Papers by Viktor Lishchuk
Reconciliation of geological, mining and mineral processing information is a costly and time dema... more Reconciliation of geological, mining and mineral processing information is a costly and time demanding procedure with high uncertainty due to incomplete information, especially during the early stages of a project, i.e., pre-feasibility, feasibility studies. Lack of information at those project stages can be overcome by applying synthetic data for investigating different scenarios. Generation of the synthetic data requires some minimum sparse knowledge already available from other parts of the mining value chain, i.e., geology, mining, mineral processing. The aim of the paper is to describe how to establish and construct a synthetic testing environment, or " synthetic ore body model " for data integration by using a synthetic deposit, mine production, constrained by a mine plan, and a simulated beneficiation process. The approach uses quantitative mineralogical data and liberation information for process simulation. The results of geological and process data integration are compared with the real case data of an apatite iron ore. The discussed approach allows for studying the implications in downstream processes caused by changes in upstream parts of the mining value chain. It also opens the possibility of optimising sampling campaigns by investigating different synthetic drilling scenarios including changes to the spacing between synthetic drill holes, composite length, drill hole orientation and assayed parameters. A synthetic deposit model can be a suitable tool for testing different scenarios for implementation of geometallurgical programs and also an educational tool for universities and companies.
The main purpose of geometallurgy is to develop a model to predict the variability in the mineral... more The main purpose of geometallurgy is to develop a model to predict the variability in the mineral processing performance within the ore body. Geometallurgical tests used for developing such a model need to be fast, practical and inexpensive and include as an input data relevant and measureable geological parameters like elemental grades, mineral grades and grain size. Important in each geometallurgical program is to define the number of samples needed to be sent for geometallurgical testing to enable reliable metallurgical forecast. This is, however, a complicated question that does not have a generic answer. To study the question on sampling a simulation environment was built including a synthetic ore body and sampling & assaying module. A synthetic Kiruna type iron oxide-apatite deposit was established based on case studies of Malmberget ore. The synthetic ore body includes alike variability in rock types, modal mineralogy, chemical composition, density and mineral textures as its real life counterpart. The synthetic ore body was virtually sampled with different sampling densities for a Davis tube testing, a geometallurgical test characterising response in magnetic separation. Based on the test results a forecast for the processing of the whole ore body was created. The forecasted parameters included concentrate tonnages, iron recovery and concentrate quality in terms of iron, phosphorous and silica contents. The study shows that the number of samples required for forecasting different geometallurgical parameters varies. Reliable estimates on iron recovery and concentrate mass pull can be made with about 5-10 representative samples by geometallurgical ore type. However, when the concentrate quality in terms of impurities needs to be forecasted, the sample number is more than 20 times higher. This is due to variation in mineral liberation and shows the importance of developing techniques to collect qualitative information on mineral and ore textures in geometallurgy.
Geometallurgy aims to improve resource efficiency by creating a spatial model of an orebody in or... more Geometallurgy aims to improve resource efficiency by creating a spatial model of an orebody in order to forecast ore processing behaviour. This enables calculation of the economic value of each ore block and the use of this information for production optimisation and hence an improved economic return. Modelling uses different approaches to link geological information with mineral processing: traditional approach uses chemical elements; proxy approach – small-scale geometallurgical tests; and mineralogical approach – minerals. A geometallurgical model is obtained during execution of a geometallurgical program encompassing the entire value chain of ore processing. Available methods for establishing a geometallurgical model are in many cases limited and not yet comprehensively validated. Some of the limitations include: sampling density, assaying methods and quality, forecast accuracy block model content, geostatistical solutions for non-additive components, blending and assessment of positive impact of geometallurgy on the project. Synthetic ore models combined with process simulations and production scheduling, based on strong case studies, present a viable way to address these shortcomings. Such synthetic ore models will have realistic elemental and mineral distribution, textural attributes and 3D variability for input into the design of an appropriate geometallurgical program. A synthetic orebody was created for an apatite-bearing iron deposit. Variability in modal mineralogy was described by geostatistical parameters combined by a set of linear and trigonometric functions. The generated synthetic deposit model was used to develop a mine production plan to generate a simulated process feed. The process feed had detailed information required for beneficiation process simulation: modal mineralogy, chemical composition of minerals, grain size and specific gravity. The synthetic system was used to measure benefits that a geometallurgical program developed for real cases could provide, compared to production where only head grade is optimised. These include a reliable sampling strategy and confidence in the feed-quality forecast for economic evaluation.
PL O odpornej właściwości metody interpolacyjnej ruchomej powierzchni. Metoda interpolacyjna ruc... more PL O odpornej właściwości metody interpolacyjnej ruchomej powierzchni. Metoda interpolacyjna ruchomej powierzchni realizowana metodą najmniejszych kwadratów nie jest odporna na dane odstające. Wpływ danych odstających można zminimalizować przy zastosowaniu metod estymacji odpornej. Ich skuteczność pokazano na przykładzie wykrywania odstających pikseli i interpolacji wysokości terenu w tych punktach.
