Overview:
– Located in Ontario, Canada, Detour Lake Mine operates a robust metallurgical processing plant.
– The processing plant is designed for optimum gold recovery with a focus on efficiency and low operating costs.
Key Components of the Processing Circuit:
1. Crushing and Grinding:
– Primary Crusher:
– Gyratory crusher with a 60 x 113 inches size.
– Capacity: 4,200–4,500 tonnes per operating hour (t/oh).
– Primary stage uses open circuit crushing.
– Secondary Crushers:
– Two XL1100 cone crushers.
– Capacity: 1,550 t/oh each.
– Scalping screens for secondary crushers to improve efficiency.
– Grinding Circuit:
– Two semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) mills (10.7m x 5.33m) with twin pinions.
– Pebble crushers used for further grinding.
– Recirculating load of 35% with a final product size of 95µm.
2. Leaching and Carbon-in-Pulp (CIP):
– Leach Circuit:
– 20 leach tanks, each with a volume of 4,988 m³.
– 29 hours of average leach time with a 50% solids leach density.
– CIP Circuit:
– Two carousel lines, each with seven tanks (330 m³ each).
– Design gold feed solution grade of 1.2 mg/L.
– Carbon adsorption rate: 3,550 g/t.
– Carbon Regeneration:
– Two carbon reactivation kilns with a capacity of 10 t/day each.
3. Gold Recovery:
– Electrowinning and Refining:
– Six electrowinning cells, each with a volume of 3.54 m³.
– Induction furnace for gold doré production.
– Acid Wash & Stripping:
– Zadra high-pressure stripping system.
– Hydrochloric acid used for acid wash.
4. Tailings and Water Management:
– Thickening:
– Pre-leach and pre-detox thickeners with a feed rate of 2,569 t/oh.
– Cyanide Destruction:
– SO2/air process for tailings detoxification.
– Three tanks (each with a volume of 2,775 m³) for cyanide destruction.
Processing Performance:
– The plant operates at 90% of the designed 92% uptime.
– Throughput has exceeded expectations, reaching 25.4 Mt in 2023 with an hourly rate of 3,325 t/oh.
– Projected throughput increase to 28 Mt/a by 2025, with potential for 29 Mt/a by 2028.
Consumables:
– Steel balls, sodium cyanide (NaCN), SO2, SMBS, and anti-scalants are used regularly.
– Carbon is essential for gold collection in the CIP process.
Component | Capacity/Details
———-|——————
Primary Crusher | 60 x 113 inches, 4,200–4,500 t/oh
SAG Mills | 10.7m x 5.33m, twin pinion
Leach Tanks | 4,988 m³ per tank (20 tanks total)
CIP Tanks | 330 m³ per tank (7 tanks per carousel)
Electrowinning Cells | 3.54 m³ per cell (6 total)
Carbon Kilns | 10 t/day (2 kilns)
Cyanide Destruction | SO2/air, 2,775 m³ per tank (3 tanks)
Optimization Initiatives:
– Improved fragmentation with machine learning tools.
– Variable speed drives for secondary and pebble crushers.
– Advanced control automation in grinding.