Project overview
The Platform Technology aims to demonstrate a revolutionary new comminution technology platform that promises to reduce energy in comminution by as much as 50 per cent at specific unit operations within the comminution circuits based on existing technologies as well as additional potential benefits that may significantly improve OPEX and CAPEX through flowsheet simplification.
The Platform Technology will advance two separate but related comminution concepts both using a rod inside a cylinder to grind ore. The Conjugate Anvil Hammer Mill (CAHM) ported variant was identified through a global technology search by CMIC as having the most potential to result in a step-change, defined as greater than 50 per cent reduction, in comminution energy consumption if given appropriate attention by CMIC. The ported variant has the potential to replace secondary crushing and SAG mills (and the pebble crusher associated with the SAG mill).
The MonoRoll variant was created by the inventor, Lawrence Nordell, when challenged to find a way to prove the hammer (a rod inside a cylinder) concept and was instead recognized as a potentially promising method to replace inefficient rod and ball mills rather than prove the CAHM ported variant. The MonoRoll is anticipated to improve size reduction to micron sizes and to do so with much higher grinding efficiency.
Expected outcomes and benefits
The project will result in the establishment of new disruptive technology as a ready-to-implement and cost-effective replacement for the status quo, touching all four technical impact areas:
- Improvements in process
- Quantitative improvement of a technology
- Qualitative improvement of a technology
- New technology
This project will further develop, manufacture and test prototypes of a new comminution technology that provides a disruptive change to the global mining industry. Direct energy reductions as much as 50% will be realized.
Project team
The project team is made up of:
- CMIC – Project Management
- CTTI – Technical & Design Lead
- Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. – Project Participants
- Kinross – Project Participants
- Glencore Canada – Project Participants
- Newmont Goldcorp – Project Participants
- Teck Resources – Project Participants
- Vale – Project Participants
- COREM – Project Participants
- Molycop – Project Participants
- Optimize Group – Project Participants