EN The robust properties of the moving surface interpolation method. Moving surface interpolation method implemented with a least squares method is not robust to data which differ extremely. Influence of the data which differ extremely can be minimized by using robust estimation methods. The effectiveness of these methods is shown in the example detection and height interpolation of pixels which differ extremely in the land points.
Mikheevskoye project is a porphyry Cu-Mo open pit mine located in Chelyabinsk region, Russia. Ore... more Mikheevskoye project is a porphyry Cu-Mo open pit mine located in Chelyabinsk region, Russia. Ore extraction started in 2011 and mineral processing started in late 2013. Mikheevskoye project is owned by the Russian Copper Company.
This study examines the effect of hydrothermal alteration zonality and geometallurgical ore body zonality on the mine planning and plant feed quality forecast. The study was conducted at Russian business unit of Outotec, which operates part of the processing plant in Mikheevskoye project.
The empirical part of the study was conducted in October 2013 - January 2014. Geological data for the study was obtained from Outotec office and Russian Copper Company geologists. Some geological data was collected through sampling campaign in the Mikheevskoye open pit. Additional data was gathered through the questionnaire which investigated how processing engineers working on site view the ore body. A questionnaire was distributed among Outotec and Russian Copper Company process engineers.
The results revealed that mine scheduling based on the geometallurgical zoning is potentially possible and feasible in case of porphyry ore deposits. In this case, twelve geometallurgical zones were determined theoretically. Application of hydrothermal alteration zonality helped improve forecast feed grade quality. Based on the results of this study, it was recommended to conduct additional exploration drilling, evaluate the process performance of the samples retrieved in the drilling and to update the model developed in this study accordingly. One of the key findings of the study was estimation of the new payback time for the project on the basis of current market situation.Mikheevskoye projekti on Venäjällä, Chelyabinskin alueella sijaitseva porphyry Cu-Mo malmin avolouhos. Malmilouhinta alueella alkoi vuonna 2011 ja rikastamon toiminta vuoden 2013 lopussa. Mikheevskoye malmiesiintymä ja rikastuslaitos ovat Russian Copper Companyn (RCC, Venäjän kupariteollisuus) omaisuutta.
Tässä tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan vesiliukenemisesta ja lämpötilagradientista syntyneiden muuttumisvyöhykkeiden sekä mineraalivyöhykkeiden (geometallurgiset) vaikutusta louhintasuunnitelmaan ja ennustettavaan rikastamon syötön laatuun. Tutkimusta toteutettiin Outotecin Venäjän alueyksikössä; sama Outotecin yksikkö vastaa vaahdotus- ja vedenpoistopiirin operoinnista Mikheevskoye projektissa.
Tutkimuksen kokeellinen osuus toteutettiin lokakuussa 2013 – tammikuussa 2014. Geologinen tieto tuli Outotecin ja RCC:n geologeilta. Osa geologisesta tiedosta oli kerätty paikan päällä avolouhoksesta näytteenottokampanjan merkeissä. Lisätiedot kerättiin kyselyllä, joka tutkii prosessi-insinöörien ymmärrystä malmiesiintymän piirteistä. Kysely toteutettiin Outotecin ja RCC:n prosessi-insinöörien keskuudessa.
Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittivat, että louhinnan suunnittelu perustuen mineraali- tai geometallurgisiin vyöhykkeisiin on mahdollista käytännössä ja on myös taloudellisesti kannattavaa porhyrymalmiesiintymissä. Tässä tapauksessa 12 teoreettista mineraalivyöhykettä oli otettu käyttöön. Vesiliukenemisesta ja lämpötilagradientista syntyneiden muuttumisvyöhykkeiden huomioon ottaminen auttoi tarkentamaan rikastamon syötteen laadun ennustetta. Tutkimuksen tulosten pohjalta suositellaan tuotantokairausten toteuttamista, niistä kerättyjen näytteiden analysointia prosessikäyttäytymisen osalta sekä tässä tutkimuksessa kehitetyn mallin päivittämistä ko. tulosten pohjalta. Tämän tutkimuksen yksi keskeisiä tuloksia oli uusi arvio projektin takaisinmaksuajasta nykyisten metallihintojen pohjalta.
A method of the improvement of the total station observations 3D adjustment by using precise geoi... more A method of the improvement of the total station observations 3D adjustment by using precise geoid model is presented. The novel concept of using the plumb line direction obtained from the precise geoid model in combined GPS/total station data adjustment is applied. It is concluded that results of the adjustment can be improved if data on plumb line direction is used. Theoretical background shown in the paper was proved with an experiment based on the total station and GPS measurements referred to GRS80 geocentric reference system and with the use of GUGIK2001 geoid model for Poland.
