Back to the Future Why Change Doesnt Necessarily Mean

Progress
P D Munro1 and P A Tilyard2
THEN AROUND 40 YEARS AGO

ABSTRACT
There have been enormous changes in mineral processing in the past four
decades. For example grinding mill power has increased by an order of
magnitude, regrinding is done to -10 microns and flotation machines are
100 times bigger. Operating staff have unprecedented opportunities for
online monitoring and performance control of mineral processing plants.
Sophisticated instruments can provide a plethora of data characterising the
mineralogy and surfaces of particles. Digital computers allow complex
calculations on huge amounts of data including modelling and simulation
of machine and plant performance.
However, all these changes have not necessarily lead to better metallurgical results. An analogy can be drawn with the thoroughbred racing
industry in Australia. Significant advances in scientific knowledge in
animal genetics, physiology, biomechanics and nutrition applied to the
business have resulted in only a two per cent reduction in winning times
for the Melbourne Cup and Caulfield Cup since the 1920s.
A critical look at some mineral processing metrics suggests similar
failures to improve performance despite putting in more resources. In fact
certain parameters such as operating times and plant start-up performance
are considered to have remained static or even deteriorated.
There has been an emphasis on process at the expense of outcomes.
The industrys strength has been in finding technical (or hardware)
solutions while its weakness has been at the people end of the business in
maximising and consolidating the gains from the technologies. Some
trends in plant design over these years have exacerbated the apparent
deskilling of operating and technical staff. Despite unparalleled options
for communications, some staff are embarrassingly uninformed about
technical developments in their fields.
The boom and bust cycles of the industry, together with trends in
tertiary education and the effects of fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) operations,
raise serious questions about the sustainability of human capital in the
mineral processing sector.
This paper by two experienced mineral processing engineers, with
contributions from other senior practitioners, reviews these trends. While
there may be an element of the older we are, the better we were, it is an
attempt to identify the issues and propose solutions.

INTRODUCTION

Some points on 1970:

Starting salary for a graduate mineral processing engineer

was ~$3500/yr; accounting for overhead gives cost to
employer of say $5000/yr which after six weeks annual leave
and 8 h/d = $2.72/h cost to the employer. Using the
Australian Consumer Price Index as multiplier gives a cost in
2009$ of $26/h. Another way of looking at this is that at
1970 metal prices of US$1300/t for copper, US$35/t.oz for
gold, US$350/t for lead, US$2750/t for nickel, US$1.88/t.oz
for silver and US$300/t for zinc with the exchange rate of
A$1 = US$1.12, the graduates annual salary including
overhead had the following approximate metal equivalents:

4.3 t of copper,
161 t.oz of gold
16 t of lead,
2 t of nickel,
2988 t.oz of silver, and
18.7 t of zinc.

Employment conditions relative to Australian norms were

generous and encouraged young people to seek a
professional career in the industry. McCarthy (2006) has
commented on this issue.

Fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) did not exist. People lived in mining

towns where socialising and talking shop gave you a good
appreciation of other disciplines such as mining engineering
and geology.

Joining The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy

was almost a condition of employment and contributing to
local branch activities was expected.

There were no personal computers.

The internet did not exist with no time consumed reading
emails!

The terms minerals processing engineer, metallurgist and

graduate are used interchangeably in this paper.
Most observations and examples have been drawn from base
metals sulfide concentrators using flotation as the separation
method. However, the authors have enough experience with other
operations such as gold leaching and iron ore processing to
expect that these have similar issues.
We have attempted to contrast the mineral processing sector
that we entered as new graduates in the beginning of the 1970s
with the current situation in 2009.
While there may be an element of the older we are, the better
we were in this paper, it is an attempt to identify the issues and
propose some solutions.

Telephone calls were expensive and making an STD call

required permission.

Fax machines did not exist.

Copying was changing over from wet process duplication to
Xeroxing.

Process control computers had just arrived with 4 K - 8 K of

memory, programmed in ASSEMBLER.

4 K of memory cost A$4000 (these are 1970$).

There were a few electronic calculators around. One of the
papers authors was hugely impressed as a new graduate to
find out that the Mill Clerk at Mount Isa Mines Limited had
one with a square root function!

Companies had on-site technical capabilities with the larger

ones such as CRA and MIM doing world-class research.
1.

