HPGR comminution for optimization

of copper leaching
W. Baum and K. Ausburn

Director, material characterization, and senior metallurgist,

Freeport-McMoRan Mining Company, Safford, AZ

Abstract

High-pressure grinding rolls (HPGR) are an accepted, but continuously expanding, comminution technology.
The copper industry has a growing need to process harder ores with progressively lower grades, more challenging metallurgy and increasing demand for efficient bacterial leaching applications. This has resulted in a major
focus on HPGR use in a crushing circuit. If the industry is to increase leach extraction while lowering energy
costs in high-throughput hydrometallurgical operations, HPGR will be of inherent significance. The following
paper summarizes test work on copper leach ores utilizing the benefits of HPGR comminution, while increasing
several critical metallurgical parameters. Based on the current work and previous investigations, it was found
that HPGR comminution within a crushing circuit, in specific instances, can result in 2 - >10% increases in copper extraction. The tested variables are crush size, rock type and copper mineralogy dependence. Various other
process parameters may also be optimized.
Key words: HPGR comminution, Optimization, Copper leaching
sizes of copper ores showed microfractures. Several years of
internal, unpublished ore characterization work in concert with
laboratory scale HPGR-crushed material leach evaluations at
Freeport-McMoRan (and its predecessor company, Phelps
Dodge Corporation) have confirmed the utility and highly effective impact of HPGR for copper leaching (Phelps Dodge,
2001, 2003; Freeport-McMoRan, 2008).

Introduction

Conventional crushing and grinding are not only

highly cost-intensive segments of copper hydrometallurgy, but also constitute the pivotal preparation
stage for downstream ore treatment. For harder,
more acid-consuming and more refractory copper
ores, conventional comminution does not offer any
major improvement options, let alone address concerns related to energy consumption, availability and
throughput. Capital costs may be higher for HPGR
than for crushers; however, when compared to installed crushing/comminution capacity, the capital
costs are comparable. For example, an operation
would require several tertiary crushers to provide
the same crushing power contributed by one HPGR.
As a result, the capital cost for the crushers (even
excluding the maintenance cost) could be twice as
high as for HPGR.
Further, conventional crushers introduce substantial comminution costs and inefficiencies in terms
of energy, steel wear and/or lack of good liberation/
solution access. The copper industry is also increasingly faced with the depletion of pure, traditional
oxide ores, while the need for leaching bornite and
chalcopyrite ores with the use of biohydrometallurgy
is rapidly accelerating. In bioleaching, one of the
biggest limitating factors is bacterias lack of access
to the copper sulfide minerals.
For most ores, conventional crushing does not
promote microfracturing of the gangue matrix. HPGR,
in turn, is the only currently available comminution
technology that introduces substantial microfracturing for a wide range of ore types, specifically in the
coarser size fractions. Baum et al. (1997) documented
that up to 60% of all particles in the plus-100 mesh

Current and future challenges of copper leach

extraction
The future need to extract copper from semirefractory oxide ores (such as those in southeast Arizona, Chile and Peru),
mixed ores (oxide-sulfide) and the bioleaching of low-grade
chalcopyrite or bornite ores will demand an energy-efficient,
low-carbon-footprint communition process that provides high
throughput and better rock fracturing than conventional crushing. Economical copper recoveries in the range of 65-75%
from low-grade refractory copper ores will become mandatory
for the industry. As indicated by Marsden (2008) in regard to
energy aspects, HPGR is likely to become much more prevalent in hydrometallurgical process flow sheets. Marsden also
concludes that, in particular, the use of HPGR as a secondary,
tertiary or quaternary crushing step (or combinations of these
steps) is expected to provide significant benefits to copper
extraction efficiency via subsequent heap leaching due to microfracturing within host rock particles and improved product
size distributions.
It is also concluded that in the future, we may need to consider in-pit primary and/or secondary crushing using HPGR
for hybrid stockpile leaching with bacteria. The authors see
this as the only viable approach to increase bioleach extraction
compared to blasting only.
Established benefits of HPGR comminution for hydrometallurgy. The improvement of hydrometallurgical metals

