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A grinding-liberation model for the size reduction of gold ores

Conference Paper · January 2009

DOI: 10.13140/2.1.4273.5042

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KHALESI, M.R., BAZIN, C., HODOUIN, D., and BELLEC, S. A grinding-liberation model for the size reduction of gold ores. World Gold Conference
2009, The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, 2009.

A grinding-liberation model for the size reduction of gold ores

M.R. KHALESI, C. BAZIN, D. HODOUIN, and S. BELLEC
*Department of Mining, Metallurgical and Material Engineering
Laval University, Quebec, QC, Canada

A method is proposed to estimate the gold content of the ore in the size intervals during size
reduction. The method uses the population balance model to trace the gold deportment through the
size fractions and monitor the generation of liberated gold grains during the size reduction. The
model is calibrated using batch grinding test results of a gold ore. Preliminary results show that
the model can be calibrated with a minimum of parameters compared to conventional grinding-
liberation models.
Keywords: simulation, liberation, gold, exposure, grinding

Introduction approach to estimate the exposure properties of gold grains

Leaching is widely used to recover gold from the ores. In
conventional leaching plants, gold ores are usually ground
to expose the surface of gold grains and then leached with
cyanide to produce a soluble gold-cyanide complex that is
recovered by either adsorption onto active carbon or by a
zinc cementation process1. Size reduction of the ore and
subsequent exposure of gold grains to the reagents is a key
stage of the process in terms of technical and economical
recovery.
Various approaches for the estimation of mineral
liberation during ore comminution are presented in the
literature2-7. However the fundamental differences between
physical and chemical separation processes imply using a
distinct approach to predict liberation during the size
reduction of gold ore. The concept of liberation for a
chemical separation process is related to the surface
exposure of the valuable species to the environment while
physical separation requires the production of mono
mineral particles. On the other hand, the tensile properties
of gold and its very low concentration in ores compared to
other minerals make the direct application of conventional
liberation models difficult for gold ores.
In spite of the strong economic incentive in developing
mathematical models to help the operators in optimizing a
gold leaching circuit, few researchers investigated the
interrelationships between liberation and leaching.
Lorenzen and van Deventer8 (1994) modify the King’s
liberation model to enable it to estimate the leachable gold
that is not physically liberated. However, due to the low
concentration of gold the conventional measurement of
mean linear intercepts of gold grains by image analysis is
not performed in their method and the authors back
calculate it from the leaching test results. Annandale et al9
(1995) use artificial neural nets to correlate the gold ore
leachability to the results of diagnostic leaching tests. The
model does not explicitly account for gold liberation or
surface exposure. Wen et al 10 (1995) use a geometric
approach to predict the exposure of cubic gold grains of
certain size inside cubic particles of different sizes and try
to predict the amount of leachable gold as a function of
fineness of the grind. Khalesi et al.1 (2009) use a similar
of different shapes and sizes inside particles of random
shapes and show that the shape of gold grains also
influences the exposure properties of gold.
If the surface exposure of gold grains can be estimated
fairly well as a function of particles size1, it remains that the
overall leaching performance is strongly dependent on the
distribution of the gold within the various size fractions
following a size reduction process. It was indeed observed
for gold and sulphide ores that valuable species distributed
themselves in a deterministic manner in the size intervals
and the mass of these species in the size interval is seldom
directly proportional to the mass of ore retained in that size
interval. Although the prediction of the size distribution of
the valuable species is critical for the simulation of the
subsequent concentration process few size reduction models
describe the process. The size reduction-liberation model
presented by Andrews and Mika 7 (1975) illustrates the
complexity of such model development. The authors also
stress the difficulty associated with the estimation of the
important number of parameters included in the model. It
remains that the prediction of the size distribution of the
valuable species in the size intervals implies the
development of such model, unless empirical models11 are
used to relate the distribution of these species to the ore size
distribution. However, these empirical models were not
found suitable for the studied gold ore.
This paper proposes an integrated model to estimate the
distribution of gold grains in the size intervals of the ore
during size reduction and subsequently predicts the amount
of exposed surfaces of gold grains. The simulation results
will be used to feed a leaching model for gold ore. The
paper consists of 4 sections. The next section describes the
ore used to illustrate the model and the distribution of gold
in the size intervals observed during a size reduction
process.
The third section proposes a description of the ore that is
amenable for the development of the size reduction model
and discusses the ore fragmentation model. The fourth
section discusses the principles of the simulation and
calibration of the model and illustrates the application of
the model to the analysis of gold liberation following
various disturbances in the ore characteristics.

