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Understanding the effects of liner wear on SAG mill performance

Conference Paper · September 2015

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 The Influence of Liner Wear on Milling Efficiency
P Toor1, T Perkins2, M S Powell3 and J Franke4
1. MAusIMM, Analytical Metallurgist, Scanalyse Pty Ltd. Email: paul.toor@scanalyse.com.au
2. Research Assistant, JKMRC University of Queensland, t.perkins@uq.edu.au
3. FAusIMM, Chair in Sustainable Comminution, University of Queensland, JKMRC.
Email: malcolm.powell@uq.edu.au
4. Chief Technical Officer, Scanalyse Pty Ltd. Email: Jochen.franke@scanalyse.com.au

ABSTRACT

Due to the high energy consumption of milling, it is desirable to improve the efficiency of this process. One
alternative to reduce energy and material consumption while optimising production yield in mill operation is
through balanced design and selection of liners. Over-design of liners leads to increased life but at a cost to
grinding performance, a relationship which to date has not been studied closely. This paper provides a
description of this process of liner life cycle optimization and presents initial results from the first of two life
cycles being studied for a 32 foot (ft) SAG mill. The use of commercially proven high resolution laser
scanning based liner shape information provided by the MillMapper® software correlated with well
controlled site surveys at various points in the liner life was used as the basis for comparison. The survey
data was modelled in JKSimMet to provide direct comparisons of mill performance. This potentially
provides a methodology for the design of liners that maintain a favourable shape for the majority of liner life,
yielding desirable production parameters such as lower specific energy consumption and higher throughput,
while at the same time maintaining practical liner life cycles.

INTRODUCTION
A key area of interest in minerals processing has been research into the establishment of grinding processes,
and more recently, of representative grinding simulations. This is due to grinding being an important unit
operation in a processing plant, both in terms of energy consumption and overall performance. It is not
uncommon for grinding circuits to constitute up to 40% of the plant power usage and operating cost in a
processing plant (Herbst et al, 2003).

The interest in research into and simulation of grinding and comminution in general has been triggered by
many current issues such as those listed by Norgate et al, (2010):

 The increasing cost of fuel and materials. The comminution of ore does not only consume
significant amount of energy but also large amounts of steel due to wear of grinding media and
liners.
 Climate change is now a most pressing global environmental issue and has increased the need to
make comminution more energy efficient beyond purely economic arguments. Milling uses about

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 90 % of comminution or 40 % of plant energy. In the case of copper ore, the grinding stages form
the largest contribution to the total greenhouse gas emissions for the production of copper
concentrates.
 The general trend of falling grade of ore bodies which are more complex and finer grained. This will
require finer grinding to liberate the valuable material to achieve separation and concentration and
inherently make comminution processes more energy intensive.
 The ever increasing global demand for industrial and consumer goods means that the production of
primary metals can be expected to increase well into the future.

Many research and industry practitioners are working on addressing the energy issue in comminution with
new equipment designs or novel circuit solutions using existing equipment. These approaches can overcome
the inherent limitations in the existing grinding equipment designs and circuits that cause high energy
consumption. Whilst they are expected to provide solutions for new projects, it is important to note that
existing plants will continue to run with traditional grinding circuits because of the capital investment costs
already incurred. It will not be commercially viable to refit more than a small percentage of existing plants
with the new equipment and circuit designs. Therefore solutions to existing traditional grinding circuits are
needed if progress is to be made in the industry as a whole.

One possible way to reduce energy and material consumption in milling is through appropriate design and
selection of liners. Liners play an important role in grinding due to their strong influence on load motion and
behaviour (Makokha et al, 2006), (Powell et al, 1993). Generally the milling efficiency depends on the
behaviour of the load inside the mill which governs the nature of the ore presentation to breakage (Makokha
et al, 2006), yet liner shape is dynamic as it is continually changing because of wear.

