. The most common comminution
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77. Comminution machine: Any machine designed to reduce the size of particles. In mineral processing
the two broad categories are crushers and grinding mills.
78. Competency: A term used to describe the structural integrity of a particular ore.
79. Competent: A rock that is structurally intact, that is, it is without signi cant fractures or aws that
would make it crumble easily. Competent ores are important in Autogenous Grinding where it acts as
grinding media.
80. Compressibility: The ability of the lter cake to deform under pressure.
81. Compression: The squeezing of a physical entity into a smaller volume.
82. Concaves: Abrasion resistant steel plates that are mounted all around the inside of the crusher top
shell bowl. They are intended to wear and require periodic replacement.
83. Concentrate: The valuable product from a mineral processing plant.
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84. Concentrator: A plant where mineral processing takes place – also called a mill.
85. Conditioner: A tank, usually agitated by an impeller, used to allow mineral particles to react with
reagents.
86. Contaminant: Undesirable solid or liquid material present in the product.
87. Controlled Variable: Variable that the controller tries to maintain at set point
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88. Conventional mills: Fine grinding has traditionally been done for many years in cylindrical tumbling
mills with a length to diameter ratio ranging from 2:1 to 3:2. These types have predominantly used
rods or balls as grinding media. More recently large scale AG/SAG milling has become established.
AG/SAG mills grind a coarser feed than do rod/ball mills and typically require downstream ball mills
to nish the grinding. The term conventional mill refers to the traditional rod/ball type of tumbling
mill as opposed to the newer AG/SAG mill.
89. Conveyor: The conveyor moves bulk solids from one location to another on a belt.
90. Coriolis Meter: A device that uses the bending force generated when a uid changes direction,
through a bend for example, to calculate mass ow.
91. Correlation: A relationship between two things.
92. Covalent Bond: A bond formed by sharing electrons.
93. Critical Size: Size of the particles that build-up in the mill or in the circulating load due to a low rate
of breakage.
94. Critical Speed: The minimum speed at which the grinding media are pinned to the mill liners
because of the centrifugal force.
95. Crusher: A comminution device that breaks particles by exerting mechanical force.
96. Crusher Cavity: Space inside the crusher where the ore is located.
97. Crushing: Size reduction primarily by impact. Particles are broken down by forces applied
perpendicular to their surface, compressing them.
98. Crushing work index: Measures the quantity of electrical energy required to crush a given quantity of
rock.
99. CSS: See Closed Side Setting
100. Cumulative size distribution: The standard method for representing size distribution analyses. Sizing
can be by a number of methods, sieving is the most common. The cumulative percent passing is
plotted on the vertical axis, the size is plotted on the horizontal axis. First, the percent of total
sample passing the coarsest sieve is plotted against that size. Next, the percent of total sample
passing the next coarsest sieve is plotted, and so on. The plot is cumulative because each plotted
point includes the weight of material on all screens smaller than the one being plotted.
101. Current: The amount of electric charge owing past a speci ed circuit point per unit time.
102. Cut Size: The particle size at which the classi er feed particles have an equal chance of going to the
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undersize or the oversize.
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103. Cyclone: A classi er which uses centrifugal

Consulting & force to separate a mixture containing particles of
Ore Laboratory 134. Electrowinning: A re ning process which
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gold is re ned by electrowinning.
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sizes into a coarse stream and a ne stream.
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Entrainment: A way in which particles enter the froth by being
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104. DCS: A Distributed Control System distributes the monitor and control duties among several devices. each bubble in the lm and the wake.
105. Dead Load: In a stockpile the rock particles not directly within the repose angle above a draw point 136. Extraction: The removal of the valuable metal from the concentrate – the main extraction methods
will not ow unaided into the draw point. This region of the stockpile is called the dead load. use heat, chemicals, or electricity.
106. Deadman switch: A safety mechanism that ensures stoppage of equipment if the operator is not 137. Feeder: A device for introducing dry bulk materials to a conveyor at a controlled rate.
proactively ordering its movement. 138. Filter Cake: The build-up of solid material against the lter cloth.
107. Density: The mass of a material divided by its volume. 139. Filter Cloth: Woven material that is permeable to water and upon which solid material is deposited.