Geometallurgy is a growing area within a mineral processing industry. It brings together tasks of... more Geometallurgy is a growing area within a mineral processing industry. It brings together tasks of geologists and mineral processing engineers to do short and medium term production planning. However, it is also striving to deal with long term tasks such as changes in either production flow sheet or considering different scenarios.
This paper demonstrates capabilities of geometallurgy through two case studies from perspective of Minerals and Metallurgical Engineering division Lulea University of Technology. A classification system of geometallurgical usages and approaches was developed in order to describe a working framework.
A practical meaning of classification system was proved in two case studies: Mikheevskoye (Russia) and Malmberget (Sweden) projects. These case studies, where geometallurgy was applied in a rather systematic way, have shown the amount of work required for moving the project within the geometallurgical framework, which corresponds to shift of the projects location within the geometallurgical classification system.
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Papers by Viktor Lishchuk
EN The robust properties of the moving surface interpolation method. Moving surface interpolation method implemented with a least squares method is not robust to data which differ extremely. Influence of the data which differ extremely can be minimized by using robust estimation methods. The effectiveness of these methods is shown in the example detection and height interpolation of pixels which differ extremely in the land points.
This study examines the effect of hydrothermal alteration zonality and geometallurgical ore body zonality on the mine planning and plant feed quality forecast. The study was conducted at Russian business unit of Outotec, which operates part of the processing plant in Mikheevskoye project.
The empirical part of the study was conducted in October 2013 - January 2014. Geological data for the study was obtained from Outotec office and Russian Copper Company geologists. Some geological data was collected through sampling campaign in the Mikheevskoye open pit. Additional data was gathered through the questionnaire which investigated how processing engineers working on site view the ore body. A questionnaire was distributed among Outotec and Russian Copper Company process engineers.
The results revealed that mine scheduling based on the geometallurgical zoning is potentially possible and feasible in case of porphyry ore deposits. In this case, twelve geometallurgical zones were determined theoretically. Application of hydrothermal alteration zonality helped improve forecast feed grade quality. Based on the results of this study, it was recommended to conduct additional exploration drilling, evaluate the process performance of the samples retrieved in the drilling and to update the model developed in this study accordingly. One of the key findings of the study was estimation of the new payback time for the project on the basis of current market situation.Mikheevskoye projekti on Venäjällä, Chelyabinskin alueella sijaitseva porphyry Cu-Mo malmin avolouhos. Malmilouhinta alueella alkoi vuonna 2011 ja rikastamon toiminta vuoden 2013 lopussa. Mikheevskoye malmiesiintymä ja rikastuslaitos ovat Russian Copper Companyn (RCC, Venäjän kupariteollisuus) omaisuutta.
Tässä tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan vesiliukenemisesta ja lämpötilagradientista syntyneiden muuttumisvyöhykkeiden sekä mineraalivyöhykkeiden (geometallurgiset) vaikutusta louhintasuunnitelmaan ja ennustettavaan rikastamon syötön laatuun. Tutkimusta toteutettiin Outotecin Venäjän alueyksikössä; sama Outotecin yksikkö vastaa vaahdotus- ja vedenpoistopiirin operoinnista Mikheevskoye projektissa.
Tutkimuksen kokeellinen osuus toteutettiin lokakuussa 2013 – tammikuussa 2014. Geologinen tieto tuli Outotecin ja RCC:n geologeilta. Osa geologisesta tiedosta oli kerätty paikan päällä avolouhoksesta näytteenottokampanjan merkeissä. Lisätiedot kerättiin kyselyllä, joka tutkii prosessi-insinöörien ymmärrystä malmiesiintymän piirteistä. Kysely toteutettiin Outotecin ja RCC:n prosessi-insinöörien keskuudessa.
Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittivat, että louhinnan suunnittelu perustuen mineraali- tai geometallurgisiin vyöhykkeisiin on mahdollista käytännössä ja on myös taloudellisesti kannattavaa porhyrymalmiesiintymissä. Tässä tapauksessa 12 teoreettista mineraalivyöhykettä oli otettu käyttöön. Vesiliukenemisesta ja lämpötilagradientista syntyneiden muuttumisvyöhykkeiden huomioon ottaminen auttoi tarkentamaan rikastamon syötteen laadun ennustetta. Tutkimuksen tulosten pohjalta suositellaan tuotantokairausten toteuttamista, niistä kerättyjen näytteiden analysointia prosessikäyttäytymisen osalta sekä tässä tutkimuksessa kehitetyn mallin päivittämistä ko. tulosten pohjalta. Tämän tutkimuksen yksi keskeisiä tuloksia oli uusi arvio projektin takaisinmaksuajasta nykyisten metallihintojen pohjalta.