Paper number MMP-10-047. Original manuscript submitted August 2010. Revised manuscript accepted for publication
January 2010. Discussion of this peer-reviewed and approved paper is invited and must be submitted to SME Publications
Dept. prior to November 30, 2011. Copyright 2011, Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc.
MINERALS & METALLURGICAL PROCESSING

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by Baum et al. (1997). Unpublished test work on oxide and

secondary sulfide copper ores was performed by Phelps Dodge
from 2001 to 2005. Von Michaelis (2005) summarized the
potential hydrometallurgical benefits of HPGR. Figures 1
and 2 illustrate the improvements in liberation/accessibility
for copper sulfide ores and microfracturing in the coarser size
fractions of porphyry copper ores when comparing HPGR prior
to primary grinding versus conventional grinding without the
use of HPGR.
The microfracturing and deep internal particle fracture
penetration has recently been confirmed by work from Lin and
Miller (2010), who used high-resolution X-ray micro CT via
3-D imaging of 40-mm- to 200-micron-size particles.

Figure 1 Optical microscopic modal analysis for copper

sulfide liberation/accessibility in HPGR and conventionally
ground ores.

Test work performed

Porosimetry. Three host rock types containing secondary

copper sulfide leach ores were examined for HPGR-related
permeability increase using porosimetry determination. The
results are shown in Table 1.
For ore samples that represented semi-refractory oxide copper with high clay content, conventional laboratory crushing to
< 12.7 mm ( < 0.5 in.) resulted in copper extractions of 65%
in column leach tests that were 100 days under leach. The
HPGR treatment, which produced a finer top size, increased
the copper extraction from 2 - 5% after 100 days.
An ore of andesitic rock matrix with > 1% Cu and high acid
consuming features, subjected to Labwal HPGR comminution
(P80 4 Tyler Mesh) followed by agglomerated small column
leaching, showed 8-10% higher copper extractions. These tests
were compared to ores conventionally crushed using a laboratory jaw crusher to a P80 of 6.35 mm (0.25 in.) (Baum, 1998).
Additionally, ore samples exposed to commercial-size HPGR
units at Cerro Verde were investigated for microfracturing,
including center- and edge-product (Left and Right in
Table 2) materials collected at three different pressure settings.
In order to quantify the microfracturing, mercury porosimetry
measurements in concert with optical microscopy were completed (Freeport-McMoRan, 2008). The results of the mercury
porosimetry tests are presented in Table 2 and are graphically
illustrated in Fig. 3. Due to size limitations with the porosimetry analyzer, only very small sample weights (<10 g) were
able to be analyzed. The porosity differences between the left
and right edge products are attributed to roll skewing effects.

Figure 2 Photomicrograph illustrating internal

microfracturing (see arrows) in -1/4+4 mesh particles
after industrial HPGR treatment. The microfractured
quartz-feldspar matrix contains fine disseminations of
chalcopyrite (white).

extraction in heap and agitation leaching with HPGR comminution has been demonstrated on a bench and pilot scale,
mainly for gold (Esna-Ashari and Kellerwessel, 1988; Baum and
Knecht, 1994; Patzelt et al., 1995, 1997; Friedrich and Baum,
1996; Knecht et al., 1998). Klingmann (2005) demonstrated
microfracture-related optimized gold extraction on a California
gold ore and Scott (2005) confirmed considerable gold leach
improvements due to HPGR. McNab (2006) assigned 10-11%
additional gold leach extractions to the HPGR microfracturing
effect. Recently, the first commercial gold heap leach operation, Tarkwa in Ghana, has started using HPGR equipment.
Until recently, copper ore leach tests with HPGR-crushed
material have not received much attention. The first investigation was published by Baum et al. (1996a). This work was
followed by additional research (Baum, 1996b, 1998). The
significance of microfractures as solution pathways generated
by HPGR comminution in the coarser particle size range (plus100 mesh material) was first demonstrated three-dimensionally

