Economics of pre-concentration in mining: Bulk

Ore Sorting in a copper mine

Ilpo Auranen1, Jukka Raatikainen1, Ilari Järvinen1
1. IMA Engineering Ltd Oy, Finland

ABSTRACT
Pre-concentration by Bulk Ore Sorting (BOS) has gained interest in the mining industry over the past
few years due to its environmental and economic benefits. The BOS method is utilizing reducing
natural rock heterogeneity in separating the waste rock from the ore before it enters energy intensive
grinding and mineral processing process.

The paper describes the BOS method and a test performed at a large copper mine. The test was
conducted by utilizing an on-line XRF-analyzer and a belt scale on the mine main conveyor belt for
measuring continuously the copper contents of the primary crushed ore in 30 second batches for Bulk
Ore Sorting. Ore and waste rock dilution tonnages and grades were measured. During the five week’s
test 4,5 million tons of presumed ore was analyzed and 286 000 tons of below cut-off waste rock was
detected for BOS.

Calculations and projections for annualized potential mine profit increase of total of 50 million US$
are shown for the BOS method. All this is done without increasing mining costs or mined tonnage.

www.ima.fi 1
INTRODUCTION

Bulk Ore Sorting (BOS) can be a key component in sustainable mining. It is done by mechanically
separating ore from waste rock on conveyor belt before the material enters energy intensive
grinding and wet minerals processing in concentrators.

Root cause and the need for BOS is the variation of the ore grade in the mined material, i.e. ore
heterogeneity. It results in ore losses as valuable, already mined ore being discarded as waste and
waste rock dilution as waste being processed as ore. BOS can simultaneously recover this “lost ore”
and remove the waste hidden amongst the ore in an economical and practical way.

Ore heterogeneity and BOS

Ore and waste rock heterogeneity have been reported in various studies by measuring ore grade
variation in drill cores, in blast hole drill cuttings and from material on conveyors (Auranen &
Raatikainen, 2020)

In mine grade control geologist draws a cut-off border line between estimated average ore and
waste rock blasting benches and muck piles. Estimated averages are calculated from limited
number of collected drill core and drill cuttings samples analyzed in the mine laboratory. The cut-
offline is commonly drawn as a straight line due to restrictions on selectivity of used mining
methods in large scale operations using big loading machines. However, due to analysis results
averaging over large mass of rock and non-frequent and often bias sampling there is always some
ore in the waste’s side and waste in the ore’s side (Fig.1).

Fig1. Ore-waste borderline setting dilemma

www.ima.fi 2
Further, in case a waste block can’t be separated from ore by mining, it is diluting the average ore
grade on the blast bench and vice versa for ore in waste bench. This all results in ore losses and waste
rock dilution. Our studies (Raatikainen, Auranen & Perez, 2020) show that ore losses and waste rock
dilution are much bigger than estimated and happen simultaneously.

BOS METHODOLOGY

Heterogeneity can be detected on primary crushed ore on conveyor belt by analyzing the material
continuously with an XRF analyzer. It is essential that the analysis is done before the ore enters
intermediate stockpiles and further crushing, screening and grinding, which all homogenize the
material. The average grade of the material passing the analyzer is calculated in short timeframes.
Short analysis time enables detection of ore grade variation in material such batches which are
feasible to handle. When the grades of the batches are measured, the ore and waste rock can be
separated by a sorting chute or gate in the end of the conveyor which diverts the ore and waste rock
to different heaps or flows. (Fig.2)

Fig.2 Bulk Ore Sorting principle: An XRF-analyser on conveyor belt and a sorting chute

Ore heterogeneity, ore losses and waste rock dilution have been studied and reported in pre-
concentration and BOS studies done at numerous base and ferrous metal mines and PGM and gold
mines over the past 15 years.

Bulk Ore Sorting test arrangement

www.ima.fi 3
A BOS study was conducted at a large Copper mine in July-August 2021. The purpose of the test
was to quantify economic benefits of BOS.