It is a common practice in the minerals processing industry to attempt to overdesign mill liners with the aim
of achieving a maximum possible liner life. Overdesigning liners is a trade-off between liner life and
grinding performance which to date has not been studied closely. A common observation over the life of a
shell liner life cycle is an unplanned but welcome throughput increase and specific energy (kWh/t) decrease
as wear progresses. Without the use of appropriate liner measurement tools to track and quantify wear, an
intentional increase in throughput and decrease in power draw with loss of liner profile as the conclusively
identified root cause is difficult to validate.

The authors’ own observations of a number of mills show an increase as great as ten percent (10%) in
throughput from new to old liner, Fig. 1 shows an example for a large SAG mill. It illustrates that there is a
trend of increased throughput over shell liner life. Since mill speed increases as shown were used to
compensate for the decrease in lift as the liners wear, it is likely that the highlighted increase in throughput
over shell liner life is due to both an increase in internal mill volume as the liner wears, as well as an
optimum liner shape being achieved during liner life.

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 Fig. 1- Increase in throughput over liner life for a large SAG mill.

Unfortunately however, the 32 ft SAG mill that was studied for this project does not feature recent recorded
evidence of a throughput increase trend over shell liner life. Throughput and power draw curves for the 32 ft
mill over three life cycles are shown in Fig. 2. The ore supply to this mill is the current operational
bottleneck in the circuit and is the main reason for the observed steady production tonnage and for not
utilising mill speed to compensate for loss in lift caused by liner wear. This in turn makes it more difficult to
identify optimum mill and production parameters during liner life from production data alone. Though the
system contains more statistical noise than hoped for it is believed that an optimum liner shape and running
conditions can still be recommended due to the robustness of the modelling techniques. The processing
methodology in this case is to identify an optimum throughput window not based on observed throughput
behaviour, but by normalizing the throughput data in JKSimMet to select a window of optimum breakage
rate over the liner life cycle. Modelling techniques may also include the use of the Discrete Element Method
(DEM) Simulations. Variation in the feed accounts for much of the associated noise in a processing plant.
The JKSimMet SAG model can be used to normalise the different conditions to a constant base case of ore
competence, feed size, mill filling, etc., thus compensating for the large variation in feed witnessed over a
liner life. DEM simulations will be used in a similar manner to be able to make one to one comparisons
between liner shapes. It should be noted in this study only data from the 32 ft SAG mill is analysed.

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 Fig. 2- Throughput over liner life for 32 ft case study SAG mill.

The project work forming the basis for this paper is scheduled for two full liner life cycles. The first liner
life cycle was completed in December 2010; the second life cycle was completed in June 2011. Data from
the second life cycle will be weighted more heavily due to improvements to sample points made at site thus
increasing the confidence in the second data set. During the first life cycle changes to the design of the
discharge grates were made adding to the noise of the data set. This paper presents the preliminary results
from the first life cycle with data from the second life cycle not complete at the time of writing.

Four grinding surveys were conducted during the liner life alongside MillMapper® laser scanning of the mill
liners to obtain liner shape, ball size distribution, liner volume and liner mass (suited for load cell calibration)
and ball/ore charge volume information. The survey protocol is given in Table 1.

Table 1-Survey Protocol.

Date Survey Notes Liners Relined

05/07/2010 Survey 1 (Worn) Data collection at the end of previous N/A

liner life prior to reline.

08/07/2010 Survey 2 (New) Data collection immediately after Shell, Half Set Discharge Grates
reline.

1/10/2010 Survey 3 (Mid Life) Data collection at approximately mid Half Set Discharge Grates, Inner
life. Discharge Head, Feed End Outer

24/11/2010 Survey 4 (Highly Worn) Data collection 2 weeks prior to reline. N/A

06/12/2010 Survey 5 (Fully Worn) Data collection prior to reline. N/A

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 PROBLEM STATEMENT - LOW EARLY LINER LIFE THROUGHPUT
The hypothesis of this work is that the increase in throughput in SAG milling over a shell liner life cycle
witnessed in industry is due to both an increase in internal mill volume due to liner wear, and secondly, to an
optimum liner shape being achieved during liner life.

