The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Diamonds Source to Use 2007

By 1 Charles Ntsele and 2 Gerhard Sauermann

THE HPGR TECHNOLOGY THE HEART AND FUTURE OF

THE DIAMOND LIBERATION PROCESS

ABSTRACT

The Polycom HPGR (High Pressure Grinding Roll technology), more commonly referred to
in diamond applications as HPRC (High Pressure Rolls Crusher) or IPC (Inter Particle
Crusher) has been in use in this industry for over 21 years.

In this time, with the co-operative efforts of both operator and technology supplier it has
evolved into being an indispensable part of the liberation and recovery process. New
diamond winning challenges and commercial imperatives necessitate that the technology and
user adapt to meet and exceed rising expectations.

This paper provides an overview of various flow sheet approaches employing the HPRC,
showing how each has contributed to the mature, state-of-the art flow sheet employed in
current designs. Major design and process control improvements that enabled / drove these
developments are highlighted.

This will illustrate how the power of partnership between operators and technology suppliers
ensures first, the successful implementation of a technology and then how this influences
technology developments specific to the operators challenges.

1 Product Manager Polysius South Africa

2 Marketing Manager, Minerals Polysius South Africa
The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Diamonds Source to Use 2007
By 1 Charles Ntsele and 2 Gerhard Sauermann

1. INTRODUCTION

The High Pressure Grinding Roll (HPGR) technology was first introduced in
1985 and was originally used in the cement industry treating relatively none
abrasive materials. The benefits enjoyed by the cement industry through the
use of this technology did not go unnoticed in industry in general. This saw
some sectors trial the use of this technology in their comminution circuits. But
due to the fact that ores in the mineral industry are between 20 to 50 times
more abrasive than cement raw materials, higher than acceptable wear rates
were experienced and this did make a good business case for the adoption of
the technology in those comminution circuits. However for diamond ore
comminution the business driver was somewhat different in that while
liberation is key, diamond preservation during the process of liberation is
equally important. This in addition to other benefits saw this sector take a leap
of faith culminating in the introduction of the first HPGR in a kimberlitic
application (1987) at the then Premier mine, now Cullinan mine. For diamond
liberation, this is where the journey began for HPGRs.

2. THE HPGR PRINCIPLE

2.1 Brief Description of the HPGR

Figure 1 below is a representation of the HPGR with special reference to the

rolls, frame, feed and hydraulic arrangement

Hydraulic Feed
Pistons Floating roll Fixed roll

Pressure

Zone of compression

Product

Figure 1: HPGR re presentation

The HPGR consists of two counter rotating rolls mounted in heavy duty
bearings, enclosed in a strong frame. Pressure is applied to one of the rolls
(floating) by means of a hydro-pnuematic spring system, while the other roll is
held in a fixed position in the frame. The free or floating roll is allowed to
slide (or float) on pads, reacting to the forces acting on the roll caused by the
feed material and the hydro-pnuematic spring system. Feed to the rolls is
provided by means of a hopper mounted above the rolls equipped with a level

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The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Diamonds Source to Use 2007
By 1 Charles Ntsele and 2 Gerhard Sauermann

controller to ensure that the rolls are continuously choke- fed. Normally, free
flow of feed material within the hopper is sufficient to exert a separating force
between the rolls. Special attention to the design of this hopper is required in
applications where the feed material is fine and moist. The rolls are driven by
separate motors connected to the roll shafts through gear reducers. The rolls
can be operated at a fixed speed or variable speed depending on the demands
of the process. A torque reaction system is included to prevent the gearboxes
from turning and to divert any differential forces away from the frame. The
HPGR rolls are of a solid make and their surface is protected against wear by
wear resistant materials (more about this later).Cheek plates are typically used
to contain material reporting to the edges of the rolls.

Roll diameters of HPGRs vary from 0.5 to 2.8 m. The forces applied range
from 2,000 to 20,000 kN. Pressures between rolls range from 80 to 300 MPa.
Most ores and minerals have compressive strength of between 50 and 280
MPa. Capacities range from 20 to up to 3,000 tph. Energy consumption is
between 1 and 2.5 kWh/t. In certain application however, this can be higher
due to low throughput rates associated with clay rich ores.

The machines are compact and generate low levels of noise and vibration. Dust
emanating from the process can be readily controlled.

