Fragmentation applied to metallic ores

Fragmentation is such a costly operation in terms of investment, energy and maintenance, that these items can influence the choice and assembly of equipment and/or call into question the very relevance of the implementation.

In fragmentation, reducing energy consumption is not the only goal to aim for; other objectives are just as important:

• granular distribution, largely influenced by the type but also by the cut-off accuracy of the separator (or classification system) associated with the fragmentation device; the separator also consumes energy and this consumption is inversely proportional to the square of the cut-off size; however, certain types of device lead to products with fairly narrow granular distributions;

• the release mesh ; in the case of ores, the aim is to release at least one mineral species under conditions compatible with concentration operations; as selectivity may be imperfect, a pre-concentrate can be prepared, which will then be reground and subjected to another separation operation; this sequence has the advantage of only fine grinding a small quantity of material, which limits energy expenditure and the proportion of ultra-fine particles, which are always tricky to manage;

• grain morphology, a function of fragmentation mode; this aspect generally conditions the rheology of powders and pulps;

• surface reactivity: the tendency to amorphization associated with increased solubility is most often mentioned, as is a variation in the affinity of the unit area for certain adsorbents: increase or decrease, depending on the case.

For more information on the theoretical and technological aspects of fragmentation, please refer to the following files and .