Geometallurgical Modelling and Ore Tracking at Kittilä Mine

Abstract

Geometallurgical modelling of an orebody provides benefits to a mine by gaining a better understanding of the ore characteristics and how these affect the performance of the concentrator. With this knowledge, plant operating conditions can be adjusted to optimise throughput and recovery in advance of the arrival of particular ore types. Therefore it is extremely important that the origin of the ore being processed is known as accurately as possible. Depending on the homogeneity of the ore characteristics, reliance on assumptions about stockpile residence times, scheduling and material handling can render the best geometallurgical models useless. The solution adopted at Kittila was to utilise Metso SmartTags™ and in-house expertise to develop a system that continuously and accurately links geotechnical and lab data from the mine to the performance of the plant. This application presented several unique opportunities and challenges. For example, this was the first installation of a SmartTag™ system for geometallurgical modelling in an underground mine. Challenges included the fact that the system installation is routinely subjected to temperatures below −20 ℃. The system was installed and commissioned in early 2013 and has been operating continuously since. Kittila has begun to see the benefits of the system with an increased understanding of how different ores are processed in the concentrator. Other advantages include the ability to alert operators about the arrival of difficult ores and a better understanding of their ore handling systems. This paper describes the installation and use of the system at Kittila, and details some of the geometallurgical relationships that have been developed using the data collected so far.