Ore Sorting · October 2018
Evaluating Cave Projects for Sensor-Based Sorting
A method for choosing a cave's footprint and elevation when bulk and particle sorting systems are part of the flowsheet.
- Project
- New Afton
- Location
- British Columbia, Canada
- Application
- Cave evaluation with ore sorting
- Samples
- Caved material from New Afton
- Compared against
- Cave designs without sorting
PaperAn Approach to Evaluating Block and Panel Cave Projects for Sensor-Based Sorting Applications · Caving 2018, Vancouver
Read the paperContext
Block and panel caves often mine and process material below cut-off grade, and large footprints include drawpoints that are drawn mainly to keep the cave propagating. Sorting systems could separate that material from ore, but cave evaluation methods did not account for them.
The Work
A bulk and particle sorting study on material from the New Afton block cave was used to build sorting performance models. These were applied through production scheduling software to a conceptual cave where both sorting systems are installed.
Results
The method sets the cave footprint and elevation that maximise project value with sorting in place, and gives the change in footprint, milling requirements and metal recovery against a cave without sorting. Campaigning low and high-grade ore from drawpoints would improve sorting performance.