108. Depressants: Prevents otation of a particular mineral which otherwise would not oat. 140. Filtrate: Water recovered through a lter cloth.
109. De-water: Remove water from solids. 141. Filtration Rate: Speed at which a cake builds or forms on a cloth.
110. Dewatering Rate: Speed at which water is forced from solid material or a lter cake. 142. Flaky: Forming or tending to form akes or thin, crisp fragments.
111. Digging Shoes: Pick up the grinding media and ore particles that settle at the bottom of the tower 143. Flocculent: Chemical additive that attaches to several particles forming a larger loosely attached
mill. group called a oc.

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112. Direct current: An electric current owing in one direction only. 144. Flotation: A process which uses the fact that different minerals have different af nities for certain
113. Discharge Diaphragm: See Discharge Grate chemicals in order to separate the valuable minerals from the gangue. The chemicals loaded with
114. Discharge Grate: Grate inside the mill that retain coarse rocks. minerals are removed from the slurry by air bubbles.
115. Discharge Lifters: See Pulp Lifters. 145. Fracture toughness: The resistance of a rock to the catastrophic extension of cracks within the rock
116. Dispersants: Reagents that dispose the slimes which often agglomerate and cover the surfaces of mass.
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larger particles, therefore preventing them from being recovered.
117. Drag: Retarding force on a body resulting from the resistance to ow put up by the viscosity of the
surrounding uid.
118. Drawhole: The opening underneath a stockpile that allows the ore to reach the feeders.
119. Drawpoint: See Drawhole.
120. Drive pulley: On a belt driven crusher, the grooved pulley attached to the pinion shaft. The grooves
accept drive belts that convey power to the pinion from the motor. Direct drive crusher do not use
drive pulleys.
121. Dry cyclone: An air cyclone. It uses gravitational force to remove coarse dry particles from a
contaminated air stream moving in a vortex.
122. Dust enclosure: Any means for con ning air contaminated with particulates so that it can be
withdrawn from the surrounding environment.
123. Dust suppression system: A system for capturing and removing particulates from contaminated air.
124. Eccentric: A circular journal in which rests the bottom of the mainshaft assembly. The centerline of
the journal is offset with respect to the crusher centerline so that when it is rotated the bottom of
the mainshaft is caused to move in a circle around the crusher centerline. Viewed from the side, the
motion of the mainshaft appears eccentric.
125. Eccentric bushing: A bushing that ts inside the eccentric journal. The mainshaft assembly ts inside
the bushing.
126. Eccentric gear: Attached to the eccentric, the eccentric gear meshes with the pinion. Motor power is
transferred to the main shaft assembly through this gear and the eccentric.
127. Eccentric Motion: A rotating motion which is not centered on the center of the apparatus.
128. Effort: A force applied against inertia.
129. Eh: Pulp Potential.
130. Electrochemical: Electon transfer from one substance to another.
131. Electrometallurgy: The process of using electricity to extract the valuable metal from the concentrate
– aluminum is extracted by electrometallurgy.
132. Electrons: Revolve around the nucleus of an atom and have a negative charge.
133. Electrostatic precipitator: A device for cleaning ne dust from contaminated air. It uses an electric
eld to polarize suspended particulates. The air stream is then passed by electrodes which attract
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oppositely charge particl-es.
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146. Froth: Bubbles formed on or in a liquid.
147. Froth Freezing: A froth too dry to move.
148. Fulcrum: The point or support on which a lever pivots.
149. Fuzzy Logic Control: Fuzzy Logic Control determines control action using rules that are based on
loose description of the process, for example, if the level is high then reduce the water ow
somewhat.
150. Galena: (PbS) a bluish gray mineral with which contains lead and sulphur. Galena is a source of lead.
151. Gamma Gauge: A device which uses a weak radioactive source to produce gamma rays to measure
density (% solids).
152. Gangue: Worthless rock or other material in which valuable minerals are found.
153. Gape: The opening dimension of a gyratory crusher as measured from the top of the mantle to the
top of the concaves.
154. Gilson screen: A machine designed to aid in the screening of intermediate sized particles. It consists
of a frame that sits within a motorized shaking structure. Rectangular woven wire screen decks are
placed within the frame, the motor is turned on, and coarse particle sample is shoveled onto the top
screen.