2.2 Principle of Operation

Comminution in a HPGR takes place primarily through inter-particle

comminution. In instances where the top size of the feed material is larger than
the machines working gap, single particle comminution precedes inter-particle
comminution. In this case, these larger feed particles are nipped directly by the
rolls and are pre-broken before entering the compression zone as illustrated by
figure 2 below.

Micro -
Cracks
Preferentially
Along Grain Pressure
Boundaries from
Sorrounding
Particles

Fine Fragments

Single Particle Comminution Zone

Inter-Particle Comminution Zone Working Gap

Figure 2: Comminution zones in a HPGR

In the compression zone, direct contact of the ore and roll surfaces is
minimised due to the fact that the forces that are applied are transmitted
through the bed of particles in intimate contact with the surrounding particles.
A combination of forces (typically in excess of the compressive strength of

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The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Diamonds Source to Use 2007
By 1 Charles Ntsele and 2 Gerhard Sauermann

most brittles ores) and high stresses present in the compression zone gives
rise to breakage occurring preferentially along the weakest planes of
individual progeny particles (typically along grain bound aries). This is the
same mechanism that gives rise to the so called micro-cracking of intact
material in the HPGR product. This weakened progeny structure is beneficial
for down stream processing in applications that require further ball milling or
leaching. The product of the HPGR is typically in the form of a cake
(sometimes referred to as a flake). The resultant cake density typically ranges
from 70 % (fine feed with high moisture) to 85 % (coarse feeds) of the
materials real density.

Ideally, the most energy efficient method of comminution is the slow

application of pressure to individual particles so as to cause structural failure,
such that the energy lost as heat and noise is minimised. In industrial
applications, the HPGR is the one device that is closest to this ideal and thus
the most energy efficient industrial scale comminution device. This energy
efficiency is essentially brought about by the fact that the energy transfer in the
HPGRs compression zone is determinate and relatively uniform, whereas with
other comminution devices the energy transfer is random and highly variable
as depicted by table 1 and figure 3 respectively.

F F

Ball Mill HPGR Rolls Crusher Conventional

Figure 3: Forces imparted by various comminution devices

Table 1: Summary of differences in comminution machine characteristics

Device Ball Mill HPGR Roll Crusher Conventional Crushers

Comminution principle Surface / Particle Particle / Particle Surface / Particle Surface / Particle
Gap setting Not applicable Self adjusting / Floating Preset / Fixed Preset / Fixed
Controlled, but difficult to
Fructure force Low, attrition Controlled Uncontrolled
manipulate
Choke feed Not applicable Yes No Yes

2.3 Key Operating Parameters

The performance of any comminution unit is mainly judged on achieving the

prescribed duty and this essentially relates to throughput rate and product
fineness. Product fineness relates to the liberation of valuables in a
metallurgical processing plant while throughput rate addresses the economies
of scale required to make an operation profitable. Both are equally important
and in HPGRs, the applicable key operating parameters are the specific

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The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Diamonds Source to Use 2007
By 1 Charles Ntsele and 2 Gerhard Sauermann

throughput rate and the required specific press force. These are explained in
more detail below.

2.3.1 Specific Throug hput Rate

The throughput (tons per hour) of an HPGR is given by the volumetric flow (L
* s *um) through the machines operating gap multiplied by the average density
of the discharge material as shown by equation 1 below:

M = L * s * um * d * 3.6 [1]

Where,

M = throughput (t/h)
s = working gap (mm)
d = material density in the gap (t/m3 )
L = roll width (m)
um = material velocity in the gap (m/s)

The discharge of the HPGR consists of pressed, broken and bypassed material
as depicted by figure 4, therefore the average density of the material passing
the gap is the weighted average density of the various constituents.