Increase in internal mill volume over liner life cycles is easily tracked from the MillMapper® software as it is
a standard survey output. The net mill volume for each survey is calculated by accounting for the exact
laser scanned 3D liner shape at the wear stage in question for feed, shell, and discharge liners. Traditional
mill volume estimations are based on manual single point distance measurements that can not account for 3D
shape changes. MillMapper® technology can track changes in mill volume, arising from the wear of shell
lifters, as well as feed and discharge cones at a high degree of accuracy.

In the case of the large SAG mill referred to in Fig. 1, the mill’s initial volume is 757m3 when new liners are
installed, with the volume on average increasing to 792 m3 at the end of shell liner life over three liner lives
for the 2010 calendar year, which equates to an average increase of 4.4%. However, historical data
demonstrates the period from new to old liner stage yields on average an increase in throughput in the order
of 10% (Table 2). Notably, this increase in throughput is achieved for the 6 observed subsequent shell life
cycles to varying degrees, and therefore is a systematic trend rather than an outlier. The reline schedule of
this mill is for the all the shell and feed end to be relined simultaneously. Only the discharge liner is relined
in an intermediate sequence. This routine imposes less distorting influence on the assessment of throughput
over shell liner life cycles. The reline schedule for the large SAG mill is summarised in Fig. 3.

Fig. 3: Reline Schedule for large SAG mill

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Assuming constant transport rates and percentage fill levels for new and completely worn liners, the increase
of only 4-5% in mill volume does not account for the observed 10% increase in throughput. Lacking other
conclusive evidence that could explain any potential change in transport rate or fill level, the remaining 5-6%
in observed increased throughput may be attributed to an increase in efficiency of liner shape as it wears.
The data suggests that new liners as used are most inefficient and at the other end of the scale, worn liners
are most efficient. This paper outlines a robust technique to capture and quantify this optimum liner shape
for improved milling efficiency. This can inform the design of liners that maintain a favourable shape for the
majority of liner life, yielding desirable production parameters such as lower energy consumption and higher
throughput, while at the same time maintaining practical liner life cycles and not compromising product
sizes.

Table 2- Percent Increased Throughput from Old to New Shell Liner

New Shell Liner Very Worn Shell Liner Increased Throughput %

(Worn-New)

Period Tonnage Period Tonnage

23/04/2007-07/05/2007 1939 11/08/2007-25/08/2007 2154 11.1%

15/09/2007-29/09/2007 1912 18/01/2008-1/02/2008 2183 14.2%

14/02/2008-28/02/2008 1972 14/06/2008-28/06/2008 2126 7.8%

07/07/2008-21/07/2008 1939 30/10/2008- 13/11/2008 2267 16.9%

25/11/2008-09/12/2008 2181 19/03/2008-2/04/2009 2242 2.8%

03/04/2009-17/04/2009 2081 12/08/2009-26/08/2009 2268 9.0%

Average Average Average

2004 2207 10.3%

METHODOLOGY

This section provides a methodology for the design of liners that maintain a favourable shape for the
majority of liner life, yielding desirable production parameters such as lower energy consumption and higher
throughput, while at the same time maintaining practical liner life cycles.

To aid in determining this optimum liner shape the following tools were used:
 Controlled Grinding Surveys;
 MillMapper®;
 JKSimMet.

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It is also possible to add Discrete Element Models (DEM) at four different liner life stages based on the
survey work and MillMapper® scans. Furthermore it is also possible to develop DEM for appropriate “What
If” scenarios aiming at liner redesign.

Below (Fig. 4) is a conceptual methodology for testing the hypothesis.  

Fig. 4- Conceptual methodology of project.

Grinding surveys are conducted at various stages in the liner life (4 times), to gain snap shots of milling
efficiency at each stage over two life cycles. In conjunction with the grinding surveys MillMapper® provides
detailed and accurate 3D liner shapes at each stage.

