Its high time junior engineers understand the change in the need and demand for knowledge of Geometallurgy. Geometallurgy is the collaboration between geology (mineralogy) and metallurgy, with one discipline supplying the other with information and vice versa for a better understanding of the deposit and ore character; in essence, pushing more mineralogical knowledge into the plant design and/or process operation while Metallurgical approach to plant design involves the testing of a number of composite samples that are reported to be representative of the orebody. Test work is carried out to determine factors such as grindability, floatability, leach recovery and/or other parameters. The test work is often assumed to be appropriate and precise. Subsequently, a process plant is constructed and commissioned and at some point, often within the first year of operation, found to be not performing to design.The common reason for this relates to insufficient and unrepresentative samples and potentially inappropriate test work. The traditional approach generally fails to represent the orebody and likely variability within. However,
Tittle or any quantitative spatial models result from this work and plant design is based on so-called ‘average’ ore, which in reality does not exist.
Modern Geometallurgy approach seeks to integrate geoscientific disciplines with minerals and mining engineering. It aims to understand grade, metallurgical and mining (rock mass) variability based on information such as geochemistry mineralogy, grade and lithology obtained from spatially distributed samples or sample points. The final output of the geometallurgical approach is.
> Identifying the variables required to understand critical process responses.
> Sampling and measuring these variables.
> Developing techniques to estimate and simulate these characteristics spatially at the correct scale and incorporating the values into block models.
A key aspect of any effective geometallurgical program are multidisciplinary teams, thus bringing together exploration and mining geologists, mining and geotechnical engineers, metallurgists and mineral process engineers, and financial modelers, economists and risk specialists (Williams, 2012). By drawing on different disciplines and on specialists from other areas (for example, data mining and computing specialists, mathematical modelers and risk specialists) Geometallurgy also sees industry practitioners, consultants, service providers and academics working closely together.
Geometallurgy has reached a maturity beyond its early simplistic ‘geology + metallurgy’ conception. It is recognized as an approach that can both maximize value and predict the risks associated with resource development. It is, however, not a ‘quick fix,’ but a long-term commitment to adding value (Williams, 2012). Geometallurgy complements but does not replace existing approaches to design and optimization of mining and processing operations.
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