Optimization of the Heap Leaching Process through Changes in Modes of Operation and Discrete Event Simulation
The importance of mine planning is often underestimated. Nonetheless, it is essential in achieving high performance by identifying the potential value of mineral resources and providing an optimal, practical, and realistic strategy for extraction, which considers the greatest quantity of options, ma...
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doaj-daf753727ead41b481b5f6d9861b8db42020-11-24T20:44:10ZengMDPI AGMinerals2075-163X2019-07-019742110.3390/min9070421min9070421Optimization of the Heap Leaching Process through Changes in Modes of Operation and Discrete Event SimulationManuel Saldaña0Norman Toro1Jonathan Castillo2Pía Hernández3Alessandro Navarra4Departamento de Ingeniería Industrial, Universidad Católica del Norte, Av. Angamos 610, Antofagasta 1270709, ChileDepartamento de Ingeniería en Metalurgia y Minas, Universidad Católica del Norte, Av. Angamos 610, Antofagasta 1270709, ChileDepartamento de Ingeniería en Metalurgia, Universidad de Atacama, Copiapó 1531772, ChileDepartamento de Ingeniería Química y Procesos de Minerales, Universidad de Antofagasta, Avda. Angamos 601, Antofagasta 1240000, ChileDepartment of Mining and Materials Engineering, McGill University, 3610 University Street, Montreal, QC H3A 0C5, CanadaThe importance of mine planning is often underestimated. Nonetheless, it is essential in achieving high performance by identifying the potential value of mineral resources and providing an optimal, practical, and realistic strategy for extraction, which considers the greatest quantity of options, materials, and scenarios. Conventional mine planning is based on a mostly deterministic approach, ignoring part of the uncertainty presented in the input data, such as the mineralogical composition of the feed. This work develops a methodology to optimize the mineral recovery of the heap leaching phase by addressing the mineralogical variation of the feed, by alternating the mode of operation depending on the type of ore in the feed. The operational changes considered in the analysis include the leaching of oxide ores by adding only sulfuric acid (H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub>) as reagent and adding chloride in the case of sulfide ores (secondary sulfides). The incorporation of uncertainty allows the creation of models that maximize the productivity, while confronting the geological uncertainty, as the extraction program progresses. The model seeks to increase the expected recovery from leaching, considering a set of equiprobable geological scenarios. The modeling and simulation of this productive phase is developed through a discrete event simulation (DES) framework. The results of the simulation indicate the potential to address the dynamics of feed variation through the implementation of alternating modes of operation.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/9/7/421process optimization processheap leachingmodes of operationdiscrete event simulation |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Manuel Saldaña Norman Toro Jonathan Castillo Pía Hernández Alessandro Navarra |
spellingShingle |
Manuel Saldaña Norman Toro Jonathan Castillo Pía Hernández Alessandro Navarra Optimization of the Heap Leaching Process through Changes in Modes of Operation and Discrete Event Simulation Minerals process optimization process heap leaching modes of operation discrete event simulation |
author_facet |
Manuel Saldaña Norman Toro Jonathan Castillo Pía Hernández Alessandro Navarra |
author_sort |
Manuel Saldaña |
title |
Optimization of the Heap Leaching Process through Changes in Modes of Operation and Discrete Event Simulation |
title_short |
Optimization of the Heap Leaching Process through Changes in Modes of Operation and Discrete Event Simulation |
title_full |
Optimization of the Heap Leaching Process through Changes in Modes of Operation and Discrete Event Simulation |
title_fullStr |
Optimization of the Heap Leaching Process through Changes in Modes of Operation and Discrete Event Simulation |
title_full_unstemmed |
Optimization of the Heap Leaching Process through Changes in Modes of Operation and Discrete Event Simulation |
title_sort |
optimization of the heap leaching process through changes in modes of operation and discrete event simulation |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Minerals |
issn |
2075-163X |
publishDate |
2019-07-01 |
description |
The importance of mine planning is often underestimated. Nonetheless, it is essential in achieving high performance by identifying the potential value of mineral resources and providing an optimal, practical, and realistic strategy for extraction, which considers the greatest quantity of options, materials, and scenarios. Conventional mine planning is based on a mostly deterministic approach, ignoring part of the uncertainty presented in the input data, such as the mineralogical composition of the feed. This work develops a methodology to optimize the mineral recovery of the heap leaching phase by addressing the mineralogical variation of the feed, by alternating the mode of operation depending on the type of ore in the feed. The operational changes considered in the analysis include the leaching of oxide ores by adding only sulfuric acid (H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub>) as reagent and adding chloride in the case of sulfide ores (secondary sulfides). The incorporation of uncertainty allows the creation of models that maximize the productivity, while confronting the geological uncertainty, as the extraction program progresses. The model seeks to increase the expected recovery from leaching, considering a set of equiprobable geological scenarios. The modeling and simulation of this productive phase is developed through a discrete event simulation (DES) framework. The results of the simulation indicate the potential to address the dynamics of feed variation through the implementation of alternating modes of operation. |
topic |
process optimization process heap leaching modes of operation discrete event simulation |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/9/7/421 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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