Roll width

Pressed
Broken material

Bypassed
material
Figure 4: Product components of the HPGR

To calculate the specific throughput (tons seconds per cubic meter hour) it is
assumed that for a given material type and operating conditions the working
gap of the HPGR scales linearly with the roll diameter. Based on this a specific

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The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Diamonds Source to Use 2007
By 1 Charles Ntsele and 2 Gerhard Sauermann

throughput (m-dot) is derived from this proportional relationship as shown by

equation 2 below.

m-dotc = (s / D ) * dc * 3.6 [2]

Where,

-dotc = specific throughput (t*s/m3 *h), calculated from the HPGR

cake
dc = density of pressed material (t/m3 )
D = roll diameter (m)
s = working gap (m)

This equation can be re-written as follows:

M = m-dot * D * L * u [3]

Where,

M = throughput [t/h]
D = roll diameter (m)
u = roll speed (m/s)
m-dot = specific throughput (t*s/m3 *h)
L = roll width (m)

The specific throughput is constant for a particular feed type and set of
operating conditions and can be determined via test work and thus equation 4.

m-dotf = M / (D * L * u) [4]

Where,

m-dotf = specific throughput (t*s/m3 *h), calculated from the HPGR

feed

Salient to the two forms of specific throughput rates (mc and mf) is that the
ratio mc / mf informs about the materials behaviour in the working gap. A
ratio less than 1 indicates extrusion in the compression zone or internal and or
external bypass, while a ratio greater than 1 indicates that the whole width of
the rolls may not be in use or slippage. Also, this ratio enables the calculation
of the expected working gap given by equation 5 below.

s = (mf * D) / (dc * 3.6) * (mc /mf ) = (mf * D) / (dc * 3.6) * c [5]

The factor c is calculated from the ratio mc / mf. In most coarse feed
applications this factor is between 0.85 and 1.

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 The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Diamonds Source to Use 2007
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2.3.2 Grinding Pre ssure

In terms of product fineness, the major machine parameter that contributes to

the degree of fineness is the grinding pressure applied. However, the grinding
pressure can not be measured directly. Various parameters are therefore used to
quantify the grinding pressure applied to the material bed. One such parameter
is the specific grinding force. This is the grinding force divided by the
projected area of the rolls as calculated by equation 6 below.

f = F / (1000 * L *D) [6]

Where,

f = specific grinding force (N/mm2 )

D = roll diameter (m)
F = grinding force (kN)
L = roll width (mm)

The specific grinding pressure is particularly suitable for establishing

correlations between the grinding pressure in the material bed and the
achievable product fineness and for comparing grinding forces amongst
HPGRs of different sizes.

Typically most ores reach their maximum product fineness when specific
grinding forces of between 4 5 N/mm2 are reached, for kimberlites an even
lower range of between 2 and 4 N/mm2 suffices to reach this point. Figure 5
below presents a typical relationship of product fineness as a function of
specific grinding force.

4 5
Specific grinding force [N/mm]

Figure 5: Effect of specific grinding force on pro duct fineness, general and
kimbe rlite specific

2.3.2 Power

The motor power required to drive the rolls is proportional to the applied
grinding force. The point at which the force is acting on each roll (figure 6
overleaf) is determined by the force angle . The grinding force may be

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The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Diamonds Source to Use 2007
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resolved into a radial and tange ntial component Ft . The tangential component
gives rise to the torque which has to be provided by the main drive motors to
turn the rolls. The motor power required is then calculated per roll for a given
roll speed by equation 7 below.

Ft

Force acting angle

Figure 6: Action of grinding force on roll

Pr = ? *T = 2 * p * n / 60 * D / 2 sin * F [7]

Where,

Pr = motor power (kW)

T = roll torque (m)
F = grinding force (kN)
= force action angle (0 )
? = angular roll speed (1/s)
n = roll speed (rpm)
D = roll diameter (m)

The total motor power P is then

P = 2 * Pr = p * n / 30 * D * sin * F [8]

The specific energy absorbed by the feed material can then be calculated
according to equation 9 below which is derived from equations 3, 4, and 8.

wsp = P/M = 2000 * sin / m-dot * f [9]

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The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Diamonds Source to Use 2007
By 1 Charles Ntsele and 2 Gerhard Sauermann

2.3.3 Additional Parameters that Affect The HPGR Performance

This section briefly describes some of the other HPGR concepts and the ir
impact (where applicable) on its performance.

Working Gap / Stop Gap

In HPGRs the stop gap refers to a pre-determined limit to movement of the

floating roll towards the fixed roll, thus preventing the possibility of the rolls to
be in contact. The working gap on the other hand is not pre-set, but rather
adapts itself according to the nip- in characteristics of the fe ed material and has
a linear relationship with the roll diameter. The working gap of the HPGR
impacts on the coarse end of its product size distribution. Typically, the largest
particle size that may be found in the product is either the size of the working
gap (in cases where the feed top size is greater than the working gap itself) or
the largest particle size in the feed (in instances where the largest feed particle
is smaller than the working gap).