Preliminary HPGR column leach tests. Column testing

using 30-cm- (12-in.-) diameter by 3-m- (10-ft-) high columns
for 108 days (Phelps Dodge report, 2003) were completed on a
low-grade (0.33% copper head grade) mixed quartz porphyryandesite oxide ore. It is pointed out that the ore samples taken
were surface samples and represented more altered material.
As such, the maximum benefits of HPGR comminution could
not be specifically determined.
However, this test work showed that the lowest HPGR pressure setting (equal to a power setting of 1.01 kWh/t) produced
the highest copper extraction (69.5%), which was 2% higher

Table 1 Microfracture-related solution permeability increase during leaching. Method used was the porosimetry determination
(mercury method); results refer to percent of material volume comprised of fractures.
Ore type

Conventional crushing

HPGR

Granodiorite

20-25 vol %

31-38 vol %

Granodiorite-porphyry

20-28 vol %

30-40 vol %

Quartz monzonite

10-13 vol %

18-25 vol %

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Figure 3 Mercury porosity measurements on Cerro Verde ore after HPGR crushing.

than the extractions from the conventionally cone-crushed

material. However, this recovery increase was within normally
accepted variance for column leach tests. Acid consumption
was an average of 6% higher in the HPGR-treated ore. This
increased acid consumption could be significant, depending
on the total acid consumption for a given ore. However, it is
also indicated that the faster leach kinetics in HPGR-treated
ores may result in acid savings, due to faster copper extraction
during the critical first cycle, reduced solution flow and reduced
pumping cost. The amount of minus-100 mesh material in the
1.01-kWh HPGR-treated material was 19.4%, whereas the
conventionally crushed material contained 9.3% minus-100
mesh material. It is concluded that the deeper, less altered ore
may show up to 4% higher copper extractions. This conclusion is based on similar tests performed on a Chilean andesite
ore (Campbell, 2005).
As mentioned above, the column leach tests showed that
the HPGR-comminuted ore exhibited a faster extraction rate
for the first cycle using the actual operating conditions of 15
gpl acid and 0.0038 1/min/0.09m2 (0.001 gpm/ft2). The faster
leach kinetics of the HPGR-crushed ore compared to conventional cone crushing is clearly illustrated in Fig. 4. The HPGR
comminution resulted in 60% copper extraction in 25-30 days,
while the conventionally comminuted material achieved 60%
copper extraction after 50-55 days for this particular ore and
crush size. This could have introduced acid savings of 2.5
kg/t (5 lb/st) had leaching been terminated at that point by,
for example, using a dynamic, on-off-type leach pad. For a
90,718-t/day (100,000-std) operation, that could have resulted
in multimillion dollar acid savings. For a permanent pad
where leaching often continues for years, acid savings may
not be so apparent.
Further, for a dynamic on-off pad under specific operating
conditions, a reduction of the first leach cycle time will also
minimize the total solution flow per pound of copper due to
the faster leach kinetics and the PLS will be a slightly higher
grade in comparison to slower leach kinetics at the same application rate. The test work on the above-mentioned material also revealed that in columns, simulating heap lifts of up

Figure 4 Comparison of leach kinetics between

conventional cone crush and HPGR comminution.