A GRINDING-LIBERATION MODEL FOR THE SIZE REDUCTION OF GOLD ORES 61

Paper 11 Khalesi:Paper 11 Khalesi 10/16/09 9:04 AM Page 62

Gold ore from Géant Dormant mine
The ore used to illustrate the application of the proposed
model was obtained from the Géant Dormant gold mine in
Québec, Canada. The ore consists of 10–13 g/t of gold in a
silicate (58%) and carbonate (31%) matrix12. The sulphide
concentration is less than 4.5%. Samples obtained from the
rod mill feed conveyor were roll crushed to -10 mesh (1.7
mm) and split into 5 sub-samples. Four samples were
ground for 10, 20, 55 and 65 minutes (samples R10, R20,
R55 and R65). The 5 sub-samples were sieved and the size
fractions were assayed for gold and other species (Cu, Fe,
S, and Ag). Results are shown in Table I. Two gold
analyses were performed on each size fraction to obtain an
average and a standard deviation value. Some material was
also submitted for mineral liberation analysis to obtain the
distribution of gold grain sizes, shapes and liberation status.
When an ore carrying valuable species is crushed and
ground, the valuable species and gangue minerals are
distributed within the size fractions. For a purely random
fragmentation of the ore the concentration of any species in
a size interval would on average be equal to the species
content of the unbroken ore. This is not usually the case and
mineral species are found to exhibit a deterministic
distribution through the size intervals. This deterministic
distribution of the species in the size intervals could be
readily observed by plotting the species cumulative passing
distribution as a function of the ore cumulative passing size
distribution11. This is illustrated for some species of the
Géant Dormant ore in Figure 1. The particular behaviour of
gold could be related to the ductile characteristics of the

Table I
Distribution of ore and gold in the size fractions of the feed and ground samples

Feed (RO) Ground for 10 min (R10) Ground for 20 min (R20) Ground for 55 min (R55) Ground for 65 min (R65)
Screen size Gold Gold Gold Gold Gold Gold Gold Gold Gold Gold
(microns) Ore (%) (g/t) STD Ore (%) (g/t) STD Ore (%) (g/t) STD Ore (%) (g/t) STD Ore (%) (g/t) STD
+850 47.77 8.11 0.64 2.78 1.03 0.01
-850 +425 16.05 8.08 0.70 17.92 4.78 0.54
-4.25 +212 10.19 16.00 6.08 22.68 17.20 8.63 9.24 25.05 7.42
-212 +150 5.30 17.70 6.79 13.27 13.35 3.32 13.55 13.75 0.07 3.26 108.50 33.23 2.96 101.50 2.12
-150 +106 4.69 17.15 2.90 8.27 16.70 1.27 15.32 12.00 2.69 8.10 18.50 1.27 7.04 17.25 2.62
-106 +75 3.59 19.80 3.11 5.37 19.20 0.42 13.05 14.10 2.12 11.39 18.30 0.85 11.40 13.90 1.70
-75 +53 2.69 21.25 0.21 6.28 16.80 0.57 9.52 15.30 0.57 10.29 13.85 2.19 8.70 13.05 0.07
-53 +38 2.47 16.50 1.13 8.04 11.60 0.28 10.65 8.59 0.18 9.79 17.10 1.13 10.29 16.30 0.42
-38 7.25 10.35 0.35 15.38 7.26 0.55 28.67 7.95 0.35 57.17 3.62 0.52 59.62 4.77 0.04
Head 10.75 0.07 10.75 1.00 10.26 1.05 9.98 3.28 8.72 0.18

Figure 1. Distribution of copper, sulphur and gold in size classes of the ore for different samples of the ground products