MAusIMM, Mineralurgy Pty Ltd, Unit 2, 42 Morrow Street, Taringa

Qld 4068. Email: pdmunro@bigpond.com.au

2.

FAusIMM, Group Metallurgist, Minerals and Metals Group, PO Box

18421, Southbank Vic 3006. Email: peter.tilyard@mmgroupltd.com

Tenth Mill Operators Conference

Information was provided through a technical library. This

housed all significant reports and circulated journals.
Graduates were expected to read the technical literature in
their professions.

Adelaide, SA, 12 - 14 October 2009

P D MUNRO and P A TILYARD

The assay function had not been 'outsourced and the

companys chief chemist was a source of wise counsel on all
analytical and chemical matters.

Large complex sulfide flotation concentrators could be

competently run by three metallurgists: control metallurgist,

metallurgist control plus one graduate. The mill clerk
adequately coped with most data collecting and reporting
functions.

Flotation was controlled using the vanning plaque (or pan)

Did a detailed monthly metallurgical report commenting

on performance on a sized basis.

Produced detailed cost comments. Costing systems

were logical divided up into cost centres for unit
processes such as crushing and grinding comprising
expense accounts such as electric power, 50 mm
diameter grinding balls, etc.

The monthly metal balance was done manually and

expeditiously, often by the Mill Clerk.

confirmed by wet chemical assays every two hours. This

was a skill that the metallurgist had to master to acquire any
credibility with the operators. The pan had the advantage
of providing real-time semi-quantitative mineralogy as well
as an estimated assay.

Meetings were relatively infrequent and brief. Senior staff

The design of flotation plants brought the operators and

calls, staff at remote sites were well aware of technical

developments in other locations. Publications such as Jim
Woodcocks annual review Mineral Processing in Australia
(Woodcock, 1978) were eagerly awaited for details on
operating practices. Similar enthusiasm greeted other review
articles such those in Mining Annual Review and World
Mining.

metallurgists close to the froth allowing observation and

giving an excellent feel for the process. As the American
baseball commentator Yogi Berra said you can see a lot by
looking.

Comminution was done by multi-stage crushing with rod

milling plus ball milling giving stable grinding throughput
so the metallurgical 'narrative focused on separation
performance.

'Running time was the only thing that mattered, with both
maintenance and operational groups zealously guarding their
reputation on minimising downtime. There was significant
focus at a high level on areas for improvement.

The flotation section was operated under a strict theory x

(command and control) set of guidelines with operators
allowed to adjust parameters such as air, froth depth, reagent
additions, etc only within limits set by the metallurgist. This
reflected the high level of accountability the metallurgist had
for separation performance.

Prototype on-stream analysers (OSA) started appearing in

flotation plants.

Quantitative mineralogical data were collected by manual

point counting. It was not uncommon for a site to have a

mineralogical laboratory.

Computer models of mineral processes were empirical and

run on main frame machines, programmed on punched cards.
Conclusions from the models were tentative because of their
novelty.

generally exercised strict control to ensure they didnt

become talk fests.

Despite the lack of the internet and without cheap telephone

Graduates were expected to be literate and numerate.

Memoranda and reports were carefully vetted by superiors
for both their technical and English content. Senior staff were
then competent enough in their own literary skills to identify
errors in grammar and deficiencies in expression. Rewrites of
offending sections were obligatory and frequent.

Reports were written in long hand and subsequently typed by

a secretary. Graphs were hand drawn in India Ink with the aid
of french curves.

Future ore testing looked at the ore sources the plant would
process in future years.

Graduate training at larger operations was structured with

around six months spent doing hands on jobs in the plant
including supervisory positions. Following the next step was
project work leading to time being responsible for metallurgical performance. There seemed to be more emphasis on
achieving competency in core skills though such jargon
terms were not then used.

There were more opportunities for mentoring. It was not

uncommon to find metallurgists over the age of 50 at a mine
site.

Metallurgists routinely:
Were held accountable for metallurgical performance

daily and subjected to relentless queries. This may not

be in accord with current warm and fuzzy human
relations approaches but it certainly provided focus and
was character building. We observed that those
metallurgists who survived and thrived in this trial by
ordeal had the potential to become competent plant
managers.

