Moly-Cop Tools, Version 2.0 About the Media Charge_Strings Spreadsheet ...

Scope : The Media Charge_Strings spreadsheet was designed to perform all calculations related to the volume, area and size composition of the "string" of balls generated inside any given grinding mill, at equilibrium conditions, as a result of the continuous recharge of a single make-up ball size or a combination of two different sizes.

Theoretical Framework : The most widely accepted mathematical description of the gradual consumption process experienced by a grinding ball inside a tumbling mill is known as the Linear Wear Theory, by which the mass rate of consumption of a grinding ball is described as directly proportional to the surface area exposed by such ball to the various wear mechanisms (abrasion and/or corrosion) active in the mill charge environment : Wt = d(mb)/d(t) = - km Ab where : Wt mb Ab km = mass wear rate, kg/hr = ball weight, kg; after t hours of being charged into the mill. = exposed ball area, m 2 = mass wear rate constant, kg/hr/m 2.

Equivalently, taking into account the geometry of the grinding body (sphere or cylinder), one obtains : d(d)/d(t) = - 2 km / rb = - kd where : d rb kd = size (diameter) of the grinding ball, mm; after t hours of being charged into the mill. = grinding ball density, ton/m 3 = wear rate constant, mm/hr.

If kd is to remain unaffected by the extent of wear; that is, k d is not a function of the current ball size d - a condition satisfied by most grinding media varieties and normally referred to as Linear Wear Kinetics - the above expression may be simply integrated to obtain : d = dR - kd t where dR represents the initial size of the balls. Ideally, the periodic recharging of balls to the mill must be performed in an almost continuous fashion, in order to maintain a constant charge level inside the mill. When the required amount of balls of a single size d R are continuously charged to the mill at an appropriate constant rate (as dictated by the overall media consumption rate), the Linear Wear Theory described above predicts that - at equilibrium, inside the mill - there will be the exact same number of new and partially worn balls of every possible size.

Moly-Cop Tools / 222780603.xls.ms_office

4/15/2014 / 1:40 PM

Moly-Cop Tools, Version 2.0 About the Media Charge_Strings Spreadsheet ... In mathematical terms, this implies that the number density function of the probabilistic distribution of ball size d is determined by the make-up size dR and the 'scrap' size dS of the ball nuclei rejected from the mill, in the expression : f0(d) = 1 / (dR - dS) ; for dS < d < dR

in such a way that the product f0(d)d(d) = d(d)/(dR-dS) represents the fraction (by number) of balls in the charge whose size is in the infinitesimal range [d, d + d(d)]. Upon proper integration, this equation yields : F3(d) = [d4 (dS)4]/[(dR)4 (dS)4] ; for dS < d < dR

where F3(d) represents the fraction (by weight) of balls of size less than d, in the mill charge. It may also be demonstrated that for a monosize recharge practice with balls of size d R, the total area exposed by the ensemble of balls is inversely proportional to dR : a = (A/Vap) = 8000 (1 - fv) [(dR)3 (dS)3]/[(dR)4 (dS)4] where : a Vap fv = specific charge area, m 2/m3 (apparent) = apparent volume occupied by the balls in the charge (including all interstitial voids), m 3 = volumetric fraction of interstitial voids in the ball charge (typically 40%).

When two different make-up sizes d1R and d2R are charged in a r1 : r2 proportion (by weight), the overall area exposed may be obtained from : a = (A/Vap) = v1 a1 + (1 - v1) a2 where v1 - the volumetric fraction of String 1 in the mill - is given by : v1 = r1 a2 / [(1 - r1) a1 + r1 a2] and where the areas a1 and a2 are calculated from the "monorecharge" equation above for d1R and d2R, respectively. Finally, the size distribution of the composite string resulting from the combination of the two independent "monorecharge" strings - corresponding to each make-up size - may be calculated as a weighted average of the two strings with v1 and (1v1) as the respective weighting factors. Data Input : All data required by the model must be defined in each corresponding unprotected white background cell of the here attached Mixed_Strings worksheet. Gray background cells contain the results of the corresponding formulas there defined and are protected to avoid any accidental editing. New Moly-Cop Tools users are invited to explore the brief inserted comments in the most relevant cells, rendering the attached worksheet self-explanatory.

Moly-Cop Tools / 222780603.xls.ms_office

4/15/2014 / 1:40 PM

Moly-Cop Tools

TM

(Version 2.0)

BALL CHARGE COMPOSITION AT EQUILIBRIUM

Remarks : Base Case Example

Mill Dimensions and Operating Conditions : Eff. Diameter, ft Eff. Length, ft Ball Dens., ton/m3 (app) Ball Filling, % (app) Scrap Size, in Balanced Charge : Top Size, in Specific Area, m2/m3 Recharge Policy, % Mill Charge Content, % String 1 3.00 62.75 80.00 85.62 String 2 2.00 93.38 20.00 14.38 Excess Area 16.00 22.50 4.65 30.00 0.50 Eff. Diameter, m Eff. Length, m Mill Volume, m3 Charge Weight, tons 4.88 6.86 128.35 178.90

Overall Charge Area Current Mix 67.15 Target Value 67.15 Balanced Charge, % Retained 26.18 33.06 23.24 13.23 3.92 0.37 0.00 0.00

Ball Size, in 3.00 2.50 2.00 1.50 1.00 0.50 0.50 0.50

% Passing 100.00 48.19 19.69 6.18 1.16 0.00 0.00 0.00

% Passing 100.00 100.00 100.00 31.37 5.88 0.00 0.00 0.00

Weight, tons Volume, m3 (app) Area, m2

153.17 32.97 2069

25.73 5.54 517

178.90 38.51 2586

Moly-Cop Tools / 222780603.xls.ms_office

4/15/2014 / 1:40 PM

Moly-Cop Tools

TM

(Version 2.0)

BALL CHARGE COMPOSITION AT EQUILIBRIUM

Remarks : Base Case Example

Mill Dimensions and Operating Conditions : Eff. Diameter, ft Eff. Length, ft Ball Dens., ton/m3 (app) Ball Filling, % (app) Scrap Size, mm Balanced Charge : Top Size, mm Specific Area, m2/m3 Recharge Policy, % Mill Charge Content, % String 1 80.00 59.90 86.74 91.24 String 2 50.00 95.38 13.26 8.76 Excess Area 18.50 22.00 4.65 38.00 10.00 Eff. Diameter, m Eff. Length, m Mill Volume, m3 Charge Weight, tons 5.64 6.71 167.79 296.22

Overall Charge Area Current Mix 63.01 Target Value 65.60 -2.59 Balanced Charge, % Retained 21.39 30.57 19.25 14.30 9.30 3.92 1.16 0.11

Ball Size, mm 80.0 70.0 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0

% Passing 100.00 58.61 31.62 15.24 6.23 1.95 0.37 0.00

% Passing 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 40.87 12.82 2.40 0.00

Weight, tons Volume, m3 (app) Area, m2

270.28 58.17 3484

25.95 5.58 533

296.22 63.76 4017

Moly-Cop Tools / 222780603.xls.ms_office

4/15/2014 / 1:40 PM