Modelling of high voltage pulse breakage of ores

• Three breakage indices to describe ore response to high voltage pulse (HVP) treatment.
• An HVP breakage model structure was developed to represent the three indices.
• The HVP model can be linked with HVP pre-concentration characterisation curves.
• HVP product size distributions predicted with the model and the tn-family of curves.
• A potential to use the HVP breakage model for hybrid comminution circuit simulation.

A high voltage pulse (HVP) breakage model was developed as a general modelling structure to represent the three HVP breakage indices: body breakage probability (the D1-model), body breakage product fineness (the D2-model), and body breakage product pre-weakening degree (the D3-model). Relations between the HVP breakage indices and HVP pre-concentration characterisation curves were established. The preliminary result indicated that the HVP breakage model has the potential to predict the recovery of valuable metals from the calibrated model parameters. A tn-family of curves (tn is defined as cumulative percentage of product passing 1/n of the initial size) was used to describe the HVP breakage product size distribution. The tn-family of curves can be employed to estimate the product size distribution from the predicted t10 values by the D2-model.