Had to be very sceptical about the veracity of instrument

readings as much of the technology was in its infancy.

Pneumatic control with 3 - 15 psi air was the norm.

Checked crusher gaps with the leads.

Checked mill power draw.
Checked hydrocyclone spigots with callipers putting in a
maintenance work request when the wear exceeded
6 mm (1/4").

Routinely inspected mill and flotation banks on plant

shut downs putting in maintenance work requests.

Decisions on equipment repair issues possibly affecting
throughput and metallurgical performance were not
abdicated to the maintenance department or even the
purchasing department.

NOW 2009
Observations on the current situation:

Salary for a second year graduate mineral processing engineer

on a FIFO is ~$102 000/yr; assume 8/6 roster with 0.5 d
travelling each way gives seven effective working days on
site. Subtracting four weeks holiday per year gives 24 effective
working weeks at 12h/d = ~$50/h cost to the employer.
Applying the same overhead as in the 1970 case gives ~$70/h.
At 2009 metal prices of US$4300/t for copper, US$900/t.oz
for gold, US$1350/t for lead, US$13 000/t for nickel,
US$12.50/t.oz for silver and US$1500/t for zinc with the
exchange rate of AU$1 = US$0.75, the graduates salary
including overhead had the following approximate metal
equivalents:

25.3 t of copper (5.9 the 1970 value),

120 t.oz of gold (0.75 the 1970 value),
80.6 t of lead (5.0 the 1970 value),
8.4 t of nickel (4.2 the 1970 value),
8700 t.oz of silver (2.9 the 1970 value), and
72.5 t of zinc (3.9 the 1970 value).

Adelaide, SA, 12 - 14 October 2009

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BACK TO THE FUTURE WHY CHANGE DOESNT NECESSARILY MEAN PROGRESS

Employment conditions relative to Australian norms are less

memory and data storage still falling in accordance with

Moores Law.

and operational, lack of ore, water or power have become

more complicated including definitions such as readiness,
etc. The end result is that often no one is accountable for
actual running time which used to be the mill managers
responsibility. Running times seem to have deteriorated from
values achieved in the 1970s and early 1980s. One nostalgic
observation is that as soon as the industry went away from
fine crushing and rod and/or ball mills the rot set in.
Availability of the ball mills at Bougainville Copper Limited
(BCL) inched up to 99.1 per cent in 1983, utilisation of
available time was 99.7 per cent and total run time was
98.8 per cent equivalent to 8655 hours per year. Compare this
to the current common SAG mill design run time of 8000
hours per year (91.3 per cent) and actual operating run time
not much better in many cases. A few years ago one large
mining company was designing its iron ore plants for a run
time of 74 per cent; it probably still is. It seems to have
learned nothing from the BCL crushing plant experience
where line run time was 96 per cent and secondary crusher
run time was 91 per cent. Even experienced iron ore
metallurgists found these numbers difficult to believe. The
secondary and tertiary crushers and the tertiary screens were
fed from large surge bins which significantly contributed to
the operating efficiency of the BCL plant.

Very few companies have significant technical capabilities.

Flotation is now run under a laissez-faire regime where

generous discouraging young people to seek a professional

career in the industry (McCarthy, 2006).

FIFO operations are increasingly the norm. People do not

tend to live in mining towns and do not socialise much after
work. Even on-site the 12 hour day leaves little time for
interdisciplinary interaction. An unkind observation is that
the solution to any problem is never further than the next
rotation out. Support staff are seen as a cost with harangues
from accountants and managers about the head count and
cost of supporting people in the camp but neglecting to
consider the value they add.

There seems to be a lower level of participation in activities

of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
FIFO does not encourage this as attending technical meetings
when a person is rostered off is seen as work.

Everyone has access to a personal computer and the internet

with most of a person's time spent in front of it. Dealing with
emails is a major preoccupation.

Process control computers are ubiquitous with the cost of

Most now rely on research institutes, consultants and less

frequently inhouse technical groups.