62 WORLD GOLD CONFERENCE 2009

Paper 11 Khalesi:Paper 11 Khalesi 10/16/09 9:04 AM Page 63
gold grain but no definite conclusion can be formulated at
this stage of the investigation. The non-uniform distribution
of the gold in the size intervals is also readily observed
from the results of Table I.
The rate and infinite recovery of gold during leaching
was found to vary with the size fraction that contains
gold13,14. Usually gold in fine size fractions is dissolved
rapidly compared to gold contained in coarser size
intervals. The prediction of the gold dissolution as a
function of the ore size distribution requires the estimation
of the distribution of the gold content within the size
intervals. Since it was observed that gold does not
necessary follow the bulk of the ore during ore size
reduction it is necessary to develop a method to predict the
size distribution of the gold carrying particles during the
size reduction process.
Modelling of the gold ore size reduction
The objective of the paper is to propose a model that can
reproduce the deterministic distribution of the gold in the
size classes during a size reduction process. This data can
subsequently be used to estimate the surface exposure of
the gold grains in the broken particles. The model uses a
special description of the ore and adapted breakage and
selection functions to describe the ore fragmentation. The
simulation is limited to batch grinding although the
extension to continuous grinding is fairly straightforward.
Description of the ore
The ore is assumed to consist of two phases: gold and
gangue. Extension to multiphase systems is possible but it
complicates the presentation of the approach. Gold is
assumed to be elemental but the model can be readily
extended to electrum or gold bearing minerals or to various
types of gold bearing species in the ore. However, the
introduction of the last extension to the model will make
the model presentation very difficult in terms of variable
notation. It would also be difficult and even impossible to
develop a valid methodology for the calibration of the
grinding model parameters of those gold species.
Size distribution of the gold grains
Gold is assumed to be present in the ore as finite gold
grains with a size distribution similar to the one shown in
Figure 2a. The gold grain size distribution by number is
modelled using the lognormal probability density function:
(a) Size distribution
Figure 2. Measured gold grain size distribution and shape for the Géant Dormant ore
A GRINDING-LIBERATION MODEL FOR THE SIZE REDUCTION OF GOLD ORES
[1]
The adjustable parameters are  and  and the gold grain
size is noted dg. If available the measured gold grain size
distribution can be directly used for the simulation but it
was found that it is preferable to estimate the distribution
based on the grinding test results because of the important
measurement error associated to determination of the gold
grain size distribution.
The shape factor of gold grains is the last parameter used
to describe the ore. As for the grain size, gold grain shape is
determined by a visual examination of polished sections of
the ore. For the ore considered in this paper gold grains
were found to be rectangular with width to height ratio of 2.
One of the observed gold grains is reproduced in Figure 2b.
This parameter was found critical for the estimation of the
exposure of gold grains following size reduction1.
Ore mineralization
In the proposed model gold grains are assumed to be either
randomly distributed in the ore matrix or grouped into
mineralized zones, as illustrated in Figure 3. The case of
Figure 3a is typical of a massive type orebody, whereas the
situation in Figure 3b is similar to the ore plus waste
representation of an orebody. The gangue in the
mineralized zones is the same as the non-mineralized one
although its breakage characteristics are assumed to be
different.
Given a broken ore that feeds a size reduction machine,
the material in the size intervals will consist of various
proportions of non mineralized gangue and mineralized
particles, as illustrated in Figure 4. For the studied ore, the
proportion of the non-mineralized gangue in the size
interval i of feed is assumed to vary according to:
[2]
The adjustable parameters are  and  and the average
particle size is noted dp. For a homogenous ore (Figure 3a)
the values of the parameters are set to zero. The
introduction of Equation [2] into the calibration procedure
was found necessary to fit the variation of the observed
gold content in the different size intervals (Table I).
(b) Shape of the gold grain
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Paper 11 Khalesi:Paper 11 Khalesi 10/16/09 9:04 AM Page 64
(a) Homogeneous mineralization
Figure 3. Types of gold grains distribution in the ore matrix
Figure 4. Proportions of materials coming from mineralized and non-mineralized zones of the ore to size intervals of feed
Composition of the mineralized particles
A critical assumption made in the development of the size
reduction model is that the mineralized particles of the feed
are already broken to a size for which they contain only one
gold grain. Therefore, if the carrying particles are larger
than the coarser gold grain, the complete gold grain size
distribution (Figure 2a) should be observed in these
particles. This assumption also means that the mineralized
particles break independently of the size of the contained
gold grain. This last assumption is illustrated in Figure 5.
When the mineralized particles of a size interval get smaller
than some grain size, the distribution becomes truncated, as
illustrated in Figure 5. Gold grains of the same size as that
of the size interval are assumed to be liberated or exposed
sufficiently to allow a complete leaching of the gold grain
in the absence of surface passivation or oxidation.
Breakage properties of gold grains
The previous assumption implicitly implies that gold grains
are not broken during the size reduction process and that the
number of gold grains is conserved during ore
comminution. This hypothesis is based on the ductile
properties of gold and is still under validation but it is used
here for the demonstration of the gold ore size reduction
model.
64
(b) Heterogeneous mineralization
Ore fragmentation model
The ore fragmentation model is constructed using the basic
concept of the population balance model15 applied to a size
reduction process. The description of the feed to the size
reduction machine is first presented and then the models are
used to describe the size reduction of the non-mineralized
gangue and mineralized particles.
Feed to the size reduction process
The feed to the size reduction process is divided into classes
of particle size or size intervals, and the material within the
size intervals is divided into two classes:
• Non-mineralized gangue
• Particles containing gold grains of various sizes called
‘mixed’.
This is illustrated in Figure 6. For instance, size interval
i=1 may contain 20% by weight of the particle in the feed.
The proportion of non-mineralized gangue in that size
interval is 60%. The mineralized or mixed particles, i.e. the
particles that contain one gold grain, account for the
remaining 40%. The mineralized particles are then divided
into Ng classes that characterize the size of the contained
gold grain. Using the proportion of non-mineralized gangue
in a size interval, the gold content of the ore and the size
distribution of the gold grains, it is possible to calculate the
number of mixed particles in each sub-class of grain size.
WORLD GOLD CONFERENCE 2009
Paper 11 Khalesi:Paper 11 Khalesi 10/16/09 9:04 AM Page 65
Figure 5. Proposed gold size distribution of size fractions of the feed of size reduction unit
Figure 6. Division of the feed into size and composition classes
This is discussed in Appendix A. The number of mixed
particles in each particle and grain size classes is required
to perform the simulation. Class k=0 of grain size (see
Figure 6) is used to account for the free gangue that is
produced by the fragmentation of a mixed particle as
discussed in a subsequent section.
Model of the size reduction of non-mineralized particles
The general form of the population balance for the non-
mineralized particles is:
[3]
The mass of the non-mineralized gangue particles in size
gl
class at time is noted Mi (t). The rate of disappearance
gl
from this class of particles is Si and the proportion of the
broken fragments coming from coarser size interval j into
gl gl gl
size interval i is noted bi,j . The parameters Si and bi,j are