to 8 m, the HPGR-treated copper ore showed a better leach

solution/ore contact (contact between leach solution and ore
particles; see Table 3).
HPGR-treated ore - leaching of granitic secondary sulfide
ore. Comparison column leach tests were performed between
conventionally comminuted material and HPGR-comminuted
material (Phelps Dodge, 2001). A secondary copper sulfide
mineralized granitic ore was used for the comparison leach
tests. The conventionally prepared material was crushed with
a laboratory jaw crusher to a P80 of 12.7 mm (0.5 in.), while
the HPGR-prepared material was comminuted with a pilot
plant HPGR unit operating at a specific grinding force of 4.1
N/mm2 to produce a product with a P80 of 6.35 mm (0.25 in.).
The column leach tests were performed in 15.24-cm (6-in.-)
diameter by 3-m- (10-ft-) tall columns, utilizing a raffinate
application rate of 0.0047 1/min/0.09m2 (0.00125 gpm/ft2)
and a 90-30-30 (leach, rest, leach) leach cycle. The material
was agglomerated with raffinate prior to leaching.
The results from the column leach tests are graphically
displayed in Fig. 5. In this specific comparative test, the con-

Table 2 Mercury porosimetry tests on a copper ore.

1/4 in./ +2,000 m fraction

-2,000 m/ + 150 m fraction

Roll position

Left

Center

Right

Left

Center

Right

150 bar

5.7%

7.4%

5.7%

6.0%

6.5%

6.2%

135 bar

4.4%

6.2%

5.6%

5.1%

5.6%

5.7%

115 bar

6.3%

9.9%

6.3%

7.6%

7.2%

5.5%

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 Clay contents of up to 15% did not cause any slippage

in the HPGR comminution, but may impact leach pad
permeability.
Leach-related features
Slumping of the agglomerated, HPGR-crushed ore in
the columns was modest to minor and there were no
issues with solution percolation, channeling or migration of fines. It is concluded that lift heights of up to
15 m will not cause any percolation problems in ores
which have clay content of <12%. Further test work
on leach ores is required to assess if the clay threshold
for HPGR treatment is different than for conventionally crushed ores.
For a gold ore, it was also indicated that HPGR shortens
the drainage cycle for the leach solutions and, thereby,
minimizes the solution inventory time. This work was
confirmed two years later in the tests by Klingmann
(2005) on gold ores. The heap moisture retention and
saturated moisture content of HPGR ores are very
much lower for HPGR heap feeds than for four-stage
conventionally crushed heap feeds. If this holds true
for other ore types, this may be a great opportunity for
copper ores in terms of work-in-process (WIP) solutions and the time value of money associated with this.
The HPGR-crushed granitic secondary sulfide copper ore
showed an 8% higher copper leach extraction. Based
on these tests (and earlier test work), it is concluded that
the use of HPGR in a tertiary crushing application as
projected by the authors may increase copper extractions
in oxide copper ores from 2-6%, in secondary sulfide
ores from 3-10% and may increase the copper extraction in bornite-chalcopyrite ores by 2-3%. Additional
testing, including large column and mini-heap tests,
are recommended for optimizing the overall operating
parameters of HPGR-treated copper ores.
It is also important that more metallurgical testing is carried out on ore samples which have been treated with
pilot-size HPGR units and conventional crushers in
order to confirm the laboratory-scale results presented
in this paper.

Figure 5 Leach results of HPGR comminution vs.

conventional crushing, southeast Arizona ore. The
conventional crushing achieved 66% copper extraction
compared to 74% copper extraction with HPGR use after
150 days of leaching.
Table 3 Contact between leach solution and ore.
Conventional crush

HPGR-treated ore

24-69%

48-82%*

*These measurements are based on optical microscope analyses

of HPGR samples treated with organic dyes to illustrate the
microfracture penetration and extent.

ventional crushing achieved 66% copper extraction compared to

74% copper extraction with the HPGR comminution after 150
days of leaching. The higher copper extraction of the HPGR
comminuted material in this instance was due primarily to the
unique particle size distribution produced by the HPGR and
due to the presence of microfractures.