The technical library was generally a victim of cost cutting

in the late 1980s and 1990s. Anecdotes tell of the

few remaining professional information technologists
(ie technical librarians) falling victim as a consequence of
the downsizing following the global financial crisis of 2008.
Past technical work is usually imperfectly collated and
often has important omissions. The unspoken belief appears
to be that everything you need to know can be sourced from
the internet. An unkind comment from one senior engineer
was that the level of inquiry was so basic that the answer is
often found on the internet! Conversations with metallurgists quickly reveal significant lacunae in their
knowledge. Nothing more technical than the introductory
textbook Wills'Mineral Processing Technology (Wills and
Napier-Munn, 2006) is found on most bookshelves. Those
metallurgists with an interest in reading the technical
literature struggle to convince senior management of the
benefit of a subscription to a data search/retrieval facility.

The assay function has been outsourced, sometimes to the

ludicrous point where it is no longer possible to have any
spot samples processed! Some sites dont even have a
rudimentary metallurgical laboratory.

A large complex sulfide flotation concentrator requires six to

eight metallurgists with no seeming improvement in the
quality of operation. The extra numbers are needed because
of FIFO as support staff were culled during the hard times
with metallurgists now performing clerical functions.

Flotation is controlled using OSA and (surprisingly) still by

2 h assays in some plants. The current design vogue of open
air flotation plants having the cells packed together with
walkways over the top has not brought the operators and
metallurgists close to the process. A dissenting opinion on
the ergonomics of flotation plant design is contained in a
paper on the design of the Prominent Hill concentrator
(Colbert, Munro and Yeowart 2009).

Comminution by autogenous grinding/semi-autogenous

grinding (AG/SAG) mills gives varying grinding throughput
with the narrative focused more on the grinding section to
the neglect of evaluating separation performance.

Previous simple classifications of plant downtime such as

planned maintenance, unplanned maintenance/breakdown

Tenth Mill Operators Conference

seemingly everyones opinions are valued, regardless of skill

and knowledge, to avoid upsetting individuals. Operators are
allowed wide scope to adjust parameters such as air, froth
depth, reagent additions, etc and even change the circuit. One
hears statements like someone changed the collector
addition last night at the daily production meeting which
doesnt encourage a culture of responsibility. Democracy has
been substituted for the scientific method, eg the fact that in
the 14th century most people believed that the world was flat
did not mean it was correct! There doesnt seem to be much
accountability for performance.

On stream analysers and particle size monitors are supposed

to be standard equipment though there are some curious
exceptions. At some sites the OSA and/or particle size
measurement system is no longer operational through
systematic neglect or produces questionable data from poor
calibration procedures. It is depressing to hear
announcements trumpeting the purchase of an OSA system
or online particle measurement as a technical breakthrough.
We assume such items to be standard equipment in the 21st
century. The old adage if you cant measure it, you cant
control it surely applies.

Quantitative mineralogical data can be rapidly produced by

automated X-ray methods such as QEMSCAN or MLA

(both, incidentally, Australian innovations). However,
manual and automated point counting still survive with the
practitioners of these supposedly outdated techniques able to
offer interpretation and information as opposed to the data
produced by the automated X-ray systems. Despite having
the luxury of quantitative mineralogical data few metallurgists
are actually using it to manage the mineral liberation and
beneficiation process. It seems to be for ornament rather than
use. It is disappointing to observe that quantitative mineralogical data are usually one of the items discarded as a
response to low metals prices. However, this is understandable
if the metallurgists receiving such data cant use it effectively.

Computer models of mineral processes are increasingly phenomenological and can be run on powerful laptop computers.

Metallurgists less commonly:

Are held accountable for metallurgical performance daily
and subjected to relentless queries. Failing to master the
fundamentals of their profession detracts from their later
performance as plant managers.

Adelaide, SA, 12 - 14 October 2009

P D MUNRO and P A TILYARD

Disbelieve instrument readings.

Check crusher gaps, mill power draw or hydrocyclone
spigot dimensions.

Routinely inspect grinding mills, hydrocyclones and

flotation banks on plant shut downs putting in maintenance work request. Decisions on equipment repair issues
possibly affecting throughput and metallurgical performance are often abdicated to the maintenance department.

Produce a detailed monthly metallurgical report comm-

The age spread of site metallurgists is narrow. You would

rarely find one over the age of 45. The head office support
function appears to be reducing too with major mining
companies cutting back on experienced metallurgists in
technical services functions.

Mentoring does not seem to be valued. You may find

motherhood statements about it, along with staff
development, but the lack of any commitment to provide the
resources for both to happen.

enting on performance on a sized basis.