commonly called the selection (rate) and appearance
(breakage) functions15.
A GRINDING-LIBERATION MODEL FOR THE SIZE REDUCTION OF GOLD ORES
It is convenient to model the selection and appearance
functions using empirical equations to reduce the number of
parameters to be estimated for the model calibration15. The
model used to represent the breakage rates of particle of
size interval i is given by:
of size interval i is given by:
[4]
[5]
The geometric average size of the particles in size
interval i is noted dpi and the adjustable parameters are SMin,
S Max, d Opt and . The function sgn(x) returns -1 if x is
negative, otherwise it returns 1. The parameter  is used to
scale the breakage rate for the type of particles. For the
non-mineralized gangue (gl) the value is set to one while
for the mineralized particles (mx) it is set to more than one
if mixed particles break more readily than non-mineralized
ones; or less then one if they are harder to break.
65
Paper 11 Khalesi:Paper 11 Khalesi 10/16/09 9:04 AM
The appearance function is described using the empirical
model:
gl gl gl
The adjustable parameters are  , n 1 and n 2 . The
appearance function described by Equation [6] is said to be
normalizable, i.e. that the distribution of the progeny is
independent of the size of the mother particle. This is
consistent with recent observations of ore comminution16.
Different parameters are used to describe the appearance
function of mixed particles. Calibration results (Table II)
gl gl
showed that the introduction of  and n 1 for the
cumulative breakage function of non-mineralized material
does not have a significant impact on the modeled breakage
function and therefore Equation [6] converts to a more
simple form of
while for the mineralized zone, the full model of
Equation [6] is needed.
Model of the size reduction of mineralized particles
The model for the size reduction of the mineralized or
mixed particles is also based on the population balance
model and accounts for the exchange of particles between
the free gangue, mixed particles and free gold sub-classes
illustrated in Figure 7. These exchanges are dependent of
the size of the produced particle and that of the contained
gold grain (Figure 7). Since gold grains are assumed to be
unbreakable, the breakage of one mixed particle can
produce only a free gold grain or one mixed particle. A free
gold grain is obtained only if the size of the produced
particle is the same as the gold grain size.
Using the population balance, mass conservation of
mixed particles of size fraction i in any class (k) of mixed
particles (Ng classes) is written:
The model assumes that the selection and appearance
functions are constant for each class of gold grain size. This
Figure 7. Classes of particle and gold grain size and types of fragments produced by size reduction of a mixed particle
66
Page 66
approximation is currently revisited since when the size of a
mixed particle becomes close to that of the carried gold
grain, the breakage properties of the mixed particle may be
significantly different from those of particle much larger
[6] than the gold grain. Similar equations used for the non-
mineralized gangue (Equations [4–7]) are used to model the
selection and appearance functions of Equation [8].
[7] The breakage of mixed particles produced mixed particles
and particles of free gangue that are added to the class k=0
of free gangue (Figure 6) according to:
[9]
The term describes the disappearance of the
free gangue produced from the breakage of mixed particles
whereas gives the mass of free gangue
produced by the breakage of free gangue particles of
coarser size intervals. The last term of Equation [9] gives
the addition of free gangue from the breakage of coarse
mixed particles with various gold grain size (k=1 to Ng). It
should be stressed here that the gangue produced by the
breakage of mixed particles is kept separated from the non-
mineralized gangue. The breakage properties of these
gangue particles are also assumed different from the
breakage properties of the non-mineralized gangue. This
hypothesis could be revised in subsequent versions of the
model.
The i;j;k in Equations [8] and [9] gives the mass proportion
of mixed particles in the size interval i that contains a gold
grain of size k that is produced from the breakage of a
mixed particle in the size interval j with a gold grain of size
interval k. These parameters are calculated by balancing the
number of mixed particles with the appearance function of
the mixed particles, as described in Appendix B.
Process simulation and model calibration
The parameters of the size reduction model are calibrated
[8] by running simulation and comparing the model estimates
with grinding test results. The procedure for the simulation
is described followed by the approach used for the
calibration.
WORLD GOLD CONFERENCE 2009
Paper 11 Khalesi:Paper 11 Khalesi 10/16/09 9:04 AM Page 67
Process simulation
The batch grinding simulation requires the knowledge of
the grinding mill feed size distribution and gold content of
the size interval. It is possible, as it is usually done, to use a
set measured values such as those of Table I for grinding
time t=0 as the feed size distribution and gold content of the
size intervals. However, such route assumes that the feed is
perfectly known while it is not the case. In this initial
version of the simulator the gold content of the size
intervals is calculated using:
• The non-mineralized gangue content in the size
intervals as estimated using Equation [2] for which the
parameters are adjusted at the calibration stage
• An estimated gold content of the ore that is adjusted at
the calibration stage
• The gold grain size distribution which is also estimated
at the calibration stage.
The procedure used to estimate the gold content of the
material in the size intervals of the feed is described in
Appendix A. The current version of the simulator uses the
observed weight fractions retained in the considered size
intervals as the feed ore size distribution for the simulation.
Once the gold contents of the feed size intervals are
estimated the variation of the mass of ore and of mixed
particles in the various size intervals is calculated by
integrating the differential Equations [3], [8] and [9]. The
fraction of ore retained in each size interval is calculated
using:
[10]
The gold content in each size interval is given by:
[11]
The calculated gold content of size interval i after a
vector is used to indicate the parameters that are
mx
grinding time t is noted xi(t). The variable xi;k is the gold
content of a mixed particle in size interval i with a gold
grain of size class k. It is calculated using:
Figure 8. Methodology for the model calibration
A GRINDING-LIBERATION MODEL FOR THE SIZE REDUCTION OF GOLD ORES
[12]
The specific gravity of the gold grain and of the gangue
minerals are respectively noted Gold and Gangue . The
average volume of a particle in size interval i and k are Vi
and Vk.
Using the simulation results and a liberation model
developed by geometric simulations 1 it is possible to
calculate the proportion of gold grain surface that is directly
exposed to the environment, exposed through pores, or
inaccessible for leaching reagents. This data will be used in
combination with a leaching model to predict the rate of
leaching of the gold in the various size intervals of a ground
product17.
Calibration of the simulator
The model is calibrated by running the simulation
procedure using the feed size distribution and gold content
of the size intervals calculated using the method described
in Appendix A. The calibration procedure is illustrated in
Figure 8. Initial guesses are assumed for the gold content of
the feed, the size distribution of the gold grains (Equation
[1] and the parameters to calculate the distribution of free
gangue in the feed (Equation [2]).
These values are used to calculate the distribution of gold
grains within the size intervals of the feed. Parameters of
the selection and appearance functions (Equations [4–7] are
used in the differential equations of the model which are
integrated for the grinding times used in the tests conducted
for the calibration of the model.
Different values of the model parameters are tested until a
set of parameters is found to minimize the criterion:
[13]
The
estimated for the model calibration. The variable T
indicates the test number and t(T) gives the grinding time
used in test T. The estimated gold content of the ore used
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Paper 11 Khalesi:Paper 11 Khalesi 10/16/09 9:04 AM Page 68

