Seeking Maximum Value: Net Metal Production at Minera Los Pelambres

摘要

One of the most importants trade-offs in copper mining is between throughput and recovery; by optimizing this trade off it is possible to improve our operations and increase copper production. For this reason, Minera Los Pelambres has decided to use the Net Metal Production strategy to reach the maximum value of its assets. The net metal production strategy was created by Robert Maron, Christian O'Keefe and Jaime Sepulveda in “Assessing the Benefits of Automatic Grinding Control Using PST Technology for True On-Line Particle Size Measurement”. The objective of this strategy is to identify the optimum match between Throughput (T), Recovery (R) and the head grade of valuable metal being recovered (h), which is represented by the following equation: NMP = h T R The main challenge is to find the optimal point between these variables, because when the throughput is maximized, the quality of the product (P80) is thicker, losing recovery capacity. On the other hand, the optimization of recovery capacity limits the maximum performance of our SAG Mills. Preliminary results show that maximizing throughput generates more fine copper than maximazing recovery. Thus, to find the optimal point it is necessary to push our P80 by advancing pebbles to our secondary grinding.