Building the worlds largest HPGR

the HRC3000 at the Morenci

Metcalf Concentrator
Authors:
Victoria Herman, Metso
Keith Harbold, Metso
Presenter:
Raul Noriega, Metso
 Contents
Building the worlds largest HPGR the HRC3000
at the Morenci Metcalf Concentrator

Project stages and timeline

Concept
Pilot plant testing
Engineering design and manufacturing
Installation, commissioning and
startup
Challenges and design
improvements
Operating results
 New Metcalf Concentrator
Building the worlds largest HPGR the HRC3000
at the Morenci Metcalf Concentrator

Metcalf is controlled by Freeport-

McMoRan.
Plant located in Morenci, AZ, United
States.
Flowsheet was based largely on the
experiences at Cerro Verde, Peru.
Commissioned on May 2014
Concentrator designed to process
63,500 mtpd of copper ore.
There is one HRCTM3000 operating in
the tertiary circuit that currently is the
largest HPGR in the world.
 HRC3000 project overview
Building the worlds largest HPGR the HRC3000
at the Morenci Metcalf Concentrator

Project goals
Develop a highly efficient HPGR
capable of handling the full plant
capacity of 63,500 mtpd
Seek to eliminate problems generally
associated with HPGR technology
(edge effect, skewing)
HRC3000 specifications
Roll size: 3m diameter x 2m wide
Installed Power: 2 x 5,700 kW
Weight: +900 metric tons
 Timeline
Building the worlds largest HPGR the HRC3000
at the Morenci Metcalf Concentrator

Project Timeline
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Pilot Plant
Pilot Plant Planning & Design
Pilot Plant Installation & Commissioning
Pilot Plant Testing

HRC3000
HRC3000 Design
HRC3000 Manufacturing
HRC3000 Installation & Commissioning

Metcalf Concentrator
Metcalf Definition & Engineering
Metcalf Construction
 Concept: Arch-frame
Building the worlds largest HPGR the HRC3000
at the Morenci Metcalf Concentrator

Standard HPGR HRC HPGR

Segregated feed results in skewing Arch-frame maintains alignment
 Concept: flanged roll design
Building the worlds largest HPGR the HRC3000
at the Morenci Metcalf Concentrator

Standard HPGR HRC HPGR

 Concept: flanged roll design
Building the worlds largest HPGR the HRC3000
at the Morenci Metcalf Concentrator

Bolt-on flanges
flanged roll

non-flanged roll
 Concept: flanged roll design
Building the worlds largest HPGR the HRC3000
at the Morenci Metcalf Concentrator

500
Crushing Pressure (MPa)

400 Pressure sensors

(7 total)
300

200

100

0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Roll Width
Tire Width(mm)
(mm)

Standard cheek
Traditional plate Plates
Cheek design Flanged roll
Flanged Tiredesign
Design
 Pilot plant testing
Building the worlds largest HPGR the HRC3000
at the Morenci Metcalf Concentrator

11,950 hours of testing

(plant still in operation)
114 total surveys
Pilot plant goals
Test HPGR circuits
under various
conditions
Edge effect series
Validate mechanical
design of HRC
Testing of wear
components
 Engineering design
Building the worlds largest HPGR the HRC3000
at the Morenci Metcalf Concentrator
 Circuit observations: segregated feed
Building the worlds largest HPGR the HRC3000
at the Morenci Metcalf Concentrator

Despite segregated feed - rolls maintained proper alignment

Segregated feed did impact the roll surface and edge protection
Coarse / dry material created weak autogenous layer
Fine / wet material created strong autogenous layer
 Challenges and design improvements
Building the worlds largest HPGR the HRC3000
at the Morenci Metcalf Concentrator

Edge blocks and flanges

Original design New design

- Edge blocks and flanges bending - Higher strength alloy
- Segment wear and fatigue - Improved bolting arrangement
- Side protection
- Scrapers to remove packing
 Challenges and design improvements
Building the worlds largest HPGR the HRC3000
at the Morenci Metcalf Concentrator

High speed reducer bearing

Original design New design

- Matched set - Spherical thrust
taper roller bearings with
bearings cylindrical roller
bearings
 Results: availability
Building the worlds largest HPGR the HRC3000
at the Morenci Metcalf Concentrator

Availability has steadily increased over the first year of operation

The reducer bearing and edge block concerns reduced the overall availability
Expected availability in future: +96%
 Results: circuit observations
Building the worlds largest HPGR the HRC3000
at the Morenci Metcalf Concentrator

Over 8,600 crushing hours to date

34.8M total tons / 23.2M tons processed
Preliminary circuit observations show benefits of flanges scale up to full
scale unit

Predicted* Actual**
Operating gap (mm) 99 99 101
Specific throughput (ts/m3h) 276 320 328
Circulating load (%) 58 85 41 55

* based on flanged pilot plant testing at 4.0N/mm2

** at typical operating pressure of 3.0N/mm2
 Results: roll wear life
Building the worlds largest HPGR the HRC3000
at the Morenci Metcalf Concentrator

Over 8,600 crushing hours to date

Original flanged-roll still in use
10 12 mm of stud wear (of a total of ~55mm)
 Results: roll wear life
Building the worlds largest HPGR the HRC3000
at the Morenci Metcalf Concentrator

Wear rate per crushing hour

70

60
Stud & Surface Height (mm)

50

40

30
~80% life remaining

20

10

0
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 16000
Crushing Hours

Flanged Stud Height Flanged Surface Height Non-Flanged Stud Height Non-Flanged Surface Height
 Conclusions and learnings
Building the worlds largest HPGR the HRC3000
at the Morenci Metcalf Concentrator

Running project phases

concurrently resulted in a faster
startup
Close communication between
parties was critical
Pilot scale testing was needed to
test component design
Benefits of patented Arch-frame
and flanges scale up to the
HRC3000