155. Gland Seal: A device which consists of packing compressed in a stuf ng box for preventing slurry
leakage around the rotating shaft joint.
156. Grade: The percentage of a metal in a product.
157. Grain: A discrete chunk of pure mineral. It may consist of one or many crystals.
158. Graphite: A soft, black form of carbon with a metallic lustre, used for lead in pencils, for lubricating
machinery, etc.
159. Grate Discharge Mill: A type of mill in which the slurry ows through a grate to exit the mill. The
other common type of mill discharge is the trunnion over ow discharge.
160. Gravity methods: In mineral processing, refers to a separation process whereby gravity is utilized to
effect separation between particles of greatly different densities.
161. Grinding: Size reduction primarily by attrition. Particles are broken down by forces applied tangential
to their surface, abrading and chipping them.
162. Grinding balls: Media to aid the comminution of rock consisting of forged or cast spherical iron balls.
163. Grinding charge: Refers to the media only (not the ore) in a grinding mill.
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164. Grinding Media: Solid bodies which &
Consulting tumble onto ore particles to break them into smaller particles.
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165. Grinding work index: Measures the quantity of electrical energy required to grind a given quantity of
rock.
166. Grind Out: Procedure in which the mill is run without any solids feed for a short period to time to get
rid of slurry in the mill.
167. Hardness: Usually thought of as a rock’s ability to withstand deformation under load. In comminution
it is commonly used to indicate the relative power requirements of different ores.
168. Head Pressure: The energy supplied by the pump to the slurry. The head pressure is the difference
between the pump discharge pressure and the pump suction pressure.
169. Head pulley: The head pulley is located at the discharge end of a conveyor and is the usual location
for connection of the conveyor drive.
170. Head Tank: A tank situated higher than the equipment is feeds. Flow to the equipment is under the
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force of gravity.
171. Heterogeneous: Consisting of dissimilar elements or parts.
172. High alarm: In a control system, an alarm that occurs whenever some measured quantity (ie: level,
speed, weight, ow, etc) reaches a level considered to be well above normal.
173. High-high alarm: In a control system, an alarm that occurs whenever a measured quantity has passed
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suf ciently beyond a high point (see High alarm) that some count-er action must be taken.
174. High Intensity Conditioner: A conditioner where a vigorous stirring action is used.
175. Homogeneous: Uniform in structure or composition throughout.
176. Hydraulic Gradient: Slope or change of height required for ow.
177. Hydrocarbon: Any of a class of compounds containing only hydrogen and carbon.
178. Hydrocyclone: A cyclone whose feed is a slurry of water and particles. It is also called a wet cyclone.
179. Hydrogen Bonds: Bonds that result from the polar nature of water.
180. Hydrometallurgy: The process of using chemical solutions to extract the valuable metal from the
concentrate – gold and silver are extracted by hydrometallurgy.
181. Hydrophilic: Water loving. Hydrophilic surfaces prefer to be in contact with water.
182. Hydrophobic: Water fearing. Hydrophobic surfaces prefer to be in contact with something other than
water, air for example.
183. Hydroset: In a gyratory crusher, the hydroset system uses the hydraulic pressure of oil in a piston
underneath the mainshaft to raise and lower the mainshaft and mantle. This is done to change the
set of the crusher.,
184. Hydrostatic Lift: Trunnion bearing lube oil pressure. Used in AG and SAG mills to monitor mill load.
185. Idler: A roller used to support or guide the conveyor belt.
186. Impact: In comminution, refers to breakage through the application of force perpendicular to the rock
surface in a short period of time.
187. Impact Grinding: Grinding by the violent shattering which results from striking the particles.
188. Impact idler: Impact idlers cushion the shock at the loading point. They are grooved so that they can
ex to absorb this shock, and are mounted very close together directly under a loading point.
189. Impede: To obstruct.
190. Impeller: The rotating blade of a centrifugal pump or blower.
191. Inching: Slowly turning the mill to a new position. This is normally performed when relining the mill.
192. Induction Time: The time it takes a particle to penetrate the water lm and reach the air in the
bubble.