Due to the large statistical noise associated with commercial processing plants, JKSimMet is used to filter
noise in the grinding surveys by normalizing feed and operating conditions and only leaving the breakage
rates as the variables in the steady state models.

JKSimMet model results are used to identify the most productive operating period of the life cycle for the
present liner design before correlating them to the corresponding MillMapper® liner shapes. With knowledge
of optimum liner shape, a new liner design can be proposed which maintains a favourable liner shape for the
majority of life. The functionality of the new liner design can be further tested in a subsequent DEM
simulation.

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  Conduct controlled grinding surveys in conjunction with accurate laser scanning during the course of
a mill liner life to make direct comparisons between various liner shapes and their impact on mill
performance.
 Measure the liner shapes and mill fill volume levels at four (4) times during the life cycle using
Scanalyse’s established laser scanning technique.
 Conduct carefully controlled surveys to measure mill performance directly prior to each liner
measurement.
 Use mill surveys, mill performance and production data to calculate key mill performance
parameters over the life of the liner. These parameters include:
o Throughput,
o Grind size – fineness of product desired to feed downstream processes, and
o Specific energy consumption.
 Use JKSimMet to normalise the data to keep parameters such as feed hardness and cyclone
performance constant across all surveys to highlight the effect of change in liner shape on mill
performance.

LINER SHAPE TRACKING

MillMapper® provides high resolution three-dimensional mill liner thickness information inside a mill by
mapping tens of millions of individual survey points. Aside from tracking liner shape and wear, other
variables such as liner weight, net mill volume, charge volume, ball size distribution, and discharge grate
open area are also quantified. After completion of a condition monitoring series, high wear zones are
automatically identified and used for reline forecasting, as illustrated in the liner thickness plots of Fig. 5.
More detailed descriptions of the MillMapper® methodology and industry case studies have been provided in
Franke et al, 2006 and Franke, 2008. Variables such as effective lifter height and face angle which
significantly affect the trajectory of the charge are measured and provide the basis for representative DEM
modelling. Critically this can be done not just for new liner shapes, but for worn shapes as well, which is the
only way to identify actual grinding behaviour at times other than the very initial period of a liner life cycle.

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 Fig. 5-3D Thickness model as produced by MillMapper®.

Fig. 6 - Highest wearing profile progression at a central mill section over liner life

Fig. 6 shows the stages of the liner wear when undertaking the surveys. Each line represents the liner profile
measured at a given survey date with the darkest line being the most recent (06/12/2010 reline) and the
lightest being the most dated (08/07/2010 new liner). Peak performance periods therefore can be correlated

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to a distinct liner shape. Whilst Fig. 6 shows the specific 2D profile of the highest wearing zone on the shell
liners, the identification of optimum new liner shapes needs to be considered in 3D when assessing all liner
areas. This is relevant for all cases where liner wear varies significantly along the mill axis which is true for
the vast majority of SAG and AG mills in operation (Franke, 2008).

PLANT SURVEYS

The SAG circuit being studied is shown in Fig. 11. The SAG is in closed circuit with cyclones and the feed
material is typically minus 75mm. This material is a combination of crushed RoM material and a recycle
stream of crushed SAG mill pebbles. The SAG mill discharges onto a trommel, the coarse material from the
trommel is then passed over a single deck vibrating screen before being conveyed to the pebble stockpile.
The pebble stockpile material is fed to one or both of the cone crushers which discharge onto the SAG feed
belt.

The SAG trommel undersize flows into a common sump shared with the ball mill. The material in this sump
is pumped to a cluster of cyclones for classification. Portions of the cyclone underflow stream are used to
feed the flash flotation cell and the gravity concentrators, with the remainder of the material being fed into
the SAG, ball and verti-mills. The gravity concentrate reports directly to the gold room and the cyclone
overflow forms the feed to the flotation circuit.