Roll Surface

The roll body of the HPGR rolls can either be cast or forged. Forgings require
protection with either hard facing, hard metal tiles or studs. Hard or compound
castings do not require additional protection, but the surface itself may be
smooth, profiled or studded. Figure 7 below depicts the se various surface
types. Their development will be discussed elsewhere.

Smooth Profiled Studded

Figure 7: Types of roll surfaces protection

In addition to performing a protection role to the underlying materil, the

profiles and studs also improve the nip in characteristics of the machine and
increases the throughput rate of HPGRs. For instances instance, studded rolls
have been found to have throughput rates that are between 50 to 100 % higher
than smooth rolls while grooved (profiled) rolls are somewhere in between.
Also, studded roll surfaces have also been found to be less sensitive to higher
feed moisture than the other surface types.

Roll Aspect Ratio (W/D)

The ratio of the roll width to the roll diameter is the so called aspect ratio of the
rolls. There are different schools of thought that subscribe to either a high
aspect ratio design or a low aspect ration design as indicated by figure 8
overleaf.

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The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Diamonds Source to Use 2007
By 1 Charles Ntsele and 2 Gerhard Sauermann

D W D W

Low Aspect (W/D) High Aspect (W/D)

Figure 8: Low and high aspect ratio roll designs

The pros and cons of each design philosophy include metallurgical, operating
and capital aspects of the machine. In this section the metallurgical aspects will
be discussed, while the others will be dealt with later in the paper. In terms of
the metallurgical aspects, a low aspect ratio design, which is preferred by
Polysius, has the advantage of being able to accept bigger feed top size due to
the linear relationship (discussed earlier) of the roll diameter and top size.
Also, the specific throughput rate is higher for coarse material in a high aspect
ratio design mainly because the nip- in characteristics are improved in this
configuration.

Roll Speed

The relative roll speed which is defined as the roll velocity divided by its
diameter has a moderate impact on the specific throughput of HPGRs. The
relationship is such that as the relative roll speed increases, the absolute
throughput (tph) increases linearly, while the specific throughput rate (t*s/
(m3 *h)) decreases. Figure 9 below illustrates these relationships

300 60
Specific throughput [t*s/(m*h)]

250 50
Throughput [tph]

200 40

150 30

100 20

50 Specific throughput throughput 10

0 0
0 0,5 1 1,5 2
Relative roll speed u/D [1/s]

Figure 9: Throughput vs. re lative roll speed

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The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Diamonds Source to Use 2007
By 1 Charles Ntsele and 2 Gerhard Sauermann

Of course, it is always a combination of both machine related parameters and

ore characteristics that ultimately affect equipment performance. The influence
of material characteristics is however beyond the scope of this paper.

3.0 Why the HPGR for Diamond Bearing Ores

Diamond winning comminution circuits unlike hard rock applications such as

gold, copper and platinum more often than not do not require fine to ultra- fine
(sub- 800 microns) grinding to liberate valuables. At most a final grind of
approximately 1 to 1.7 mm is adequate for economic liberation. Also, diamond
preservation during liberation is another significant aspect of the process.
Therefore, any device used in the diamond liberation process should in
addition to meeting capacity requirements, be energy efficient and preserve
diamonds while liberating them us ing an appropriate amount of energy. All
this should happen within acceptable operating costs.

The subsequent subsections will illustrate why the HPGR due to its ability to
have both its gap and pressure controlled is a suitable unit process in the
diamond liberation comminution circuit.

3.1 Diamond Liberation and Preservation

The HPGR efficiently liberates diamonds from the host rock (kimberlites) due
to its ability to expose ore particles to extremely high pressures in a material
bed between the two rolls, resulting in efficient inter-particle breakage. Figure
10 below illustrates this principle of grinding. It is this efficient inter-particle
breakage tha t causes the host rock to break preferentially along grain
boundaries whereby the typically softer material (host rock) yields to the
pressure while the diamonds are liberated undamaged. Furthermore, the
movement of ore particles within the material bed further cleans the diamonds
and improves liberation from the waste material. Conventional cone crushers
on the other hand, exposes the diamond bearing particle to undefined forces
between the surfaces of the crushing cha mber resulting in insufficient
liberation or even diamond damage.

