Minerals 2022, 12, 1263. https://doi.org/10.3390/min12101263

The study evaluated the milling kinetics of three copper ores, from a multi-mineralised deposit, which were identified as sulphide 1 (with bornite as a dominant copper mineral), sulphide 2 (mainly composed of chalcopyrite) and oxide (with malachite as a dominant copper mineral) and related the breakage parameters to the mineral composition data. Five mono-size fractions between 1000 µm and 212 µm were dry milled for short grinding times in the laboratory ball mill in order to obtain data for predicting breakage rate parameters. The analytical and mineralogical characterisation of the ores were performed using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis, scanning electron microscopy energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) analysis, optical microscopy analysis and X-ray diffractometer (XRD). The mineralogy data showed that quartz was the abundant gangue mineral (average for each ore was above 60% (w/w)), followed by K-feldspar minerals (orthoclase and microcline) which constituted between 4% (w/w) and 6% (w/w) and the remainder are the minor calcite and dolomite minerals which are also in the host rock. The experimental milling kinetics parameters and mineralogical data were used to assess the robustness of the heterogeneous (two-component) and homogeneous (single-component) first-order rate breakage models. The mineral composition data were used for setting up the predictions of breakage parameters in the two-component and single-component first-order breakage models. The experimental data fitted better on the two-component breakage model than the single-component breakage model. These results highlighted the influence of two groups of.