for the tests is noted x^0 and x0 (T) is the measured gold
content of the sample in grinding test T. The objective
function of Equation [13] is a weighted least square
criterion. The inverse of the measurement standard
deviation z is used to weight the residuals (z–z) according
to their reproducibility. A poorly reproducible measurement
has a large standard deviation and its residuals would have
little weight in the criterion. On the other hand, the small
standard deviation of reproducible measurements will
produce a strong effect on the criterion value if the residual
is large. The weighting used in Equation [13] also makes
the various contributions to the criterion dimensionless,
allowing the combination of the residuals for weight
fractions and those of gold assays in one criterion.
Results of the model calibration
The simulation and calibration procedures were applied to
the grinding test data of Table I. Several calibration runs
were initially conducted to assess the impact of the
parameters used for the model adjustment on the criterion
value (Equation [13]. Some results are summarized in
Table II. The results of Table II show the importance of
including the non-mineralized gangue concentration model
of Equation [2] into the calibration procedure. The
calibration results are found to be less sensitive to the
estimation of the gold grain size distribution than the non-
mineralized gangue distribution. The significance of the
reduction in the criterion value due to the introduction of
the grain size distribution parameters (Equation [1] is
verified by calculation of the F value of the Fisher test as:
The number of measurements used in the calibration is
95. The tabulated F95 value of 3.1 for 2 and 81 degrees of
freedom is significantly less than the calculated value of
14.6 justifying the introduction of the parameters of
Equation [1] in the calibration procedure in Table II.
The estimated parameter values (condition D in Table II)
are summarized in Table III. The optimum diameter for the
selection function was found to be 1.63 mm which is
consistent with the size of the grinding balls (2.54 cm
diameter) used for the test work. The estimated gold grain
size distribution is close to the observed distribution using

Table II
Sensitivity analysis on the criterion value

Calibration conditions Number of Criterion

parameters

(A) No calibration of the non-mineralized gangue distribution (Equation [2]) and 12 1484
grain size distribution (Equation [1])

(B) No calibration of grain size distribution (Equation [1]) 14 1123

(C) No calibration of the non-mineralized gangue distribution (Equation [2]) 14 1338

(D) All parameters 16 825

Table III
Estimated parameters off the developed model

Parameters Calibrated value Unit

gl
Non mineralized zone breakage function n2 1.82 Dimensionless
(Equation [6])
mx
Mineralized zone breakage function θ 0.67 Dimensionless
(Equation [6]) nmx
1 4.81 Dimensionless
mx
n2 0.24 Dimensionless
-1
Non mineralized zone SMin 0.03 min
-
selection function SMax 3.20 min 1
(Equation [4]) dOpt 1635.75 μm
β 1.98 Dimensionless
Mineralized zone selection χ 0.28 Dimensionless
function (Equation [5])
Head grade of matrix χ0 9.99 ppm
(Equation [B-5])
ai parameter (Equation [2]) γ 0.09 Dimensionless
ω 0.16 Dimensionless
Gold size distribution μ 1.36 μm
(Equation [1]) σ 0.90 μm

68 WORLD GOLD CONFERENCE 2009

Paper 11 Khalesi:Paper 11 Khalesi 10/16/09 9:04 AM Page 69

the MLA analysis. This result is shown in Figure 9.