In order to properly sample the mill product, samples were taken from the SAG trommel undersize, the SAG
screen undersize, and the SAG screen oversize. The full feed to the mill was sampled through a SAG feed
belt cut and sampling of the cyclone underflow streams. The feed and product samples from the recycle cone
crushers were sampled directly at the conclusion of the first survey. The cyclone overflow was sampled to
provide circuit product information and allow an estimation of the effect of the reline on the total circuit
performance to be determined.

Samples were taken around all relevant points with the goal of fully specifying the inputs and outputs of the
SAG mill, Recycle Crushers, and cyclones. A summary of the sample points is given below.

1. SAG Feed;
2. Recycle Crusher Product;
3. Recycle Crusher Feed;
4. SAG Pebble Recycle;
5. SAG Trommel Undersize;
6. SAG Screen Undersize;
7. Cyclone Underflow;

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 8. Cyclone Overflow;
9. Cyclone Feed.

Of the above samples the SAG Trommel undersize (US) sample is inarguably the most crucial sample point.
The sample from this point was initially shown to be non-representative. To test the repeatability of the SAG
trommel sample point, three samples were taken immediately following each other while the circuit was
relatively stable. The samples were sized and produced the results as shown in Fig. 7.

Fig. 7- Size distributions of repeat SAG trommel undersize samples. Original sample point

It can be seen there is a large amount of variability in the sample point. The modifications required to
improve the sample point were not possible to implement without a major shutdown, thus this refit was not
completed until the second life cycle.

The original sample was taken through the door in the trommel casing shown in Fig. 8. And collected with a
very long arm sample cutter. The capacity of the sample cutter was enough to ensure that overflowing was
not likely, but the reach of the sample cutter was not enough to allow the entire stream to be sampled. The
highest flow section of the stream was not reachable, introducing a strong possibility of bias in the sample.

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 Fig. 8- SAG trommel undersize door sample point

During a reline shutdown, the opportunity was taken to improve the sample points by cutting three hatches
on the opposite side of the trommel casing closer to the high flow stream from the trommel. The hatches
were spaced such that the entire length of the stream could be sampled with a short arm sample cutter with
each hatch allowing for one third of the sample/stream to be cut. The new sample point is shown in Fig. 9.

Fig. 9- New SAG trommel undersize point with multiple hatches.

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The new sample point allowed for a representative sample to be taken. As it can be seen in Fig. 10, the
improvements resulted in the distributions in repeat sampling being virtually identical. Additionally, the
distribution is different to the previous reproducibility test, indicating a likely bias in the original sample.
The new sample point installation will allow more reliable and accurate modelling for the second life cycle.

Fig. 10- Size distributions of repeat SAG trommel undersize samples after installation of improved sample point

JKSIMMET MODELLING

JKSimMet is a steady state simulation program for comminution and classification circuits which is widely
used in industry. The JKSimMet circuit flow diagram used in this project is given in Fig. 11.

Fig. 11- JKSimMet Model Flow Diagram

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JKSimMet was used in this project to compare breakage rates over the liner life. This was done by
performing well controlled grinding surveys at four stages of liner life and creating subsequent models. To
make direct comparisons between surveys and gauge the effect of change in liner shape, the data was
normalized. This was done by holding other variables constant such as the ‘A’ and ‘b’ ore impact breakage
parameters from the JK drop weight test. By doing this, any change in the breakage rates and or mass
transfer can be attributed to the change in liner shape rather than changes in feed or operating conditions.

Table 3 presents the model parameters for the surveys. Actual differences in the data from those listed in this
table are as follows.

 The diameter varies throughout the liner life and this value was taken from the MillMapper® outputs.

 The fine classifying size for the discharge function was defined to be approximately 1.1 mm,
because this was the best overall fit from for all the surveys and should have very little variance
between surveys.