HPGR Crusher
Undamaged Diamond F
F After Material Bed Comminution
In a Large Working Gap

Broken Diamond
After Single Particle
Comminution

In a Small Working Gap

Figure 10: Principles of comminution HPGR vs. cone crushers

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The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Diamonds Source to Use 2007
By 1 Charles Ntsele and 2 Gerhard Sauermann

The ability of the HPGR to produce a finer particle size distribution while
operating with a bigger gap size (20 to 40 mm) minimises the likelihood of
diamond damage. In cone crushers and standard rolls crushers, the gap setting
has a direct impact on the product particle size distribution and therefore a
compromise between product fineness, possible diamond damage, throughput
and diamond liberation has to be negotiated continuously. Whereas with
HPGRs an even finer product size distribution can be achieved at a larger
operating gap without compromising diamond liberation , while decreasing the
likelihood of large diamond breakage. Also, a larger working gap means a
bigger volumetric flow through the unit, thus increased throughput. Figure 11
below depicts typical product distributions of HPGRs vs. conventional cone
crushers for the same duty requirements.

100.0
90.0
80.0
Fineness%passing[%]

70.0 HPGR products

60.0
50.0
40.0 Feed
material
30.0
20.0 Cone crusher
10.0 products

0.0
0.01 0.1 1 10 100

Particle size [m]

HPGR low HPGR medium HPGR high pressure

Crusher CSS 1 Crusher CSS 2 Crusher Feed

Figure 11: Typical HPGR and cone crusher particle size distributions

3.2 Energy Efficiency

Apart from the unit process itself being energy efficient, appropriate use of the
energy is also equally important. In other words, what is the appropriate level
of energy usage that will effect liberation. It is typical for operations to
subscribe to the philosophy of a finer grind equals more liberation. While this
could be true, there is a point whereby diminishing returns and over-grinding
occurs, and thus energy wastage. To avoid this, knowledge of the appropriate
point where the plant grind size will effect the most liberation should be
established. It is at this point where in conjunction with other financial drivers
grinding should be limited to. When this, the grind criteria is established, over-
grinding and energy wastage will be avoided.

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The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Diamonds Source to Use 2007
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3.3 Throughput / Particle Size Distribution

Often in comminution a balance is required between throughput rate and the

degree of product fineness. The finer the product requirements, the more the
throughput rate has to be compromised. This relationship needs to be optimised
and monitored at all times as different ore types will affect it differently. Cone
crushers inherently have limitations in this area especially if the ore gets
progressively harder because to maintain the same degree of fineness, the
crushers capacity will have to be reduced and if it is not economic to reduce
throughput then the crusher gap will have to increased so that the throughput
rate can be ma intained, in which case product finesses will be compromised.
Both solutions may not be ideal for the economics of a diamond processing
plant. In instances where it can be illustrated that there is a possibility to
enhance revenue by crushing finer, unlike cone crushers, the HPGR can
achieve this without compromising on the rate of production of the target
grind. This is due to the ability to readily control the grinding pressure and
higher machine capacities enabled by a relatively larger working gap, thus
volumetric flow.

3.0 Application of HPGRs in Diamond Bearing Ore Comminution Circuits

The flow-sheets of diamond ore treatment plants may vary greatly to an extent
that a standard flow-sheet does not exist. Typically though, the HPGR can be
employed up-stream or down-stream of a Dense Medium Separation (DMS)
plant and this impacts on the selection and design process of the unit.

In an up-stream application, (Argyle and Cullinan diamond mines), two

HPGRs (2.2 and 2.4 m diameter respectively) processes in the order of 300 to
700 tph . These units treat material prepared by two stages of open circuit
crushing resulting in a feed top size to the HPGR of approximately 75 mm,
occasionally lumps of up 250 mm are found to be present in the feed to the
HPGR due to the lack of control of the crusher circuit product. To facilitate the
handling of such a coarse top size (the intended 75 mm), the units are equipped
with smooth segmented liners as a studded roll surface will limit the top size
that can be fed into the unit. In this mode the HPGR is said to be operating in a
tertiary (traditional nomenclature) comminution stage. Material being treated
in this mode still contains all the large diamonds. This then requires a large
working gap generally in the order of 30 mm depending on the operations
requirements in terms of their diamond size frequency distribution. In spite of
such a big gap size, typically in the order of 45 to 55 % minus 1 mm product is
generate by the HPGR in open circuit. Once the product is scrubbed and the
minus 1 mm material removed from the HPGR product, the net effect is a
reduction in the amount of tons that reports to the DMS plant. Figure 12
overleaf presents an example of this impact on the DMS plant whereby lower
capital and operating costs can be expected from the DMS plant.