193. Inertia: The tendency of a body at rest to remain at rest or of a body in motion to stay in motion in a
straight line unless acted on by an outside force.
194. In-situ: When something is in-situ, it is in its natural position or place.
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195. Interface: The boundary between any two phases (solid, liquid or gas).
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196. Interlocks: A control methodology where
& equipment can OrebeLaboratory
permitted to start, started or shutdown
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based on certain conditions.
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197. Ion: A neutral atom that has electrons added or removed from it.
198. Ionic Bond: A bond formed by donating atoms.
199. Journal: The part of a machine shaft or axel supported by a bearing.
200. Keying the Charge: To hold the charge. Lifters key the charge, preventing slippage and allowing the
charge to rise. In practice only the bottom layer (height of the lifter) of the charge is actually keyed.
201. Kinetics: The description of the rate of change in a physical or chemical system.
202. Launder: A trough conveying a slurry.
203. Leaching: An extraction method which uses the fact that different minerals have different solubilities
in chemical solutions to extract the valuable metal from the concentrate – gold and silver are
normally extracted by cyanide leaching.
204. Lever: A simple machine consisting of a rigid bar pivoted on a xed point and used to transmit force,
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as in raising or moving a weight at one end by pushing down on the other.
205. Liberated Particle: A particle composed mostly of a single mineral.
206. Liberation: The fundamental step of mineral processing by which the valuable minerals are freed
from the gangue mineral. Liberation takes place through size reduction.
207. Lifters: Pieces that key the charge to promote the tumbling action.
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208. Liners: Pieces that protect the mill shell from wear.
209. Live load: In a stockpile the rock particles directly within the repose angle above a draw point will
ow unaided into the draw point. This region of the stockpile is called the live load.
210. Locked Particle: A particle composed of several minerals.
211. Logarithm: In mathematics, an exponent of the power to which a xed number (usually 10) must be
raised in order to produce a given number.
212. Low alarm: In a control system, an alarm that occurs whenever some measured quantity (ie: level,
speed, weight, ow, etc) reaches a level considered to be well below normal.
213. Low-low alarm: In a control system, an alarm that occurs whenever a measured quantity has passed a
low point (see Low alarm) and is at a point where some counter action must be taken.
214. Magnetic separation: In mineral processing, refers to a separation process whereby magnetic force is
utilized to effect separation between particles of different magnetic susceptibility.
215. Mainshaft: The mainshaft is the moving part in a gyratory crusher. The mantle covers the mainshaft.
216. Manipulated Variable: The variable that the controller changes.
217. Mantle: Part that protects the cone, the inner part that forms the crusher cavity.
218. Manual Mode: Controller operating mode in which the manipulated variable is kept constant. The
controller suspends control action.
219. Marcy Scale: An apparatus used to measure the density of a slurry.
220. Massive Sulphide: Rock or ore composed mainly of sulphide minerals, both valuable minerals and
gangue.
221. Measured Variable: See Controlled Variable.
222. Mesh Size: The number of openings per linear inch in a screen.
223. Metal: A class of substances that are fusible, opaque, are good conductors of electricity, show a
metallic luster, are malleable, comparatively heavy, and except for mercury are solid at ordinary
temperatures.
224. Meter: A unit of length equivalent to 39.37 inches exactly.
225. MIBC: Methylisobutylcarbinol. A widely used frother.
226. Micron: A measurement unit for length. There are 10,000 microns per centimeter, and 25,400
microns per inch.
227. Middlings: A mixture of partly liberated particles.
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228. Mill Charge: See Mill Load.
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229. Mill Load: The contents of the mill composed of grinding

Oremedia and slurry. The total mill load also 259. Pinion: The gear connected to the mill
& motor which causes the mill to rotate as its teeth mesh with
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230. Mineral: Minerals are groupings of chemical elements or compounds, with a consistent composition, 260. Plugging: When feed will no longer pass through the crusher. Due either to packing in the crushing
found in the Earth’s crust. chamber or an obstruction underneath the crusher.
231. Mineral deposit: Any valuable mass of ore. 261. Polar Bond: A special type of covalent bond produced where there is an uneven sharing of electrons.