Exploit the power of the spreadsheet which is ideal for

manipulating mineral processing data to produce a
thorough understanding of the performance of the plant
according to the axiom of size-by-size mineral particle
behaviour by liberation class.

Are held to account for operating costs. Current costing

systems abound in detail such as the number of drinks
taken out of a bar fridge while staying in a hotel but
dont show the cost of an important unit process such as
grinding.

Read the technical literature of the profession.

The monthly metal balance is done in many cases on
expensive computer packages with no seeming improvement
in accuracy or speed. The computer cant tell you that the
head sampler is not in its correct rest position and is getting
constant splash.

Meetings are much more frequent and last longer.

Despite the so-called communications revolution from the
availability of the internet, staff seem to be totally unaware of
past industry paradigms. For example we have been astounded
to recently find plants using rubber or polyurethane spigots in
hydrocyclones taking SAG mill discharge. Hydrocyclone
spigots were supposedly standardised on long wearing
ceramic units during the late 1960s (Munro, Eaton and Burton,
1982).

Even when company intranets are set up with a metallurgical

site and discussion page, there is a reluctance to seek advice
and/or information from the wider pool of metallurgical
expertise in the group. (This was apparent on The AusIMM
website too, although it has recently been revamped and
relaunched).

Graduates lack literacy and numeracy. Memoranda and

reports when written (which isnt often enough in FIFO
operations) are often not well constructed, painful to read
and full of howlers. Except in engineering design
companies, version control of reports and spreadsheets is
almost unheard of. A recurrent theme is the disregard of the
statistics of variation as evidenced by claims of observed
improvement well within the normal noise band of plant
and laboratory performance. Verbal communication is
resolutely qualitative rather than quantitative with numbers
replaced by larger versus smaller, faster versus
slower, etc.

It seems to be easier to get to the geologists office at the

mine site from head office in a capital city or from the
consultants office than it does from the nearby concentrator
office. Future ore testing may have been repackaged as
geometallurgy but you still have to talk to the geologists.

Graduates spend around 25 per cent of the time doing hands

on training compared with 40 years ago. Many operations
supposedly have detailed programs for the development of
graduates. However, there is often a gap between rhetoric and
reality when we examine the knowledge and competencies of
people coming out of these schemes.

IF THIS IS PROGRESS ?
Below are examples supporting the contention that mineral
processing outcomes are not uniformly improving:

Throughput variations as ascribed to the ore being harder or

softer. It is a long time since we heard a metallurgist say
something like our current feed is from bench AB where the
predominant rock type is andesite/granite, etc; grindability
data for this shows a bond ball mill work index of A kWh/t,
drop weight index a b of B, etc. Despite all the excellent
tools for data collection, manipulation and display people
seem resolved to be qualitative rather than quantitative. The
AMIRA P843 geometallurgy project may change this but
seems to be driven more by geologists than metallurgists.

In 2004, a large copper producer in a foreign country asked a

respected Australian research institute to investigate why
there was a difference in metallurgical performance between
its new plant with one type of flotation machine for rougher
duty and the older plant which had another machine. After a
detailed campaign including measuring parameters such as
superficial gas velocity and bubble surface area flux it was
found that the rougher flotation cells in the newer plant had
significantly lower effective volumes because of the
accumulation of tramp oversized ore particles from upsets
in the grinding section. After the cells were cleaned out
copper recovery increased from 83 per cent to the target of
90 per cent. It is a telling commentary on how removed
people now are from the flotation process that someone has
to come from another country to tell you that your cells are
full of rocks!

In early 2006, a large copper concentrator did a thorough

maintenance overhaul of its flotation cells including
replacing worn impellers and stators, refurbishing level
control equipment and cleaning cell lips. On restarting the
plant the sulfide grade of the concentrate increased from
78 per cent to 82 per cent with 2.5 per cent abs. higher
copper recovery. Such a significant deterioration in the
condition of the flotation cells should have been noticed
much earlier if the metallurgists had looked at the froth
surface on the cells. One of the authors had a similar
experience in a copper zinc concentrator where he suggested
that the flotation cells be drained and inspected on the next
shutdown. The appalling state of the impellers and stators
(some had ceased to exist) showed no interest had been taken
in the flotation cells by metallurgical staff for years.