Estimated mean gold size in Figure 9 is exactly the same as
the measured one (5 m) while the estimated standard
deviation (6.5 m) is slightly larger than the measured one
of 4.1 m. These values are calculated from the 1.36 and
0.90 estimated values for the parameters of the gold grain
size distribution (Equation [1]. The larger estimated
standard deviation allows coarse gold grains to be present
in the ore which is observed from gravity concentration
results.
The appearance functions for 1.2 mm diameter mother
particles are shown in Figure 10a. The appearance function
for the non-mineralized gangue is typical of an abrasion
type fragmentation with most of the material remaining on
the size interval following the mother size interval On the (a) Appearance functions
other hand, the appearance function of the mixed particles
(see Figure 10a) is typical of breakage fragmentation with
the production of daughter fragments in all size intervals.
This last result partly explains the estimated results for the
selection functions for the non-mineralized gangue and
mixed particles that are shown in Figure 10b. The rate of
breakage of the non-mineralized gangue is found to be
larger than that of the mixed particles. This result is
somewhat surprising as the presence of gold grains inside
the mixed particles was expected to reduce the strength of
the particles. But it is probably due to the type of particle
fragmentation predicted by the appearance function or by
the non-breakage hypothesis of the gold grains. This is
under investigation.
The ground products observed ore and gold size
distributions are compared to their corresponding estimated
values in Figure 11. The fit for the estimated size (b) Selection functions
distribution is correct and typical of results from batch
grinding tests. The estimated gold assays follow fairly well Figure 10. Estimated appearance and selection functions
the observed assays. The measured and estimated gold
content are also compared in Table IV. The results with the
proposed model are encouraging considering the large
measurement errors associated with the gold content
estimation.

Simulation examples
The gold ore grinding simulation results provide the mass
of gold in the size intervals of the ground products but do
not provide information on the gold exposure in these size
intervals. Since gold leaching efficiency is dependent on

(a) Gold size distribution

(b) Ore size distribution

Figure 11. Estimated vs. measured cumulative ore and gold size
Figure 9. Measured (by MLA) and estimated gold size distribution distributions

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Table IV
Estimated vs. Measured gold content of size intervals of the ground ore products

Feed (RO) Ground for 10 min (R10) Ground for 20 min (R20) Ground for 55 min (R55) Ground for 65 min (R65)

Screen size Measured Estimated Measured Estimated Measured Estimated Measured Estimated Measured Estimated
(microns) Gold (%) Gold (%) Gold (%) Gold (%) Gold (%) Gold (%) Gold (%) Gold (%) Gold (%) Gold (%)
+850 35.25 35.87 0.24 1.00
-850 +425 11.80 14.10 7.09 10.95
-425 +212 14.85 10.89 32.30 23.81 18.50 22.95
-212 +150 8.54 8.53 14.67 16.03 14.90 20.66 28.80 26.00 26.20 22.62
-150 +106 7.32 8.25 11.44 11.45 14.70 13.33 12.19 17.36 10.60 17.79
-106 +75 6.48 6.83 8.55 9.87 14.71 11.30 16.96 14.57 13.84 15.23
-75 +53 5.21 4.67 8.74 7.00 11.65 8.00 11.60 10.17 9.92 10.65
-53 +38 3.71 4.81 7.72 7.79 7.31 9.04 13.62 11.62 14.65 12.19
-38 6.83 6.04 9.25 12.11 18.23 14.73 16.82 20.28 24.80 21.52

distribution increases the gold grains’ exposed surface.