232. Mineral Processing: The process of concentrating the valuable minerals in the ore in preparation for 262. Polarity: The uneven sharing of electrons.
the extraction of the valuable metal. 263. Polymetallic: Containing several valuable metals.
233. Moisture: Weight of water in a product divided by the weight of product expressed as a percentage. 264. Pore: An opening or hole in a lter cake or cloth.
234. MSDS: The material safety data sheet outlines the hazards and rst aid measures for each chemical. 265. Porphyry Deposit: A deposit where the sulphides are distributed through out a non-sulphide gangue.
235. MV: See measured variable. Usually a low grade deposit.
236. Net Smelter Return: The economic value of the concentrate after transportation, smelting, re ning 266. Powder: A collection of very ne particles.
and penalty charges are applied. 267. Powder factor: The ratio of average power to the maximum average power obtained when the
237. Neutrons: Found in the nucleus of an atom and have a neutral charge. voltage and current are synchronized.

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238. Niobium: A rare, steel gray, metallic chemical element that resembles tantalum in chemical 268. Power: Energy per unit of time.
properties. 269. Power Factor: Ratio of average power to that when voltage and current are in synch.
239. Open Circuit: A grinding circuit in which the particles go through the mill once. An open circuit has 270. Precipitate: To separate (a substance) out from a solution as a solid.
no classi er at the mill discharge to control particle size. 271. Pressure: Force applied to a unit area.
240. Open side setting: The maximum distance between mantle and concaves at the choke zone. 272. Primary: First. A primary stage is the rst stage in a series of stages.
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241. Ore: A mineral deposit that can be mined at a pro t.
242. Over current trip: A motor protection feature. When a motor draws excess power in response to a
load it rapidly heats up, risking damage. The over current trip circuit detects an excess current and
disconnects the motor.
243. Over ow: The undersize material that leaves a cyclone.
244. Overload: Unstable condition where the amount of material in the mill or in the circulating load
increases and is compounded by a reduction in grinding capacity.
245. Oversize: The coarse particle stream that leaves a classi er.
246. Oxide: A compound which contains oxygen (O). In an oxide mineral, the oxygen is attached to a
metal.
247. Packing: Refers to a condition of compaction within the crusher where the material stops owing.
248. Pancake Mill: A tumbling mill with a length over diameter ratio (L/D) much less than one, for
example a ratio of 1/3. Typical of AG and SAG mills in North-America.
249. Particle: A single physical entity.
250. Particle disappearance rate: The time rate at which particles leave a comminution process. In a
primary crusher, particles may exit the crusher when they are small enough to pass the gap at the
bottom.
251. Partition Curve: A plot which describes how the particles fed to a classi er are divided between the
undersize and the oversize. A partition curve gives the percentage of feed particles that report to the
oversize for each particle size.
252. Pebble Port: Large grate openings used to remove critical size material.
253. Peening: Impact causing metal ow. In grates it reduces the opening size.
254. Pendulum: A body suspended from a xed support so that it swings freely back and forth under the
in uence of gravity.
255. Percent (%) Solids: The percentage by weight of solids in a slurry (often called pulp or slurry density).
256. Permeability: The ease with which an porous mass permits the passage of water.
257. pH: A symbol used to express acid or alkaline content.
258. PID Controller: A common controller which compensates proportionally to the error (P –
proportional), compensates for sustained errors (I – integral) and compensates for changes in error
(D – derivative).
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273. Primary crushing: The rst stage of crushing in a comminution circuit. The primary crusher is the
receiving point for blasted ore.
274. Primary Grinding Circuit: First grinding circuit in a series of grinding stages.
275. Primary gyratory crushing: The rst stage of crushing where a gyratory type crusher is used. This
stage is always described as primary crushing even if there is no additional crushing following.
276. Process Variable: See Controlled Variable.
277. Product: The valuable stream that leaves the circuit.
278. Promoter: A collector normally used in conjunction with another collector.
279. Protons: Found in the nucleus in an atom and have a positive charge.
280. Pull Cord: See Safety cord.
281. Pulp: See Slurry.
282. Pulp Lifters: Lifters that carry the slurry from the discharge grate to the exit of the mill.
283. Pump Box: A vessel which provides the pump with surge capacity.
284. PV: See Process Variable.
285. Pyrite: (FeS2) a pale brass-yellow mineral which contains sulphur and iron. It is also known as fool’s
gold.