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Up to 44 % smaller DMS plant by applying HPGR in circuit

Crushing without HPGR Crushing with HPGR

1000 tph 1000 tph

20 % < 1mm 55 % < 1mm

Scrubbing Scrubbing
200 tph < 1mm 550 tph < 1 mm

800 tph 450 tph

DMS plant DMS plant

Figure 12: Impact of using a HPGR upstream of a DMS plant

The application of a HPGR down-stream of the DMS plant is referred to as a

re-crush application. In this instance the Run of Mine (RoM) is typically
reduced to about minus 25 to 32 mm by crushers and grinding mills before
concentration by a DMS plant. Post concentration material typically in the size
range 25 + 8 mm (DMS floats) is re-crushed by the HPGR. Large diamonds
are assumed to have been already removed by the DMS pla nt and thus the
operating gap of the HPGR in this mode is typically smaller than that used in a
tertiary application. Consequently, the required capacity of the HPGR will be
lower, implying a smaller size HPGR thus reduced capital cost. The DMS plant
in this instance will however be bigger than that of a HPGR in a tertiary
application. It is thus always good practice to conduct a trade-off study to
investigate the appropriate option for a particular plant based on a matrix of
business drivers.

4.0 The Argyle Case Study

One of the case studies that will be referred to in this paper is that of Argyle
Diamond mine. Use is made of this case study to illustrate the impact the
HPGR had in overcoming challenges that the operation was faced with.

5.1 Brief Back-Ground

Initially, and like most diamond processing plants, the Argyle mine treated
essentially weathered ore that is typical of the first few years of operation in
such deposits. For this, the conventional crushing, scrubbing and screening
comminution plant was adequate. Then as the softer ores became depleted, the
re-crush cone crushers became the plants bottle- neck, linked to this, was the
decline in grade at the same time. It was at this time that the HPGR technology
was coming to the fore as an alternative comminution device. Based on studies
conducted by Argyle it was evident that the operation would gain by installing
a large HPGR between the secondary crusher and the scrubbers rather than
installing a unit to supplement or replace the bottle- neck area (re-crush).

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The net result of this decision was that the plant capacity was doubled at 5 % of
what it originally cost to build the plant.

The continued decline in the grade of the ore-body necessitated further

increases in plant capacity so that the annual carat targets can be maintained.
Computer simulations were then employed to seek the best option to increase
plant capacity. This work showed that the most effective way of achieving this
was to install a second HPGR.

Later on, a review of the operation indicated that within 4 years the operation
would close. This stemmed from the fact that while there was sufficient ore in
the deposit, it was just getting difficult to extract the diamonds profitably with
the cost structure that was employed by the operation. The simple option of
increasing production in order to gain the benefits of scale so as to off-set the
cost structure was made difficult by the fact that access to the ore within the
mine was getting progressively difficult to a point where mining declared that
it has reached the limit and can not deliver more. Several initiatives were then
embarked on to avoid mine closure and this mainly involved cost cutting so as
to maintain the required carats production per annum. When no further costs
could be cut some fairly major changes to the plant were proposed that could
potentially solve the problem, but these were found to carry significant
technical risks.

The option that was finally chosen was to enhance the revenue for the same
annual tons treated. A number of investigations showed that there were un-
liberated diamonds in the coarse tailings that could be recovered if the crusher
in the re-crush section was to be changed from cone to HPGR. This would
enable the top cut size to be changed from 8 mm to 6mm without necessarily
impacting negatively on throughput and increasing the possibility of diamond
damage. In addition to finding a solution, the mine took this opportunity to
compare all aspects of operation between the HPGR and cone crusher in the re-
crush mode. This was achieved by configuring the circuit to accommodate both
crushers and on instances whe n the HPGR was not operating, the cone crusher
was used instead and performance data captured. Below are some salient
outcomes of this comparative work published by Argyle.

For the same duty requirements the product distributions of the two
crushers were compared as illustrated by figure 13 overleaf.