XRF-Analyzer (FCA) was used for the test (Pic.1). The analyzer was first calibrated off belt with
total of 10 primary crushed samples of ore and waste rock. Samples were split to two parts
according to sampling rules. One part was first analyzed in laboratory and the second part was
used for calibration and stored for future QA/QC purposes. The FCA has also an inbuilt internal
reference sample, which is used to compensate for any potential instrument error such as aging or
drift of the detector or X-Ray electronics.

After calibration the FCA was installed after a primary gyratory crusher above a 2,5 m wide
conveyor belt. The crushed material size on belt was 80% passing -250mm and the maximum
capacity of the crusher and conveyor was 10 000 tph. The material flow and analysis was
continuous, and 30 seconds was selected for the minimum analysis time for sorting. A belt scale
was also used to collect mass flow information.

Pic. 1. XRF Analyzer (FCA) installed on top of a conveyor belt.

BOS RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

On belt analysis results for the five-week period of total 4,5 million tons of mined and primary
crushed ore is shown in table 1.

www.ima.fi 4
 Total average grade (CuT%) CuT 0,789 % Total tons 4 495 000 t
Average grade below cut-off (CuT%) CuT 0,48% Tons below cut-off 287 000 t
Average grade above cut-off (CuT%) CuT 0,809 % Tons above cut-off 4 208 000 t
Average tons per 30 sec measurements 60 t Std dev 0,17
Tons below cut-off 6,40 % Measurements outside std dev 28,0 %
Belt empty (% of time) 32 % Tonnes outside std dev 25,20 %

Table 1. test period statistics for Bulk Ore Sorting with CuT 0,55% cut-off grade

CuT 0,55% (Total Copper contents) was selected for cut-off grade. Typical variation in the CuT%
data was from 0,62% to 0,96% (0,79% ± 0,17 Std Deviation). Total 1,1 million tons of the analyzed
material, representing 25% of total, were outside the CuT% grade’s standard deviation. This reveals
significant heterogeneity in the ore and a good potential for Bulk Ore Sorting.

The analysis results are shown in below graph as 30sec and sliding one hour (CuT%) grade
averages showing five week, one week and one day results (graph 1.)

www.ima.fi 5
Graph 1. Five week, one week and one day results of ore grade

Bulk Ore Sorting Economics

There was a strong grade variation between the average 60ton batches. An economical calculation
based on Bulk Ore Sorting using following values was made: Cu cut-off grade: CuT 0,55%, Cu
price: US$ 9000/ton, Recovery 80% and Net Smelter Return (NSR) 80%.

The value of each 30 sec analysis is visualized in the below graph showing one hour analysis results
(Graph 2). Each batch has a positive or negative value depending on whether it’s grade is above or
below the cut-off value of US$ 1900 per 60tons of analyzed material (i.e., 32$ per ton).

www.ima.fi 6
Graph 2: One hour data: Each 30 sec batch has a positive or negative value whether being above or
below cut-off grade

In the example there are illustrated two 30sec/60ton batches of material, one is above cut-off CuT
1,16% ore with US$ 2100 positive value and the other is below cut-off CuT 0,24% waste with US$ -
1070$ negative value.

It is to be noted that in all the above graphs the hourly sliding average grade (black dotted line) is
almost without exception clearly above the cut off-line. However, at all the time a significant share
of individual 30 sec analysis is below the cut-offline creating losses. These losses could not be
recognized in case the measurement time on conveyor belt is not short enough. These losses can’t
either be noticed at concentrator when sampling and analyzing finely grinded ore or slurry that has
been homogenized in intermediate stockpiles and in grinding mills.

CONCLUSIONS

The test detected a significant amount, 6,4% (287 000tons) of below cut-off grade “ore”, i.e. waste
rock, to be removed by BOS. - How could that be replaced to keep concentrator feed volume
constant?

There is new ore to be recovered from waste rock which can’t be recovered by mining. It can be
assumed that in case 12% more waste rock close to ore waste border in the mine is loaded, hauled,
crushed and sorted by BOS, half of that material can be sorted as ore to replace the previously
sorted out waste. This results in a situation that no extra mining is needed for replacing the sorted
ore.