 The pebble port fraction varied over the period analysed, so has to change in the models to allow for
this impact on mill hold-up. The fraction used in the model does not represent the true fraction of the
open area made up by the pebble ports – a discrepancy being addressed in separate work on
upgrading the SAG mill model – so is a relative number.

Current values were chosen based on experience and were allowed to vary slightly around their starting
points to determine the stability of the solution. All these best fit values were then locked into the simulation
to calculate the discharge functions for each survey.

Table 3 Mill Data

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 Fig. 12 SAG Discharge Functions.

Fig. 12 shows the various discharge functions calculated for each survey. The discharge functions
demonstrate a large amount of variance across the liner life. However, the variance shown is predominately
due to a change in the grate design. The fraction of the grate open area made up of pebble ports changed
during the period over which the surveys were conducted. Half the grates were replaced with a new design
between the 05/07/2010 and the 08/07/2010 survey, and the other half were changed before the 01/10/2010
survey. This reduced the fraction of the grate open area made up of pebble ports from 100% during the
05/07/2010 survey, to approximately 72% during the 08/07/2010 survey, to 43% for the rest of the surveys.
This caused the grouping seen in Fig. 12, where the October, November, and December surveys are grouped
together due to the same grate design. The October survey shows a faster discharge rate, opposing the
expected reaction to grate wear. However, the change in the discharge functions due to wear still can be
commented on both grate designs separately.

The progression in discharge function due to the change in grate design can be clearly seen i.e. a step change
from a discharge rate of 56hr-1 to 48 hr-1 for the minus 1mm size fraction. This step change is due to a
reduction in the grate open area fraction from 0.124 to 0.091.When considering the discharge functions for
the new designs (Surveys 3, 4 and 5) it can be seen that there is little difference. This is due to the fact the
grate open area fraction was equal for all three surveys at 0.059. Thus the discharge rates stayed relatively
constant during the three surveys, as expected.

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Surveys of the mill during the second liner life will remove the uncertainty about the variance in discharge
function by providing a series of surveys on a mill with the same grate design throughout, and will also allow
the effects of grate wear on mill performance to be quantified.

Fig. 13: Breakage rates of all surveys.

The calculated breakage rates (Fig. 13) will be a useful measure of the change in mill performance with liner
wear but the relationship is too preliminary to draw meaningful conclusions at this stage. There are
differences seen in the breakage rates across the surveys from new and worn but these are susceptible to a
number of sources of potential bias. The largest potential source of bias is the sub-optimal nature of the mill
discharge sample point described earlier. A new sample point has been installed, which has greatly improved
the quality of the sample, thus reducing the potential bias in the samples for the second life cycle and future
surveys. The improvement in the mill discharge sample point will enable the collection of more accurate
data, and will add to the confidence ascribing the change in mill performance to liner wear can be quantified.
At this stage, while the outcomes of the JKSimMet modelling indicate a possible trend across liner life, the
effect is small and it is not clear if it is due to noise in the data.

A preliminary analysis based on the first liner life cycle is possible by comparing Survey 1 (fully worn) and
Survey 2 (new liner) as these surveys offer the greatest step change in liner life and wear. Thus the adverse
effects of plant noise, inconsistent operating conditions and sampling errors are mitigated most when
comparing these data sets. Considering that these surveys were conducted only days apart - one immediately

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before reline and the other immediately after - also add to the confidence when comparing survey and
modelling results.

Fig. 14 shows the breakage rates for the two liner conditions very worn and new. The plot illustrates that
there is an increased breakage rate for the size classes below 30 mm for the worn liner. Conversely, the new
liner exhibits an increased breakage rates for particles greater than 50 mm with 40 mm being the
approximate cross over point. This result can be explained by new liners imparting more lift to the charge
thereby causing comparatively high impact breakage of the coarse particles whereas the worn liner causes a
greater cascading motion of the charge. Thus a larger amount of breakage would occur through attrition and
abrasion of the finer material for the worn liner case. The depressed rates for both sets of data at coarse end
is due to the small top-size of the feed material, lacking material in the largest size range, the rates in that
range have little meaning.