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Recrush HPRC Project

Nominal Crusher Product Size Distributions

100.0

Cumulative % Passing 10.0

1.0

0.1
0.01 0.10 1.00 10.00 100.00
Product Size (mm)

Recrush Feed HPRC 100bar Cone Crusher

Figure 13: Product size distribution of HPGR and cone crus hing
(Argyle mine)

The above diagram is based on real operating data and it aptly

demonstrates the ability of the HPGR to produce a finer product than the
cone crusher albeit using a bigger working gap.

A statement of efficiency was formulated which compared the energy

input required to generate what was considered to be the key size for the
operation ( 2.3 mm) by both the cone crusher and the HPGR, based on
the plant trails. The HPGR was found to have applied 1.355 kWh/t, while
the cone crusher applied 0.289 kWh/t. The energy ratio to produce the
minus 2.3 mm material was thus 1.335 / 0.289 = 4.69 :1 (HPGR: Cone)

However the HPGR was found to have generated 60,888 tones of the -2.3
mm material as opposed to the cone crusher that produced 5,172 tones of
the same size material. Therefore the tonnage ratio was 60,888 /5,172 =
11.71: 1 in favour of the HPGR

The Relative Comminution Efficiency (R.E.C.) of the HPGR compared to

the cone crusher was thus 11.72 / 4.69 = 2.51: 1 implying that the HPGR
is 2.51 times more energy efficient than cone crusher in producing the
nominated minus 2.3 mm size material.

As the grinding tends towards single particle breakage as is the case with
the coarser components of the feed, the magnitude of the REC is less
pronounced, in this case at 8 mm was found to be 1.54 times more than
that of cone crushing, which is still significant.

In terms of the impact of the HPGR on the plant mass balance it was
found that the unit enabled an increase in the re-crush new feed of
approximately 10 % (of Headfeed) while allowing a 20 % drop (of

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Headfeed) in the amount of tons crushed in the re-crush itself. This was
significant in that the implication was an equivalent of 1 million tons per
annum that would otherwise not enter the re-crush circuit could now be
treated other than reporting to the coarse tailings, implying an increased e
carat liberation. The overall plant throughput remained virtually
unchanged even though the re-crush circuit was the plants bottle- neck
prior to the changes. The implication was that the feed to the DMS plant
as a percentage of Headfeed increased to an extent that this part of the
circuit now became the plants bottle neck.

6.0 Wear and Protection

The rolls of an HPGR are either of a solid design or are equipped with
replaceable tyres or segmented liners.

The factors affecting wear rates in HPGR can be grouped into three categories,
namely, the wear properties of the surface protection material, the physical
properties of the ore and machine settings. In terms of the surface protection
material, pertinent factors that affect wear rates are as follows:

The wear resistance characteristics of the material used,

Ability to build-up and retain an autogenous wear protection layer.

Ore characteristics that affect wear rates are:

Feed size
Moisture
Hardness
Mineralogical composition and
Grain size

Machine parameters that affect wear include,

Grinding force and

Roll speed

How each element contributes to wear will not be discussed here as it is

beyond the scope of the paper, but of importance is how through partnerships
with operators the surface protection has evolved.

Initially the HPGR rolls had a smooth surface as depicted in figure 14a below.

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By 1 Charles Ntsele and 2 Gerhard Sauermann

Figure 14a: Smooth HPGR roll surface Figure 14b: Profiled HPGR roll
surface

While this kind of roll surface enables the machine to accept a bigger feed top
size, its life is shorter than that of other surface types. In co-operation with
users, to increase the service life of rolls, the roll surfaces were hard faced with
profiles as depicted in figure 14b. This surface type is also tolerates bigger
feed top sizes as it is limited to about 5 % of the roll diameter, for instance a
2.5 m diameter rolls machine can accept a feed top size of up to 125 mm.

This profiling enhanced the life of wearing surface due to less slip and
extrusion as compared to smooth rolls. The profiles however require frequent
renewal when treating abrasive ores. To overcome this, studded rolls (tungsten
carbide pins) were then deve loped and introduced to operations. Figure 14c
overleaf.