Figure 12. Different associations of gold and ore for
characterization of exposure1
exposed surface, a method based on geometric simulation is
used to predict the degree of gold exposure. The method
takes into account the size and shape of the gold grain and
the size of the particle containing the gold1. Different types
of gold grain exposure are shown in Figure 12. Liberated
and exposed gold grains are shown in Figures 12a and 12b
while an encapsulated grain is shown in Figure 12c. In the
last case the geometric simulation allows the calculation of
a minimum distance to edge (MDE) that measures the
minimum pore distance that the reagents should travel to
reach the gold grain. In the case of a partly exposed gold
surface (Figure 12b) the geometric simulation allows the
calculation of the exposed surface as a proportion of the
total grain surface1.
The impact of a change in the gold grain size distribution
on the surface of gold exposed to the leaching reagents is
studied to illustrate the application of the simulation
algorithm to the prediction of gold liberation. The
simulation results are summarized in Figure 13. Results for
Figure 13a are obtained with the calibrated model for the
gold grain size distribution and adding 15 minutes to the 65
minute grinding test conducted in the test work. As
expected the encapsulated surface decreases with increasing
the grinding time. Encapsulated grains could be leached
depending on the distance of the grain surface to the
particle edge (see Figure 12c). This distance is calculated
by the geometric model. The data in Figure 13 will be
combined to a gold leaching simulator that will relate the
leaching rate to the exposed surface. The other simulation
runs illustrated in Figure 13 examine the effect of the gold
grain size distribution on the surface of gold readily
accessible by the reagents. For a constant average grain size
increasing the standard deviation of the grain size
Obviously when the grain size distribution becomes very
fine (Figure 13c) the exposure of the gold grain decreases
significantly and leaching is expected to happen through
pores leading to a slow rate of dissolution. Finally a coarse
average gold grain size and large distribution (Figure 13d)
is favourable to the production of exposed gold surface.
The next part of the project is to combine these results with
a gold leaching simulator. Results of leaching tests
conducted with different size distributions of the ground
product will also help in the calibration of the grinding
liberation simulator.
Conclusion
The size reduction of an ore produces a distribution of
valuable minerals or metals in the size intervals of the
ground product. This distribution of valuable minerals
influences the subsequent recovery process and should
ideally be modelled in a grinding simulation procedure.
This paper proposes the basis of a model to predict the
distribution of gold within the size intervals of a ground
gold ore. The model development follows that of the
population balance representation of the size reduction
process. The feed to the size reduction process is divided
into size intervals and classes of gangue and mixed
particles. The classes of mixed particles are subdivided as a
function of the gold grain size that is carried by a particle.
Such description implies to describe the gold grain size
distribution of the unbroken ore which is seldom done in
size reduction models.
The model uses separate appearance and rate functions
for the gangue and the gold carrying particles. The model is
based on the simplifying assumption that gold is not broken
in a size reduction machine. This hypothesis was
formulated to simplify the already complex structure of the
model but it is now found restrictive and is under reviewing
as grinding tests are currently conducted with lead (Pb)
particles to observe their behaviour in a grinding machine.
Although some of the model hypotheses are currently
reviewed it was observed that the model in its current form
is able to reproduce fairly well the results of batch grinding
tests of a gold ore. The model is currently used to predict
the size distribution of gold following the size reduction of
a gold ore and results are used to estimate the exposure of
the gold grains to leaching agents. The next step is to
connect the model to a gold leaching simulator that will
enable the analysis of the optimum gold dissolution as a
function of fineness of grind. The simulator will also be

A GRINDING-LIBERATION MODEL FOR THE SIZE REDUCTION OF GOLD ORES 70

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(a) AGS 6 m, SDGS 6 (b) AGS 6 m, SDGS 10 m

(c) AGS 1 m, SDGS 6 m (d) AGS 10 m, SDGS 20 m

Figure 13. Effect of gold size distribution parameters on the generated gold grain free surfaces
(AGS: average grain size; SDGS: standard deviation of the grain size)

used to analyse the impact on gold dissolution of the If the total mass of non-mineralized zone in the unbroken
variation of the grain size distribution in the unbroken ore. matrix ore is noted as A:
In parallel to these developments, other grinding tests will
be conducted with gold ores from various mines in order to [A-3]
test the applicability of the model for other types of gold
bearing ores.
The proportion of the total mineralized zone within size
class i of feed is:
Ackowledgement
[A-4]
The authors would like to thank Mintek Lab for
mineralogical characterization of gold ore samples. The
m
financial support by CRSNG and COREM is also The head grade of mineralized zone (xo ) is obtained
acknowledged. using the ore grade (xo):
[A-5]
Appendix A
Calculation of the gold content in size interval of the The gold grain size distribution by number (CNk) modeled
feed of the size reduction process using Equation [1], is used to calculate the distribution of
The purpose of this Appendix is to illustrate the method gold grains by mass using:
used to calculate the gold content of the size intervals of the
feed. The method uses the gold content of the ore, the non-
mineralized gangue concentration in the size intervals and [A-6]
the gold grain size distribution. For the demonstration it is
assumed that the percentage of the ore retained on the size
intervals of the feed are known and one metric ton of ore is Where Ng is the number of discretized size classes of the
m
considered for the calculations as the gold content is gold. If xo is expressed in grams of gold, the mass of gold
expressed in grams per ton. The mass retained within size grains of size k in the unbroken ore is:
interval i is given by:
[A-7]
[A-1]
It is assumed that the total mass of gold grains of size
The mass of the ore retained in size interval i of the feed gold
interval k (Mk ) coming from the mineralized zone of the
is noted (ri) and is the sum of the weight of material coming
m ore is distributed in the size intervals according to:
from mineralized zone (r i ) and of that of the material
g m
coming from non mineralized zone (ri ). The values of (ri ) [A-8]
are calculated using the ai parameter (Equation [2]):
The mass of gold grains within size interval k in the ore
[A-2] gold
size interval i is noted as Mi;k and i;k is given by:

A GRINDING-LIBERATION MODEL FOR THE SIZE REDUCTION OF GOLD ORES 71

Paper 11 Khalesi:Paper 11 Khalesi 10/16/09 9:04 AM Page 72
[A-9]
The i;k accounts for the fact that gold grains of size k
are assumed to be unbroken and cannot deport to size
intervals below that of the gold grain (i<k). The total mass
of gold in size fraction i is given by:
[A-10]
The gold concentration in size fraction i of the feed is
estimated using:
[A-11]
Appendix B
Estimation of the i;j;k factors
The factors i;j;k give the proportion of mixed particles in
the daughter fragments within size interval i that are
produced from the breakage of mother mixed particles of
mx
size j with gold grain of size k. The breakage of a mass Mj;k
of mother particles produces a mass of daughter fragments
in the size interval i given by the appearance function:
[B-1]
This mass of daughter fragments is composed of free
gangue (fg) particles and mixed (mx) particles containing
one gold grain of size interval k. The factor  i;j;k
corresponds to the ratio:
[B-2]
In the initial demonstration here it is assumed that the
coarsest gold grain size is smaller than the smallest
considered size interval Therefore gold grains of any size
can go to particles in any size interval The mass of daughter
particles in a size interval i is given by Equation [B-1]
which can be written as:
[B-3]
The specific gravity of a mixed particle in size class i that
contains a gold grain of size k is given by:
[B-4]
The specific gravity of a gold grain is noted gg and Vk is
the volume of a gold grain belonging to size interval k. The
fg
number of free gangue particles (N i;k) is related to the
mx
number of mixed particles in size interval i (Ni;k ) by the
fact that if a mother particle of size j is broken into
daughter fragments that only belong to size interval i the
maximum number of fragments that can be produced is
given by:
[B-5]
The volume of the mother and daughter particles are
respectively noted Vj and Vi. Since only one mixed particle
can be found in the daughter fragments it follows that:
A GRINDING-LIBERATION MODEL FOR THE SIZE REDUCTION OF GOLD ORES
[B-6]
Combining Equations B-6 and B-3 and rearrangement of
the variables gives:
i=j+1 to NS [B-7]
The mass of mixed particles is readily calculated using:
[B-8]
The factor i;j;k is then calculated as per Equation [B-2].
The previous development works as long as the sizes of
the daughter particles are larger than the gold grain size
carried by the mixed mother particle. The situation is
slightly different if some of the daughter particle sizes are
smaller than the gold grain size. In this case because of the
assumption that gold grains are not broken mixed daughter
particles are not observed in the intervals smaller than the
gold grain size. The mixed daughter particles are therefore
grouped in the size intervals j+1 to k, where +j+1 is the
size interval that follows the size interval of the mother
particle and k the size interval of the gold grain. Equation
[B-7] that is used to calculate the number of mixed
daughter particles and then should be written:
i=j+1 to k [B-9]
i=k+1 to Ns [B-10]
The corrected appearance proportion can be calculated in
various ways. A simple approach consists of using values
equal to the appearance function of the mixed particles up
to size interval k-1, and to cumulate the missing proportion
in the size interval corresponding to the gold grain, i.e.:
[B-11]
[B-12]
Another option is to use:
[B-13]
Both options were tested and it was found that for the
particular ore studied in this paper the first option gives the
best results. Once the number of mixed daughter particles is
calculated from Equation [B-9], the factor  i;j;k is
calculated using Equations [B-9] and [B-9].
References
1. KHALESI, M.R., BAZIN, C., HODOUIN, D., and
BELLEC, S. Simulation of gold grain exposure of ground
ore using Voronoi tessellation. Automation in Mining,
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Mar, Chile, 2009.
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Simulation and Practical Use in Mineral Processing,
Éditions GB, 1991.
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3. DAVY, P. J. Probability-Models for Liberation, Journal of
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VANDEVENTER, J.S.J., and ALDRICH, C. Neural net
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data, Minerals Engineering, vol. 9, 1996. p. 195.
10. WEN, S.B., HSIH, C.S., and KUAN, C.C. The application
of a mineral exposure model in a gold leaching operation,
International Journal of Mineral Processing, vol. 46,
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A method to predict metallurgical performances as a
function of fineness of grind, Minerals Engineering, vol. 7,
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Tool to Improve Lead Nitrate Control in Cyanidation, 39th
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Hydrometallurgy, vol. 79, 2005. p. 121.
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particle production history on gold leaching, in 41st Annual
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Canada 2009.
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R.D., and T. KOJOVIC Mineral Comminution Circuits
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Laval University, Quebec, Canada

Mohammad Reza Khalesi

PhD Student, Université Laval, Quebec, Canada

Mohammed graduated from Tehran University in 2001 with a Master of Science degree in mineral
processing. He worked in the ceramic industry from 1997 to 2000 and worked in the Gold industry
(Zarmehr Gold Co.) from 2001 to 2003.
Mohammed worked for National Geoscience Database of Iran (NGDIR) from 2003 to 2004 and
is currently a PhD student at Laval University, Quebec, Canada. He is currently working on: thesis
on the relationship between grinding and leaching of gold ore.

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A GRINDING-LIBERATION MODEL FOR THE SIZE REDUCTION OF GOLD ORES 74

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