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MINERAL COMPOSITION, LEAD-ZINC ORES GRINDABILITY AND BOND WORK INDEX CORRELATION
Abstract
This paper discusses the results from a complex laboratory studies, carried out on the lead-zinc ore from Madan ore field deposits. The Pb-Zn ore is currently processed in Rudozem concentrator, involving a sequence of three stage crushing, followed by ball mill grinding and selective lead-zinc flotation circuit. Two properties from the laboratory grinding tests were investigated: mineral liberation characteristics (batch grinding tests) and Bond ball mill work index (kWh/t). In order to determine the correlation between the mineral composition and grindability characteristics of the ores, a polished sections of ore samples from the three hydrothermal Pb-Zn deposits - Petrovitsa, Varba-Batantsi and Kroushev dol have been prepared. Mineralogical studies of the polished sections were performed using a MEIJI MT 9430 optical microscope equipped with a DK 3000 digital camera. The results show that the main ore minerals in the deposits are represented by galena, sphalerite, pyrite and subordinate amount of chalcopyrite, and non-metallic minerals - mainly of quartz, carbonates, johannsenite-hedenbergite skarns, sericite, chlorite, clayey phases and others. The presence of pyrrhotite and pyrite-marcasite pseudomorphoses after primary pyrrhotite is also found in the ore. Compared to ores from the other lead-zinc deposits in Madan ore field, the ore processed in Rudozem concentrator is much more difficult to grind, which was confirmed by the Bond ball mill work index of 13.66 kWht/t and the grinding kinetics data. The major objective of this study was to assess the necessity of crushing and screening circuit equipment modernization, in order to reduce the size of the ore particles entering the grinding circuit, leading to production growth and reduced energy consumption. Based on the results from the laboratory studies, a new open-circuit two stage crushing and screening technology, was developed and implemented in Rudozem concentrator
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