Summary of leach testing

The pertinent observations from the leach test work on oxide

and secondary copper sulfide ores using HPGR as a comminution technology can be summarized as follows:
Microfractures and particle size features
The mercury porosimetry tests showed that the higher
pressure HPGR product material may not always contain more microfractures than lower pressure HPGR
product. The microfractures, which form in the zone
of compression, become planes of weakness that disintegrate with increased pressure.
However, high-pressure settings do increase the amount
of finer material present in the HPGR product and may
inherently increase liberation of sulfides, thus providing
better leaching accessibility in many cases.
Although HPGR comminution does increase the amount
of finer material (i.e., the minus-100 mesh material),
the HPGR treatment does not increase the amount
of ultrafine fraction (i.e., < 25 microns). The HPGR
product material from the center of the rolls typically
contained more microfractures than the material from
the edges of the rolls.
It was also observed that the use of lower HPGR pressures,
equal to a power setting of 1.1-2.2 kWh/t (1-2 kWh/st)
is better suited for leach applications. Very high pressures, equal to a power setting of 2.1-3.2 kWh/t (1.9-2.9
kWh/st) may cause lower solution permeability, which
could lead to saturated permeability failure in the heap.
May 2011 Vol. 28 No. 2

Ore characterization for HPGR use

Based on the experience gained during this test work,

including the operational experience from HPGR use at two
Freeport-McMoRan mining operations, evaluations of ore
bodies for HPGR use require a different characterization and
testing approach.
Key ore characteristics to be profiled by robust mineralogicalmetallurgical characterization programs impacting HPGR
performance and throughput are as follows:

QKP (quartz-K-feldspar-plagioclase) concentration

Ore moisture
Ore density
HPGR feed size distribution
Compressive strength
ATWAL Wear Index (Patzelt et al., 2005)
LABWAL (1.8-4.5 t/h (2-5 stph) Polysius HPGR)
specific throughput and specific press force index
MAGRO (45.4-117.9 t/h (50-130 stph) Polysius HPGR)
pilot tests for system modeling
Since heap leach feeds require close monitoring and control
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MINERALS & METALLURGICAL PROCESSING

and Dean (1987), it is of particular importance that the copper

industry gives serious consideration to the use of fine comminution, desliming, leaching of slimes-free, microfractured
coarse ore and agitation or thin-layer leaching of the fines.

of their size characteristics, HPGR application needs to focus

primarily on the ores gangue mineralogy:
Bulk gangue mineralogy
QKP-M factor (quartz-K-feldspar-plagioclase-magnetite)
Rock texture
In-situ mineral particle size (cumulative liberation/accessibility yield after HPGR)
Roll gap size
Ratio of roll product material (full pressure-edge-bypass)

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge Freeport-McMoRan Copper

& Gold Inc. for its permission to publish the results of its
investigations.

