Increase mill productivity
Through a mine-to-mill study
Situation
Located in Goiás, Brazil, the Chapada mine is an open-pit copper and gold mining operation run by Lundin Mining.
Since its commissioning in 2007, the Chapada mine has maintained a steady production, adopting strategies over time to increase the plant’s production capacity.
However, as extractions went deeper, the proportion of more competent ore increased, impacting production.
Challenge
To integrate drilling, blasting, and comminution operations with the goal of maximizing the plant’s production rate, maintaining the grinding product size.
Customer testimonials
“The development and implementation of the M2M project at Chapada Mine have provided us with a valuable learning experience and better knowledge of the mineral deposit.
It allowed us to advance in drilling & blasting techniques and optimize the production flow at the Mine-Plant, with process improvements leading to greater operational efficiency and, as a result, lower production costs.
A highly important project that is yielding positive results for the company!” – Igor Souza, Mine Operations Manager of Lundin Mining.
Solution
Initially, fragmentation designs were created based on rock hardness and fracture condition. This was followed by a drilling and blasting audit, and site-specific fragmentation models for blasting and comminution were developed.
Therefore, a specific fragmentation model was created to allow for simulations and the development of blasting plans to generate material with a particle size distribution that would increase plant productivity.
The simulations took into account equipment specifications, circuit configurations, and optimized ROM (Run of Mine) fragmentation to define optimal operational strategies for maximizing production for different ore types. They also assessed the impact of different operating conditions and potential changes in circuit configuration on plant production rate, product size, and energy consumption.
13% - 28%
Anticipated productivity increase
+ 5%
Plant productivity