Fig. 14- Breakage rates of worn and new liners.

A summary of process variables is given in Table 4 which shows that throughput decreased by 62 tph
(7.76%) and power increased by 559 kW (9.28%) after the reline in accordance with the hypothesis and
problem statement described earlier.

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 Table 4 Summary of Key Process Variables

Process Variable  Very Worn New 

Fresh Feed tph 799 737
Recycle Crusher tph 126 67
Total Throughput (tph) 925 804
Power (kW) 6019 6588
Mill Filling (%) 19.3 19.5

When comparing the associated SAG product size distributions (Fig. 15) it is evident that the size
distributions are quite similar with the SAG product of the new liner being finer overall. This being the case
the increased breakage rates shown by the worn liner for the minus 30 particles is most likely due to a greater
rate of production of fines rather than a finer product being produced. Thus the increased overall throughput
can be explained by a greater rate of fines being produced by the worn liner as compared to the new liner.
The increase in power associated with the new liner with the same mill filling is possibly due to the change
in liner profile.

Fig. 15- Product size distribution new (8/07/2010) versus worn (8/07/2010) liner.

FURTHER WORK

Further work required in this project is the analysis and creation of JKSimMet models for the second life
cycle. This life cycle will take advantage of the improved sample point and the consistent grate design
throughout the liner life. It is envisaged that the second data set will provide more detailed insight to the
influence of liner wear over the liner life cycle as opposed to solely considering new versus worn liner
shapes.

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The subsequent step to quantifying the influence of liner wear on the relevant production parameters will be
to utilize this information in order to improve new liner design. This will be achieved by matching
MillMapper® liner shapes with periods of peak performance after normalizing the influence of all other
relevant parameters using JKSimMet. This provides a methodology for the design of new liner shapes that
maintain a favourable shape for the majority of liner life, yielding desirable production parameters such as
lower energy consumption and higher throughput, while at the same time maintaining desired product sizes
and practical liner life cycles.

Once the desired new liner shapes are established, it is possible to utilise DEM modelling to explore the
effect of the design changes. In the context of this project, the four liner shapes which were captured with
the corresponding grinding surveys can be input into respective DEM models. This provides four distinct
liner shapes producing varying charge motion behaviour and associated output statistics on power draw,
transport of particles, residence times, particle size segregation, impact energies and other variables. These
simulations may be used to provide further verification of the liner shape identified as the optimum new liner
design.

Fig. 16 – MillMapper® thickness model imported into DEM platform.

The DEM also provides an ideal environment for comparative assessments of ‘What If’ scenarios of liner
redesign. The work presented will form the basis for such DEM models.

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 CONCLUSIONS

A methodology for quantifying the influence of liner wear has been provided. The methodology could be
utilised for optimising liner design and reline scheduling. Results from the first life cycle have been
presented with JKSimMet modelling and indicate a possible trend across liner life. An analysis of fully worn
and new liners was carried out as this represented the greatest step change in the mill operating conditions.
Initial results for the mill indicate the worn mill is more apt at producing fines at a higher rate resulting in
increased throughput. The increased throughput is achieved at a lower power, possibly due to a decrease in
high impact energy collisions occurring in a worn mill due to the reduction in lift. This is based on findings
from JKSimMet breakage rates which show that the worn mill has increased breakage rates for particles
below 30 mm.

Results from the second life cycle were not available at time of publication. Data from the second life cycle
will be weighted more heavily due to improvements to sample points made at site thus increasing the
confidence in the second data set. During the first life cycle changes to the design of the discharge grates
were made adding to the noise of the data set.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to acknowledge the support and co-operation of site personnel. Financial support for
this project was provided by AusIndustry through the Climate Ready grant scheme.

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Metallurgical Plant Design and Operating Strategies (MetPlant 2011) 20

8 - 9 August 2011 Perth, WA

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