References

Baum, W., and Knecht, J., 1994, Optimizing refractory and oxide gold ore operations with high-pressure grinding rolls, SME Pre-Print 94-12.
Baum, W., Patzelt, N., and Knecht, J., 1996a, The use of high pressure grinding
rolls for optimization of copper leaching, SME Pre-Print 96-68.
Baum, W., 1996b, Optimizing copper leaching/SX-EW operations with mineralogical data, SME Preprint 96-84, 7 pp.
Baum, W., Patzelt, N., and Knecht, J. 1997, Metallurgical benefits of high-pressure
roll grinding for gold and copper recovery, SME Denver Special Proceedings
Comminution Practices, Kawatra, S.K. ed., pp. 111-116.
Baum, W., 1998, Copper mineralogy and extraction problems. How to reduce
your losses, Randol Copper Hydromet Roundtable 98, Vancouver, Proceedings, pp. 41-51.
Campbell, J., 2005, Verbal report from site visit at the Damiana leach operation.
Esna-Ashari, and Kellerwessel, H., 1988, Roller press comminution improves
heap leach recovery, Randol Gold Meeting Scottsdale, AZ, Proceedings,
pp. 50-53.
Freeport-McMoRan Technology Center, 2008, Internal report - HPGR microfracture study, unpublished, 4 pp.
Friedrich, J.H., and Baum, W., The use of high-pressure roll grinding for the
treatment of low-grade and refractory gold ores, Hidden Wealth, Johannesburg, South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, 1996, pp. 125-130.
Herkenhoff, E.C., and Dean, J.G., 1987, Heap leaching: agglomerate or deslime?
Eng. Mining Journal, June 1987, pp. 32-39.
Klingmann, L., 2005, Soledad Mountain Project - flowsheet development and
benefits of the HPGR, Proceedings of the Randol Innovative Metallurgy
Forum 2005, Perth.
Klymowsky, R., Patzelt, N., Knecht, J., and Burchardt, E., 2006, An overview
of HPGR technology, Proceedings of the SAG Conference, Vancouver,
Vol. 4, pp. 11-26.
Knecht, J., Friedrich, J., and Baum, W., 1998, HPGR as a processing tool for
gold and copper leaching, flotation and gravity separation, Paper presented
at the Australian Comminution Conference.
Lin, C. and Miller, J., 2010, Particle damage during breakage using high resolution X-ray Micro CT, presentation at the SME Annual Meeting, Phoenix,
AZ, abstract.
Marsden, J., 2008, Energy efficiency and copper hydrometallurgy, SME
Hydrometallurgical Symposium Phoenix, Proceedings.
McNab, B., 2006, Exploring HPGR technology for heap leaching of fresh rock
gold ores, HR Crushing and Grinding Conference, 2006, Townsville, pp. 1-26.
Patzelt, N., Knecht, J., and Baum, W., 1995, Cost efficiency and operational
features of high pressure grinding rolls in gold plant, Mining Engineering,
June, pp. 254-529.
Patzelt, N., Knecht, J. and Baum, W., 1997, The metallurgical potential of highpressure roll grinding, Proceedings of the XX IMPC, Aachen, Germany,
pp. 155-164.
Patzelt, N., Klymowsky, R., Knecht, J., and Burchardt, E., 2005, HPGRs for
Hard Rock Applications, Proceedings of the Randol Innovative Metallurgy
Forum 2005, Perth.
Phelps Dodge Process Technology Center, 2001, Internal report - Ore leach
testing HPGR study, unpublished, 18 pp.
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testing HPGR study, unpublished, 6 pp.
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hard rock ore processing, Randol HPGR Workshop, Perth, pp.1-9.

Results and discussion

Based on the test work performed and prior discussions of

the topic during the last 15 years, it is concluded that HPGR
use in the comminution section of a copper leach operation can
provide numerous optimization tools not available from any
other currently existing crushing technology. The pertinent
contributions of the HPGR to copper leaching are summarized
below. The last five bullets are logical assertions based on the
authors observations and experience.
HPGR optimization parameters
Up to 60% higher rock matrix fracturing.
Grain boundary liberation of sulfides up to 55% higher.
Accessibility of fine-grained disseminated and fracturelocated sulfides can be increased by 60%.
Leach kinetics for specific ores can be up to 60% faster
than with conventional crushing.
Leach recoveries can potentially be increased from
2 to over 10%, depending on the oxide and sulfide
mineralization.
HPGR can increase the ore permeability for leaching,
provided the press force is properly controlled.
Better aeration critical for bacterial leaching.
Better solution flow under compaction.
Better venting of trapped air or CO2 minimizing dry
spots in the lift.
Minimizing internal solution ponding and channeling.

Conclusions

The use of HPGR in operations with tertiary and/or quaternary crushing functions has the potential to achieve lower
operating costs, while obtaining higher and faster copper
extractions. It is concluded that HPGR is particularly suited
to improve the economics of lower-grade, semi-refractory,
acid-consuming copper ores. Higher extraction will permit
mining operations to use lower-grade feeds and extend mine life.
Today, with the availability of HPGR for crushing functions,
the copper leach industry has a technology at hand that can
optimize the hydrometallurgy of low-grade and semirefractory
copper ores and may improve the bioleaching of low-grade
chalcopyrite and/or bornite ores. As advocated by Herkenhoff

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