Daily data for mill products of silver nitrate soluble copper,

acetate soluble copper, cyanide soluble copper and total
copper were not used to explain the performance of a large
copper-gold concentrator. Managements concern and
displeasure at high rougher tailings losses could have been
mollified by pointing out that the proportion of acid soluble
copper in the feed had increased. The copper minerals in this
category are not recoverable by conventional sulfide copper
flotation.

At a review meeting examining design options for a major

upgrade of a venerable concentrator, none of the senior
operating staff present knew the current plant operating cost

Adelaide, SA, 12 - 14 October 2009

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BACK TO THE FUTURE WHY CHANGE DOESNT NECESSARILY MEAN PROGRESS

in $/tonne of ore treated or its components according to

activity.

A simple financial model of the plant which incorporates the

At an overseas copper concentrator a cost saving initiative

A metallurgical development plan which incorporates the

was suggested by a group of non-technical employees

assigned the task of improving plant performance and was
accepted by the metallurgical staff. The instrument air
compressor was decommissioned. In due course the wet air
from the plant compressors destroyed the level controllers in
the flotation section.

Two very large overseas copper concentrators do not own a

cyclosizer and the metallurgical staff stoutly defend the
situation of not having any data in the -37 micron size region.

At an overseas copper concentrator a graduate metallurgist

disputed the visiting consultants opinion that, in the absence

of on stream analysis (the equipment had fallen into disuse),
two hourly spot assays would be useful.

Very few operations are able to present in a single document,

the performance of the plant over the past say five to ten years.

MINERAL PROCESSING BASICS

The fundamental data requirements for managing a mineral
processing plant are the following:

The target metallurgical performance, eg concentrates grade,

metals recoveries, what you want to reject and the priority
for these targets.

An equipment list.
A mass balances for solids, elements, minerals and water.
A simulation model of the comminution circuit with
grindability data for current ores.

Quantification of ore types (both grinding and metallurgical

performance) in the plant feed for future years and relation to
past performance.

Knowledge of the processing characteristics of the orebody

in a spatial sense. This should include grindability, quantitative mineralogy, metallurgical performance, distribution of
precious and impurity elements and minerals, eg Au, Ag, As,
F, Hg, organic carbon, talc, etc, where applicable.

Grinding and regrinding mill power consumptions.

Element and mineral particle behaviour on a sized basis.
Mineral particle behaviour on a sized basis by liberation
class on a monthly basis.

technical drivers and their effect on NSR.

above trade-offs and outcome drivers, etc.

An enthusiasm for capturing plant data on an ongoing basis.

Unfortunately a compendium of the above data is rarely seen
when visiting a plant.
It is interesting to note that concentrator staff are likely to have
compiled job safety analysis documents for many physical tasks
in the plant but have minimal cogent documentation on how to
do the metal balance, production forecasts or metallurgical
planning.

GEOLOGISTS AS EXEMPLARS FOR DATA AND

INFORMATION
We should take a lesson in data collection and information
management from our geological compatriots.
Mineral deposits can be discovered and mines operate for
decades going through multiple ownerships with the geological
data base remaining intact and up to date. You hardly ever
encounter situations where there isnt any data for a drill hole
because the assay sheet was shredded five years ago when the
project geologists were outplaced during the last cutbacks or
the samples werent analysed to save money. Chief geologists are
not in the habit of throwing away drill core to eliminate the cost
of storing it.
Contrast this to the metallurgical test reports on those same
geological samples. You would be an optimist to expect that they
would still be found in the concentrator department. Essential
fittings for many metallurgists offices are a plethora of
seemingly important test work and survey reports covered in
grime and the circular marks of beverage containers haphazardly
scattered over flat surfaces. Electronic copies of reports when
archived on computer servers have cryptic and sometimes unintelligible titles and are not filed systematically making retrieval a
laborious and daunting undertaking. Electronic files of plant
operating parameters from process measurement and control
systems frequently have long periods of missing or erroneous
data. Sometimes complete archives of metallurgical reports and
plant data have gone missing when a computer system was
upgraded.
Are mineral processing engineers just condemned to be
children of lesser data?

Trade-off between concentrate grade versus recovery and

plant throughput versus separation section (eg flotation) feed
sizing.