286. Pyrometallurgy: The process of using heat to extract the valuable metal from the concentrate – iron
is extracted by pyrometallurgy (smelting).
287. Pyrrhotite: (FeS) A bronze-colored mineral which contains sulphur and iron.
288. Quiescent Zone: The region between the mixing zone and the froth zone.
289. Radial stacker: A type of conveyor that can pivot from one end and move in a horizontal arc. This
gives it the ability to build a crescent shaped pile, or multiple individual piles.
290. Radius of gyration: Viewed from above, the base of the mantle in a gyratory crusher moves in a circle
around the crusher centerline. The radius of the circle can be adjusted by changing the eccentric and
bushing.
291. Ratio: The relationship in quantity, amount or size between two things. Usually calculated by
dividing one value by the other.
292. Ratio Control: A control methodology where the controller output is calculated so that a ratio with a
measured variable is maintained.
293. Reagent: A substance used for its chemical activity.

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294. Reagents: Substances used to produce a desired chemical reaction.
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295. Reclaim conveyor: A conveyor that recovers material from

Ore storage. The conveyors underneath the 326. Separation: The fundamental step of&mineral processing
OrebyLaboratory
which the product from the size
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stockpile are this type. Engineering Testwork reduction step (liberation) is separated into a valuable mineral
Engineering stream (concentrate) and a gangue
Testwork
296. Recovery: The percentage of the valuable metal present in the feed that reports to the concentrate. stream (tailings).
297. Recycle: The stream that returns to pass again in the equipment. For example, the cyclone under ow 327. Set: Equivalent to the open side setting. The distance of furthest approach between the mantle and
in a closed ball mill circuit or the screen oversize in a closed SAG mill circuit. concaves at the choke point.
298. Reduction ratio: The ratio of the largest size that can enter the crusher to the largest size that can 328. Set Point: Desired value that a controller attempts to maintain.
leave it. Equivalent to: Gape/Set. 329. Settling: The motion of a solid within a liquid created by a force such as gravity.
299. Re ning: The process of removing impurities from the metal after it has been extracted from the 330. SG: See Speci c Gravity.
concentrate. 331. Sharpness of Separation: A measure of classi cation ef ciency. The sharpness of separation is related
300. Regulated feed: Where the ow of material to the crusher is throttled in some manner so that it is to the slope of the partition curve.
never completely lled. 332. Sheave: A wheel or disk with a grooved rim, especially one used as a pulley.
301. Regulatory Control: Refers to the low-level control used to stabilize the process. An example of 333. Shorthead Crusher: A cone crusher designed to handle relatively ne material.
regulatory control is the simple control loop used to maintain tonnage at a xed value. 334. Side travel switch: An electric switch that senses whether the conveyor belt is traveling off center (ie.

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302. Repose angle: The slope at which a given material will come to rest under a given set of conditions. misaligned).
303. Representative sampling: When inferring some characteristic of a population from a small sample, 335. Sieve: A laboratory screen used to separate particles according to their size.
the problem always exists that the sample is biased, that is, it does not represent the population 336. Silicate: A compound which contains silica (Si).
with respect to that characteristic. 337. Single Stage Grinding: Operation where a single grinding circuit is used to obtain a nal product size.
304. Residence Time: The length of time a slurry spends in a vessel. 338. Sinusoidal: A phenomenon that undulates in magnitude in a repetitive manner.
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305. Retention Time: The length of time a slurry spends in a vessel. 339. Size classi cation: The process of separating particles from each other based on their sizes.
306. Return idler: These support the conveyor belt on its return run. 340. Slabby: Having a broad, at, thick shape.
307. Reversed Closed Circuit: A grinding circuit in which the feed enters through the classi er. The 341. Slewing: Sideways motion.
undersize from the classi er located at the mill discharge leaves the circuit, and the oversize returns 342. Slimes: Very ne particles, usually undesirable.
to the mill. 343. Slurry: A mixture of ore particles and water.
