Met Dynamics has pioneered the use of simulation tools to optimise the entire mineral value chain, from ore to saleable product.

Through our Ore To Product framework, we are able to comprehensively describe the processes of mining, comminution, classification, concentration and extraction in a single, integrated simulation platform.

Ore To Product is a joint tool used by both mine production planning and metallurgy and allows both groups to communicate objectives and constraints effectively.

Ore To Product approach is applied across the full Life-Of-Mine and has a range of benefits to an operation, including:

  • The early identification of potential mine-plant mismatches
  • Realistic predictions for operational planning and production forecasting
  • Understanding complex system trade-offs for throughput, energy and recovery
  • As a sophisticated training tool to simulate actual plant responses to different situations
 

What is it?

The Ore To Product platform is not just a process simulator – it is a production simulator that links operations across the minerals value chain.

Ore To Product offers unique capabilities not available from other commercially available simulation packages.

  • Mine plans are directly integrated with plant simulation
  • Multi-component process modelling allows unlimited ore and fragmentation blends, mineralogical compositions and grades
  • Process control and operating philosophies are actively represented within the plant simulation
  • System constraints are integrated and directly impact throughput and quality objectives
  • Dynamic simulation modes allow for evaluating surge capacity,  feed variability and Life-Of-Mine performance

The Ore To Product approach is not commodity specific and can be deployed for a range of mining methodologies and metallurgical processes, including:

  • Open pit mining, truck-shovel or IPCC
  • Underground mining, panel, block, sub-level caves etc
  • Crushing, grinding, classification, gravity separation
  • Flotation
  • Hydrometallurgy, leaching, solvent extraction, electrowinning
  • Pyrometallurgy, calcining, roasting, smelting, refining

Case study – Cave To Concentrate

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Cadia Valley Operations

The Ore To Product framework has been successfully deployed to Newcrest’s Cadia Valley Operations.

The Cadia province consists of two underground block cave mines and a range of stockpiled pit material which feed two independent processing plants. Each plant has its own grinding and flotation circuit, producing a gold-copper concentrate product.

A complex array of feed blending, processing constraints and cost structures will drive operational profitability in the coming decades.

Met Dynamics deployed a subset of the Ore To Product approach, “Cave To Concentrate”, in order to fully understand the drivers of value across the mine, plant and product interfaces.

The Cadia Valley Cave To Concentrate platform includes:

  • Mine plans, from hundreds of draw points across the entire Life-Of-Province
  • Integrated ore- and mineral-specific comminution and flotation plant simulation
  • Constraint analysis and debottlenecking modules
  • Comprehensive energy efficiency metrics

The Cave To Concentrate platform is used as a tool by both the mine planning and metallurgy departments. A range of future operating constraints have already been identified and contingency planning is underway well ahead of schedule.

The platform continues to be updated as mine plans are revised and plant conditions change, ensuring it always represents the best knowledge available to the operation – critical for effective decision making.

 

The Ore To Product approach is a productivity game-changer. It provides a strong basis for business planning and investment decisions by exposing the true implications of changing mine and plant conditions.