Effect of concentrate grade and recovery on net smelter

returns (NSR).

Detailed chemical analysis of concentrates and concentrate

physical data such as transportable moisture limit.

A history of the metal balance/metal accounting with

accompanying narrative on all adjustments made to the first

pass numbers. This should also include reconciliation of out
turn data from dispatches and receipts of products to
customers.

Regular analyses of process and effluent waters.

Consumables usage, eg grinding media (also reported as
weight loss per kWh of mill power), reagents and including
water.

Operating cost data:

on Pareto graphs;
by activity, eg crushing, grinding, etc; and
by expense account.

Tenth Mill Operators Conference

THROUGHBRED RACING VERSUS DENTISTRY

A CAUTIONARY TALE
Quirk (2006) made some trenchant observations on the
performance of the thoroughbred racing industry. Winning times
for the Melbourne Cup, which is an open handicap event and not
a race of equals, have improved only three per cent since the
1920s. Similarly the W S Cox Plate, which is weight for age and
supposedly a classic race for the best horses, has shown only a
two per cent improvement over the same time period. These data
are shown in Figure 1.
Similarly, analyses in the 1980s of the classic English races the
St Leger, the Derby and the Oaks showed that little or no
improvement in winning times had occurred in the previous 70
years.
By comparison, human athletes in the Olympic Games over
the same time period had an eight per cent improvement in
winning times for the 100 m, ten per cent for the 1500 m and
12 per cent for the 5000 m.
So despite having an array of modern technologies in genetics,
nutrition, biomechanics, equine physiology, etc available, the
thoroughbred racing industry, as measured by winning times, has

Adelaide, SA, 12 - 14 October 2009

P D MUNRO and P A TILYARD

Ability to collect detailed quantitative mineralogical data

including QEMSCAN plus MLA, IR for alteration, etc.

Proven models for the simulation and control of mineral

comminution and to a lesser extent separation processes.

Computer aided design for 3D visualisation of plant layouts

with accompanying efficiencies in fabrication and plant
construction.

The capacity to collect, analyse, manipulate, store and

retrieve data plus information on a scale unimaginable in
1969 - 1970.
We should be aware about confusing:

FIG 1 - Melbourne Cup and Cox Plate winning times.

not improved its performance. The reason given for this is the
limited equine gene pool available for development.
We are not currently suggesting that the gene pool of
metallurgists is the cause of our perceived dissatisfaction with
the performance of mineral processing professionals!
However, the cautionary message from the thoroughbred
racing industry is that merely applying modern scientific
techniques does not ensure the desired outcome.
This is sharply contrasted to advances in modern dentistry over
the same time period where technology and innovation have
clearly improved the patients physical (if not his/her fiscal)
wellbeing (ORourke, 1995).

THE CONTEMPORARY MINERAL PROCESSING

SITUATION
There have been significant improvements in mineral processing
technologies over the past four decades as per the following
examples:

Machines have got much larger, eg 20 MW SAG mill

compared with a 3 MW (max) ball mill. This has allowed a

single unit to replace a multiplicity of very small ones for
both comminution and separation duties.

Capital efficient AG and SAG mills instead of crushing

plants plus rod mills plus ball mils for comminution (though
some would argue this has been at the expense of rapid plant
start-up, fluctuating metallurgical performance and increased
down time).

High pressure grinding rolls.

Comminution technologies that can economically grind
down to -10 microns.

Sorting technologies using sensing of multiple mineral

characteristics.

Very high field strength magnetic separators.

High g gravity separators.
Carbon-in-pulp and carbon-in-leach replacing solid liquid
separation plus Merrill-Crowe process for gold extraction.

Pressure oxidation and bioleaching for refractory gold ores.

Solvent extraction plus electro-winning for copper leach
pregnant leach solution.

Selective flocculation.
OSA; online measurement of both coarse and fine particle

size distributions; online measurement of chemical

parameters such as redox potential, cyanide concentration,
dissolved oxygen level, etc.

Expert control systems.

