Published case study
Grinding throughput on a gold mill
Industrial engagement · published in a trade magazine
Problem
Grinding is the largest energy consumer on a mill. Setpoint drift and harder, lower-grade ore make it difficult to hold throughput and particle size at the same time.
Method
Two-year collaboration with the plant process-engineering team. Controlled 25-day trial from 10 January 2024 to 5 February 2024. Modes alternated every 48 hours. Only periods with at least 85% active hours were compared — 265 hours in each mode.
Measured result
+6% throughput (435 t/h vs 412 t/h). 115,347 tonnes processed vs 109,079 tonnes. Particle size (p80) held. Energy intensity (kWh/t) stayed essentially unchanged. Extrapolated full-year effect at this plant: about 2,694 additional ounces of gold, about US$781,000 incremental annual profit net of all-in sustaining cost.
Source
Brasil Mineral magazine, issue 441, July 2024.
Fabio Suizu, Founder — Identified practitioner. The mill is a Canadian mid-tier gold producer. The operator is not named here because we do not have authorization to publish the company name or logo.
This is a published industrial engagement. It is not an API-platform customer logo.
Trial record
- Window
- 2024-01-10 → 2024-02-05 (25 days)
- Protocol
- AI and manual modes alternated every 48 hours to absorb rock type, feed blend, percent solids and rate. Maintenance days were excluded. Comparison required at least 85% active hours.
- Throughput
- 435 t/h vs 412 t/h (+6%). 115,347 t vs 109,079 t · 265 hours in each mode
- Product quality
- Particle size (p80) remained consistent between modes. The extra tonnes did not come from grinding coarser.
- Energy
- Energy intensity (kWh per tonne) stayed essentially unchanged, so the extra tonnes were not bought with a matching jump in power.
- Harder feed
- On feed with Bond work index at or above 14 kWh/t, throughput was still +3% versus manual, above the plant design rate.
- Money
- Extrapolated over a full year at this plant: about 2,694 additional ounces and about US$781,000 incremental annual profit net of all-in sustaining cost.
Results vary with ore grade, hardness and site conditions. The dollar figure is an extrapolation at this plant, not a guarantee and not an API-platform customer result.
Source
Brasil Mineral magazine, issue 441, July 2024.
Fabio Suizu, Founder