308. Rock box: See Surge pocket. 344. Slurry Density: The percentage of solids by mass.
309. Rock breaker: An air powered impact hammer supported by a hydraulic boom. 345. Smelting: An extraction method which uses heat to recover the valuable metal – iron and copper are
310. Rock hook: A hook shaped especially for prying up rocks wedged in the crushing chamber. The hook usually extracted by smelting.
is slung from the overhead service crane. 346. Snub pulley: A secondary pulley near the head pulley, it increases the wrap of the belt around the
311. Rod Mill: A tumbling mill in which steel rods tumble onto ore particles to break them. head pulley for increased ef ciency of power transmission.
312. Roping: The condition which occurs when the air core inside a cyclone collapses and the spiraling 347. Sparger: Is used to inject gases, usually air into the pulp.
motion is almost lost. When roping occurs, the discharge has the appearance of a thick rope. 348. Speci c gravity: The ratio of the mass of a solid or liquid to the mass of an equal volume of distilled
313. Rougher: The rst stage in a otation circuit that treats the fresh circuit feed. water.
314. Rounded: Shaped into the form of a circle or sphere. 349. Speci c Gravity: The mass of a substance compared to the mass of an equal volume of water. It is
315. RTD: A resistance thermal device is a way of measuring temperature. It varies resistance proportional calculated by dividing the density of the substance by the density of water.
to the temperature. 350. Speed switch: An electric switch on the conveyor tail pulley that detects when the belt is moving.
316. Run-of-mine: The average of all mined ores with respect to com-position and physical 351. Sphalerite: (ZnS) a mineral which contains zinc and sulphur. Sphalerite is a source of zinc.
characteristics. 352. Spider: The massive arm that spans the top of the gyratory crusher.
317. SABC: A two-stage circuit composed of a semi-autogenous mill, a ball mill and a crusher. 353. Square Mill: A tumbling mill with a length over diameter ratio (L/D) of one.
318. Safety cord: A cord that runs alongside a conveyor. It immediately disconnects power to the conveyor 354. Stall: An overload induced stoppage.
drive if it is pulled. 355. Standard Crusher: A cone crusher designed to handle relatively coarse material.
319. SAG Mill: See Semi-autogenous Mill. 356. Step bearing: A circular disk that sits directly beneath the mainshaft and supports it.
320. Scavenger: A stage in a otation circuit that treats the tailings from previous stages. 357. Stockpile: A storage pile of dry bulk solids.
321. Screen: An equipment consisting of a perforated or meshed sheet that is used to separate coarse 358. Stone box: The receiving area for rock as it is dumped out of the haulage trucks. The stone box
particles from ne particles. con nes the rock so that it ows into the crusher.
322. Secondary: Second. A stage in a process that is second in a series. 359. Sulphate: Any salt of sulphuric acid.
323. Secondary Grinding Circuit: Second grinding circuit in a series of grinding stages. 360. Sulphide: A compound which contains sulphur (S). In a sulphide mineral, the sulphur is attached to a
324. Sedimentation: The settling of solid particles as a result of either gravity or centrifugal action. metal.
325. Semi-Autogenous Mill: A tumbling mill which uses a combination of ore and balls as grinding media. 361. Sump: Can refer to a oor sump (a pit used to collect spilled water or slurry), or can refer to the pump
It is often referred to as a SAG mill. box.
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5/30/2019 404 Basic Mineral Processing Terms 5/30/2019 404 Basic Mineral Processing Terms
TORY
allurgical

362. Supervisory Control: Refers to the high-level

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Engineering Testwork ALLURGY.
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363. Surface Tension: The tension in the interface between two phases. For example, a high surface 394. Uniaxial compressive strength: The UCS is the maximum compressive force recorded at the point of
tension at the air/water interface of a bubble means that it will rupture easily, like a stretched piece ductile-brittle transition, divided by the cross sectional area of the sample.
of cloth. 395. Vacuum: Suction force applied to a unit area.
364. Surge pocket: A storage compartment directly beneath the crusher that enables smooth feeding of 396. Valuable mineral: A mineral that can be treated at a pro t. See ore.
crushed product onto a takeaway conveyor. 397. Velocity: Speed.
365. Surging: Large uctuations such as in ow or current. 398. Viscosity: The resistance of a uid to ow.
366. System Dynamics: The behavior of a system during a period of change. 399. Voltage: Electromotive force or potential difference.