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movement with action,

activity with achievement, and
change with progress.
The contention is that all this extra hardware and software is
not necessarily giving uniformly better performances across the
minerals processing sector.
There is some truth in the retorts to the above complaints that:

some of the orebodies currently being treated are more

refractory than those processed 40 years ago, and

metallurgists are relatively more expensive to employ than

they were in 1969 - 1970 for most commodity producers.
However, instances of poor metallurgical outcomes seem to be
too frequent and too serious to be classed as aberrations. The
suspicion is that we have some systemic problems that have to be
addressed.
We contend that the decline in the productive output of
metallurgists is the erosion of the limited time available to do
professional work.
The most significant contributor to this is the dominance of
electronic information technology in the working life of a
metallurgist. This area, which without a doubt has experienced
the greatest advances over the last 40 years is the prime cause of
process overcoming outcome.

MANAGEMENT RESPONSE
If management fails to comprehend and master the technical
basics of plant operation it will not understand the outcome
drivers and be less capable of directing the available metallurgical talent pool.
We rarely encounter a coherent plan of metallurgical
development for a minerals processing plant with the most
precious resource on site of competent person hours
appropriately focused on the most productive opportunities.
Management has to recognise this black hole of metallurgists time from:

the bureaucratisation of work with process overwhelming

outcome, and

producing abundant data but a paucity of information.

What value does a metallurgist add to the understanding of a
mineral processing operation by spending three hours per day
producing the daily report with a plethora of egregious irrelevant
details? Surely this is not an intellectually satisfying outcome
after spending four years at university?
Why such atrocious wastes of professional time occur in this
supposed information age and are tolerated, considering the
higher metal equivalents of metallurgists time, are questions
for serious reflection.
Corrective actions must include:

Getting the mineral processing basics' mentioned above in

place.

Adelaide, SA, 12 - 14 October 2009

Tenth Mill Operators Conference

BACK TO THE FUTURE WHY CHANGE DOESNT NECESSARILY MEAN PROGRESS

Freeing up metallurgists time, eg automatic collection and

processing of online measurements and hiring sufficient
clerical and support staff. With metallurgists being relatively
more expensive to employ than 40 years ago, there is even
less excuse to waste their time doing jobs that can be farmed
out to others.

Focusing the available professional time on a strictly

prioritised list of metallurgical opportunities with quantifiable
outcomes.
Further development of the Mineral Processing Toolbox
section of The AusIMM website, to include examples of good
practice for some of the mineral processing basics cited above,
may be an appropriate method to focus on the real issues driving
mineral processing outcomes.
Such a web-based facilitation mechanism could lift industry
performance, especially if companies would be prepared to
contribute suitable examples in a collaborative spirit, similar to
an AMIRA project.

CONCLUSIONS
By some criteria the standard of operation of mineral processing
plants has not significantly improved in the last 40 years despite
the information technology revolution.
Professional time for process monitoring and improvement has
been eroded by the bureaucratisation of the metallurgists work
despite the fact that, for most commodity producers, process
engineers are now relatively more expensive to employ than in
1969 - 1970.
Metallurgists need to get back to the basics of their profession
to produce outcomes rather than being overwhelmed by processes.
There is a risk that information technology can enslave rather
than liberate with data displacing fundamental mineral
processing information.
The concentrator manager has to take the leading role in
turning around the current unsatisfactory state of affairs.

Tenth Mill Operators Conference

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors thank Mineralurgy Pty Ltd and MMG Ltd for
permission to publish this paper.
The following individuals are thanked for their observations on
these matters over the years: Gary Chilman, John Glen, Greg
Lane, Rolly Nice, Joe Pease, Geoff Richmond, Peter Rohner,
Stuart Smith, and Michael Young.
The authors stress that the ideas, opinions and biases in this
paper are their own.

REFERENCES
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Concentrator Designed for operators and maintainers, in
Proceedings Tenth Mill Operators Conference, pp 23-32 (The
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McCarthy, P, 2006. Message from the Managing Director [online],
Digging Deeper, AMC Consultants. Available from: <http://www.
amcconsultants.com.au> [Accessed: 5 June 2009].
Munro, P D, Eaton, R and Burton, E, 1982. Wear materials experience in
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ORourke, P J, 1995. All the Trouble in the World: The Lighter Side of
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Quirk, T, 2006. Correct weight [online]. Available from: <http://www.
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Wills, B A and Napier-Munn, T J, 2006. Wills Mineral Processing
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Woodcock, J T, 1978. Mineral processing in Australasia 1978, Australian
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