This kind of protection surface is characterised by allowing the formation of an

autogenous layer between the studs, thus protecting the underlying base
material. In most applications, this protection system offers the longest roll life.
The limitation of such a protection system is that when treating very coarse and
hard feed material pin breakage may occur due to localised pressure peaks on
the roll surface. Therefore to optimise performance, pin quality, ore hardness,
feed top size and the expected working gap should be well considered prior
design.

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Figure 14c: Studded HPGR roll with an autogenous layer between the
studs

This development has increased the operational availability of the HPGR to

beyond 96 %.

7.0 The Future

Although not a trivial task, understanding the liberation characteristics of an

ore body is the key towards unlocking the full potential of HPGRs. Liberation
for diamond processing plants can be defined as the amount of in-situ carats,
above a given size that are released by comminution processes. While this
definition sounds straight forward, other financial drivers often come into play
and these result in liberation being based rather on the equitable amount of
stones that can be liberated. Also, carat liberation is intrinsically tied to
revenue liberated. The revenue is however a function of the diamond size
frequency distribution of a deposit. This is an underlying relationship that
should be considered during plant design to establish the exact point where
further grinding has little or no returns in terms of carats / revenue liberation.
Of course, tied to all of this is the use of energy to achieve particular grinds.
All operations should be aiming for the most efficient use of energy during
comminution.

Comminution devices typically use a combination of mainly impact and

abrasion energy to achieve size reduction. The prevalence of a type on energy
input is dependent on the unit type. For instance, scrubbers are typified by
predominantly low fracture energy to effect abrasion breakage, while AG mill
and HPGRs are predominantly characterised by the high fracture energy to
effect breakage.

The characteristics of an ore body will reveal how much fines can be
generated by these predominant modes of fracture. An understanding of the
amount of carats / revenue that is released is then very invaluable in deciding
on how or where to position the HPGR in the circuit, since this is the most
energy efficient comminution device.

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High energy fracture is best suited to liberating fine and ultra- fine diamonds.
Apart from being a high energy fracture device, the HPGR has the added
dimension of utilising this energy efficiently (inter-particle crushing), while
having the ability to preserve diamonds. For these significant reasons, there is
no reason why a carefully considered comminution plant design should not be
configured to primarily prepare material in the best way possible for the HP GR
to do what it does best, especially for instances where the frequency
distribution of the big stones is low and the split of carats / revenue release is
more biased toward high energy fracture.

Material
requiring re-
crushing
Dual Exit top size
Purpose must ensure
plant - that majority if
Liberation Multi- Stage Crushing & liberation HPGR & Scrubbing Circuit Main Liberation
& Feed Screeing Plant happens here Circuit / perhaps
Prep and that multi - stream
HPGR
optimum top
size is not
compromised

Concentration & Recovery Circuit

Large Diamond Concentration
& Recovery Circuit

Smaller Concentrate
If not then
DMS plant

Tailings

Figure 15: Conceptual Flow Sheet of the Future Combined Grinding

Figure 15 above is a conceptual example of a circuit geared towards liberating

the majority of the carats / revenue through the HPGR. In instances where
there are large stones, then a dedicated large diamond facility is incorporated,
while in their absence, everything will report to the HPGR-Scrubbing circuit.
In the absence of large diamonds, the front end of the circuit is dedicated to
prepare feed adequately for the HPGR.

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8.0 Conclusions

The unique aspects of the HPGR have been discussed, illustrating how and
why this comminution unit is indispensable in the diamond recovery flowsheet.
Also the basic concepts of HPGR comminution have been explained. It is thus
concluded that the HPGR technology is state of the art in diamond ore
processing. The HPGR enhance revenue by improving liberation and
minimising diamond breakage. This impacts directly on the capital cost as the
rates of return are improved and on the operating costs with the higher
availability and enhanced dollar per ton treated. This compelling value
proposition has even overcome the myth that HPGRs are for major operators to
the exclusion of junior minors as more of the juniors are embracing the
technology and are implementing it in their comminution circuits.

The optimum comminution circuit configuration utilising an HPGR remains an

exciting prospect and will differ from operation to operation as it is informed
by the highest achievable diamond recovery counter balanced by the lowest
capital and operating costs.

9.0 References

1. Various Polysius Internal publications

2. D. Maxton, C. Morley and Dr R Bearman, Re-crush HPRC Project The
Benefits of High Pressure Rolls Crushing
3. E. Burchardt, HPGR, A Metallurgical Tool for the Diamond Industry

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