Closed Grinding Circuit Design of Cu-Ni-Co-Fe-S Matte

Abstract

Bond work index of Cu-Ni-Co-Fe-S matte having different sulfur contents was measured, followed by closed grinding circuit design which consisted of ball mill and spiral classifier. At first, the mineralogical and chemical contents of the matte was analyzed using XRF and SEM-EDS method. Afterward, Grinding work index of matte was estimated using the Bond work index test. The work index measured was used to determine grinding circuit specification lastly. It was found that the more the sulfur concentration was in the matte, the less Bond work index value was as sulfur contents increased from S 15.9 wt.% - S 24.9 wt.%. As a result, the grinding energy was reduced up to 45% in the range. For grinding process design, Closed grinding circuit was compared with open grinding circuit, in which hydrocyclone and spiral classifier were also investigated.