This paper demonstrates capabilities of geometallurgy through two case studies from perspective of Minerals and Metallurgical Engineering division Lulea University of Technology. A classification system of geometallurgical usages and approaches was developed in order to describe a working framework.
A practical meaning of classification system was proved in two case studies: Mikheevskoye (Russia) and Malmberget (Sweden) projects. These case studies, where geometallurgy was applied in a rather systematic way, have shown the amount of work required for moving the project within the geometallurgical framework, which corresponds to shift of the projects location within the geometallurgical classification system.
EN The robust properties of the moving surface interpolation method. Moving surface interpolation method implemented with a least squares method is not robust to data which differ extremely. Influence of the data which differ extremely can be minimized by using robust estimation methods. The effectiveness of these methods is shown in the example detection and height interpolation of pixels which differ extremely in the land points.
This study examines the effect of hydrothermal alteration zonality and geometallurgical ore body zonality on the mine planning and plant feed quality forecast. The study was conducted at Russian business unit of Outotec, which operates part of the processing plant in Mikheevskoye project.
The empirical part of the study was conducted in October 2013 - January 2014. Geological data for the study was obtained from Outotec office and Russian Copper Company geologists. Some geological data was collected through sampling campaign in the Mikheevskoye open pit. Additional data was gathered through the questionnaire which investigated how processing engineers working on site view the ore body. A questionnaire was distributed among Outotec and Russian Copper Company process engineers.
The results revealed that mine scheduling based on the geometallurgical zoning is potentially possible and feasible in case of porphyry ore deposits. In this case, twelve geometallurgical zones were determined theoretically. Application of hydrothermal alteration zonality helped improve forecast feed grade quality. Based on the results of this study, it was recommended to conduct additional exploration drilling, evaluate the process performance of the samples retrieved in the drilling and to update the model developed in this study accordingly. One of the key findings of the study was estimation of the new payback time for the project on the basis of current market situation.Mikheevskoye projekti on Venäjällä, Chelyabinskin alueella sijaitseva porphyry Cu-Mo malmin avolouhos. Malmilouhinta alueella alkoi vuonna 2011 ja rikastamon toiminta vuoden 2013 lopussa. Mikheevskoye malmiesiintymä ja rikastuslaitos ovat Russian Copper Companyn (RCC, Venäjän kupariteollisuus) omaisuutta.
Tässä tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan vesiliukenemisesta ja lämpötilagradientista syntyneiden muuttumisvyöhykkeiden sekä mineraalivyöhykkeiden (geometallurgiset) vaikutusta louhintasuunnitelmaan ja ennustettavaan rikastamon syötön laatuun. Tutkimusta toteutettiin Outotecin Venäjän alueyksikössä; sama Outotecin yksikkö vastaa vaahdotus- ja vedenpoistopiirin operoinnista Mikheevskoye projektissa.
Tutkimuksen kokeellinen osuus toteutettiin lokakuussa 2013 – tammikuussa 2014. Geologinen tieto tuli Outotecin ja RCC:n geologeilta. Osa geologisesta tiedosta oli kerätty paikan päällä avolouhoksesta näytteenottokampanjan merkeissä. Lisätiedot kerättiin kyselyllä, joka tutkii prosessi-insinöörien ymmärrystä malmiesiintymän piirteistä. Kysely toteutettiin Outotecin ja RCC:n prosessi-insinöörien keskuudessa.
Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittivat, että louhinnan suunnittelu perustuen mineraali- tai geometallurgisiin vyöhykkeisiin on mahdollista käytännössä ja on myös taloudellisesti kannattavaa porhyrymalmiesiintymissä. Tässä tapauksessa 12 teoreettista mineraalivyöhykettä oli otettu käyttöön. Vesiliukenemisesta ja lämpötilagradientista syntyneiden muuttumisvyöhykkeiden huomioon ottaminen auttoi tarkentamaan rikastamon syötteen laadun ennustetta. Tutkimuksen tulosten pohjalta suositellaan tuotantokairausten toteuttamista, niistä kerättyjen näytteiden analysointia prosessikäyttäytymisen osalta sekä tässä tutkimuksessa kehitetyn mallin päivittämistä ko. tulosten pohjalta. Tämän tutkimuksen yksi keskeisiä tuloksia oli uusi arvio projektin takaisinmaksuajasta nykyisten metallihintojen pohjalta.
This paper demonstrates capabilities of geometallurgy through two case studies from perspective of Minerals and Metallurgical Engineering division Lulea University of Technology. A classification system of geometallurgical usages and approaches was developed in order to describe a working framework.
A practical meaning of classification system was proved in two case studies: Mikheevskoye (Russia) and Malmberget (Sweden) projects. These case studies, where geometallurgy was applied in a rather systematic way, have shown the amount of work required for moving the project within the geometallurgical framework, which corresponds to shift of the projects location within the geometallurgical classification system.