GOLD PLANT FEED SAMPLING SOLUTION

FOR RECONCILIATION PURPOSES

Reinaldo Dantas Novaes
Reconciliation
• Reconciliation, in the mineral industry context, is defined as:
“A comparison between an estimate (resource and reserve models, grade control
model) and a measurement (processing plant production or metallurgy)”
Chieregati, 2007
• Mineral industry has difficult to close the mass balance in the plants:
 Difference on the accuracy between measurements input and output;
 Some plants receive material from different mines, or front;
 Time interval between the silo feed and the plant feed.

• Precision, accuracy or uncertainty will not be discussed on this paper

18 October 2018 2
 Reconciliation
• A general precious metals flow process
Materials
Gravity Classification Detoxification
Plant Feed Comminution Handling & Leaching Refining
concentration & Flotation & Tailings
Screening

TAIL
INPUT

PRODUCT
FINAL
MT = Tail Mass
MI = Input Mass CT = Tail Contents
CI = Input Contents
MP = Product Mass
CP = Product Contents
𝑴𝑰 × 𝑪𝑰 = 𝑴𝑷 × 𝑪𝑷 + 𝑴𝑻 × 𝑪𝑻

18 October 2018 3
AngloGold Ashanti – Córrego do Sítio II
Current Situation

Bottom
dump
sampler

18 October 2018 4
AngloGold Ashanti – Córrego do Sítio II
Solution 1

18 October 2018 5
AngloGold Ashanti – Córrego do Sítio II
Solution 1

𝑴𝑰𝟏 × 𝑪𝑰𝟏 + 𝑴𝑰𝟐 × 𝑪𝑰𝟐 = 𝑴𝑷 × 𝑪𝑷 + 𝑴𝑻 × 𝑪𝑻

𝑴𝑰𝟏 + 𝑴𝑰𝟐 = 𝑴𝑰

• Difficult to measure mass in a conveyor not prepared for this;

• Without measurement of each flow is impossible to determine the correct amount
of metal is feeding on plant;
• The installation of two samplers is more expensive than one.

18 October 2018 6
AngloGold Ashanti – Córrego do Sítio II
Solution 2

Silo Main Conveyor

Secondary
Sampler

Transfer point
Alternative Conveyor Primary
Sampler

18 October 2018 7
AngloGold Ashanti – Córrego do Sítio II
Final Solution

Challengers
• Height between the feeders and the main conveyor;
• Sticky material when the moisture is high;
Questions
• How to assure the wet material will flow?
• How to manage the primary increments?
• Take out from the chute
• Divide properly.

18 October 2018 8
 AngloGold Ashanti – Córrego do Sítio II
Final Solution

Options
• To use a rotary sampler (Vezin) – Abandon the idea
• Delimitation error. The fines, on the conveyor bottom, will be collect more
than to up material

• To install a launder to receive the primary increments

• The collected material will block this launder, once the inclination would not
be not enough.

• To install a small conveyor below the cutter to receive the primary
increments
• The space below the cutter and the main conveyor

18 October 2018 9
AngloGold Ashanti – Córrego do Sítio II
Engineering the sampler 90°

> 3d

a
18 October 2018 10
 AngloGold Ashanti – Córrego do Sítio II
Engineering the sampler

The duality
HEIGHT x INCLINATION ANGLE

𝟑a 2a
1,5a
a
45° 56° 60° 63°

a a a a
18 October 2018 11
AngloGold Ashanti – Córrego do Sítio II
Final Solution

60°

18 October 2018 12
AngloGold Ashanti – Córrego do Sítio II
Final Solution

18 October 2018 13
AngloGold Ashanti – Córrego do Sítio II
Final Solution

• Primary Sampler – Linear Sampler

42 primary increments/shift
• Secondary Sampler – Vezin type Sampler
Division of 10% of primary increment
• Conveyors with controlled speed to assure the correct division on the
secondary
• Reject conveyor to back the surplus material to main flow
AngloGold Ashanti – Córrego do Sítio II
Project participation

• Marcus Félix Magalhães, Process Engineer, AngloGold Ashanti, Córrego do Sítio

Mineração, Santa Bárbara, Brazil, MFMagalhaes@anglogoldashanti.com.br
• Ana Carolina Chieregati, Professor, Department of Mining and Petroleum Engineering,
University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, ana.chieregati@usp.br
• Vinícius Moreira Assis, Chief Metallurgist, AngloGold Ashanti, Córrego do Sítio
Mineração, Santa Bárbara, Brazil, VMAssis@anglogoldashanti.com.br
• Guilherme Costa Peixoto, Metallurgy Manager, AngloGold Ashanti, Córrego do Sítio
Mineração, Santa Bárbara, Brazil, GCPeixoto@anglogoldashanti.com.br
• Márcio Salgado Pereira, Metallurgical Engineer, AngloGold Ashanti, Córrego do Sítio
Mineração, Santa Bárbara, Brazil, MSPereira@anglogoldashanti.com.br
• Eduardo Luiz Barbosa, Mechanical designer, FLSmidth Americas, Brazil,
eduardo.barbosa@flsmidth.com
• Reinaldo Dantas Novaes, Product Line Manager, FLSmidth Americas, Brazil,
reinaldo.novaes@flsmidth.com
Thank you

flsmidth.com/linkedin

flsmidth.com/twitter

flsmidth.com/facebook

flsmidth.com/instagram

flsmidth.com/youtube

18 October 2018 The information contained or referenced in this presentation is proprietary to FLSmidth and is protected by copyright law 16