367. Tailings: The waste stream of a mineral processing operation. The valuable minerals are separated 400. Vortex Finder: The top opening of a cyclone through which the over ow leaves.
from the gangue, leaving the gangue to be disposed of. 401. Wet scrubber: A device for cleaning ne dust from contaminated air. It cleans by passing
368. Tail pulley: The tail pulley is located at the feed end of a conveyor and is used to adjust the belt contaminated air through nely dispersed water sprays. The dust particles adhere to the water
tension. droplets and are scrubbed from the air.

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369. Talc: A soft, smooth silicate of magnesium. 402. Work index: The amount of electrical energy required to carry out a size reduction process on a given
370. Tangential: Which follows along a straight line that touches a curve at one point only. quantity of rock. The crushing work index measures the energy required in crushing The grinding
371. Tension: The elongation, or pulling apart, of a physical entity. work index measures the energy required in grinding. They are not equivalent.
372. Tertiary: Third. A stage in a process that is third in a series. 403. Work Index: A measure of ore hardness which gives the energy required to grind one tonne of ore to
373. Tertiary Grinding Circuit: Third grinding circuit in a series of grinding stages. a speci c size.
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374. Thickening: The process of removing water to increase the concentration or density. 404. X-Ray Fluorescence: A phenomenon where material bombarded by X-Rays emits X-Rays of its own at
375. Ton: A measurement unit for mass. There are 2,000 pounds in one ton. speci c frequencies.
376. Tonne: A measurement unit for mass. There are 1,000 kilograms in one tonne.
377. Top shell: The upper casting of the gyratory crusher body to which are attached the concaves. The For this list of terms used in mineral processing –> Thanks to METSO
top shell provides the mainshaft with a fulcrum point through the spider and comprises the feed
opening of the crusher. https://www.911metallurgist.com/blog/crushing-industry-vocabulary
378. Torque: Force times the distance to the point of rotation. It is the energy of rotation.
379. Toughness: The natural resistance of a material to fail in tension. By L D Michaud | January 5th, 2015 | Categories: Tools of a Metallurgist | Comments Off
380. Tower Mill: A vertical cylinder with a special screw or stirrer designed to move the grinding media.
Grinding is achieved by the rubbing action of the media as it moves.  Previous Next 
381. Training idler: Training idlers track a conveyor belt to prevent misalignment (ie: side travel). When


the belt moves sideways the idlers pivot in the middle to bring it back into alignment. 
382. Tramp metal: Any spurious metal object that does not belong.
383. Tramp Metal: Unwanted piece of metal which can upset normal equipment operation.
384. Trommel: The rotating cylindrical screen at the mill discharge which rejects coarse objects.
Do you need Need
385. Troughing idler: Troughing idlers support the belt load. Their pro le causes the belt to trough
thereby increasing its carrying capacity. METALLURGICAL ENGINEERING
386. Trunnion: The point of entry and discharge for the tumbling mill. The trunnion bearings support the TESTING of your Services or Plant
mill at either end and ease rotation.
ORE? TROUBLESHOOTING?
387. Tube Mill: A tumbling mill with a length over diameter ratio (L/D) much larger than one, for example
a ratio of 3/1. View the Services we We can IMPROVE ALL
388. Tumbling Mill: A rotating horizontal cylinder partially lled with grinding media that tumble onto the Provide PLANTS / Mineral
ore to grind it. Processing Engineering
389. Tungsten: A heavy, steel-grey metallic chemical element having the highest melting point of any of & LABORATORY Ore
the metals. Testing
390. Tyler Sieve Series: A brand of testing sieves that follow American Society for Testing Materials
standard E-11-70. Tyler sieves are available from 38 microns (400 mesh) to 1.05 (26.5mm). 4~U.S.A
Standard Sieve Series~A brand of testing sieves that follow American Society for Testing Materials
standard E-11-70. U.S.A sieves are equivalent to Tyler sieves in the ner sizes, but go past the Tyler
series in the coarse sizes, up to 5 (125mm). Related Posts
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391. Ultrasonic Probes: A level of measurement in otation cells.
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