The average ore grade increase with BOS is relative 2,58% CuT and absolute. 0,02%, i.e., from
0,789% to 0,809%. This represents Cu concentrate value increase of US$ 5 000 000* in five weeks and
annualized increase of US$ of 50 000 000*.

www.ima.fi 7
*Calculation is based on: Cu price: US$ 9000/ton, Recovery 80%, NSR 80%

The BOS operation cost is estimated to be US$ 0,3 per ton of added processed material. This
includes costs for primary crushing, sorting and sorted waste rock handling. The cost for the five
week’s test were estimated to be: 574 000tons X US$0,3/ton = US$ 172 000 and annualized to
US$ 1 720 000.

Total BOS annualized projected net profit generation is US$ 48 270 000 (i.e., US$ 50 000 000 – US$
1 720 000) This is excluding investments for the Bulk Ore Sorting System, i.e. XRF-analyzer, sorting
chute diverter and waste handling conveyors.

Other considerations for BOS – subject for further study

The BOS-method enables flexible adjustment of mill feed ore cut-off grade without changing the
mining volume. The cut-off can be even changed on daily basis based on LME’s daily spot price - if
needed? However, this may not be practical.

With BOS preconcentration method the tonnage of mining can be kept fairly constant, and the mine
planning can be based on long range ore/waste strip ratio. It enables marginal ore separation and
stocking by for future processing.

The ore mass tonnage will change depending on ore heterogeneity while the concentrator needs to
have a steady tonnage of feed. That is why sampling and analysis from drill cores and blastholes
will still be needed to provide sufficient ore feed to concentrator at all times. New sampling and
analysis technology for those with on-line analyzers can be applied for that.

The BOS system will also provide more timely and accurate information of ore grade and quality to
optimize mining. The analyzers used in BOS will help to balance the ore grade and provide in
advance information of ore quality to concentrator for recovery optimization. When combined with
RFID based ore tracking system the accurate grades detected by the BOS analysis results can be
traced back to source, to drill holes, block models, mining benches and stopes, and fed forward to
concentrator. This information is especially useful for geo-metallurgy and ore type characterization.
Further, the information is useful for Mine to Mill Reconciliation and QA/QC processes.

REFERENCES

Raatikainen, J, Auranen, I, Pérez, N, 2020. Ore Sorting Automation for Copper Mining with
Advanced XRF Technology: From Theory to Case Study. Proceedings 7th International Congress on
Automation in Mining, (Automining 2020, Chile).

www.ima.fi 8
Auranen, I1, Raatikainen, J2 Preconcentration and ore processing by on-line sensors. AUSIMM
Preconcentration Digital Conference, 2020

Heiskanen, K, Talikka, M, Rohleder, J, Takalo, P, et al., 2018. Developing real grade – recovery
curves for sorting. Proceedings 91st Annual Meeting of the SME, pp 90-93, (South Minneapolis, USA).

Kinnunen, P, Obenaus-Emler, R, Raatikainen, J, Guignot, S, et al., 2020-2021. Review of closed water

loops with ore sorting and tailings valorization for a more sustainable mining industry. Journal of
Cleaner Production, 278 (2021) 123237

Minkkinen, P, Auranen, I, Ruotsalainen, L, Auranen, J, 2015. Comparison of sampling methods by

using size distribution analysis. Proceedings 7th World Conference on Sampling and Blending, (France).

Perälä, A, Alli, J, Raatikainen, J, Auranen, I, 2015. On-line Analyser optimizing mill feed at FQM
Kevitsa Nickel-Copper-PGE mine. Proceedings IFAC Seminar, 2015, pp 90-93, (Oulu, Finland).

Niemeläinen, E, Raatikainen, J, Siikaluoma, J, Auranen, I, 2011. Comparison of traditional and novel

on-line blast hole sampling in ore grade control. Proceedings 5th World Conference on Sampling and
Blending, (Santiago, Chile).

Pitard, F F, 1993. Pierre Gy’s sampling theory and sampling practice: Heterogeneity, sampling correctness
and statistical process control, 2nd edn, CRC Press LLC, (Boca Raton, Florida).

www.ima.fi 9