A Geometallurgical Approach Towards the Correlation Between Rock Type Mineralogy and Grindability: A case study in Aitik mine, Sweden

Aitik is a large copper porphyry type deposit located in northern Sweden, currently exploited at an annual rate of approximately 45Mt. The ore's exceptionally low head grade of 0.22 % Cu and varying degrees of hardness across the entire deposit pose challenges to the two fully autogenous grinding lines, each of which comprises a 22.5 MW primary autogenous mill in series with a pebble mill. The variability in ore grindability frequently leads to fluctuations in mill throughput. Within the framework of a geometallurgical approach, the present study investigated the relationships between ore grindability and modal mineralogy. For this purpose, drill core samples from different lithologies were subjected to Boliden AB's in-house grindability tests. This laboratory-scale autogenous grinding test generates a grindability index Ks mainly related to abrasion breakage, which is a significant breakage mechanism within autogenous mills. The test results suggested divergent degrees of grindability within and across the selected rock types. Furthermore, subsequent sieve analyses identified a relationship between the grindability index, PSD, and the proportions of fines generated by abrasive grinding. A combination of scanning electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, and X-ray fluorescence analyses was performed for the grinding products and bulk mineral samples. The resulting mineralogical and elemental properties were correlated to the parameters from the grindability tests. It was shown that the main mineral phases, such as plagioclase, quartz, and micas, correlate well with the grindability indices. Similar correlations were found regarding the sample's chemical composition, attributable to the main mineral phases. Derived from the previous findings, two exemplary linear empirical models for the calculation of grindability based on either mineral contents or chemical composition were presented. Careful examination of the mineralogical data revealed that the prevalent abrasion breakage mechanism leads to constant and continuous removal of mineral particles from the sample's surface. No indications for a preferential abrasion of any mineral phases were found. A further inverse correlation between the sample's calculated average weighted Mohs hardness based on modal mineralogy and the grindability index Ks was established. Hence, it was proposed that a higher Mohs hardness results in a finer grinding product, oppositional to the Ks-values. Since Ks can be interpreted as a measure of abrasiveness, it can be stated that abrasiveness decreases with an increasing average sample hardness and vice versa. Moreover, mineral liberation information provided by scanning electron microscopy was associated with the parameters mentioned earlier. It was determined that different degrees of mineral liberation were reached within specific particle size classes. The identified relationships between grindability, modal mineralogy, and element grades may help Boliden develop a predictive throughput model for Aitik to be integrated into the mine's block model. Based on this information, a strategy for smart blending could be developed, where run of mine material from ore blocks of varying grindabilities could be blended to attain the target plant throughput