How state of the art metal accounting can improve the efficiency of plant trials

摘要

Plant trials routinely involve performing various experiments ranging from testing the performance of a new flotation reagent to assessing the potential of a different circuit configuration. Such trials are highly valuable for continuous improvement in flotation plants. However, the inevitable presence of data variability raises concerns about risks related to decisions made upon their completion. These concerns are legitimate as principles of modern corporate governance imply that such risks must be managed. Hypothesis testing is the appropriate quantitative framework for assessing and managing such risks as it allows decisions to be made at a known confidence level. However, such tests more than often rely on the use of raw measurements rather than reconciled data. This either leads to lower confidence levels or longer test durations that could otherwise be obtained. This paper uses simulated plant trials of a new flotation reagent to illustrate how some of the benefits of state of the art metal accounting can be used to improve the efficiency of plant trials.