1Conversion of a crushing plant to a gold mill in a copper smelter

CIM Bulletin, Vol. 81, No. 912, 1988

G. MACFARLANE, Production Superintendent, Kidd Creek Mines Ltd., Timmins, Ontario

In 1985, a crushing plant, located in the feed preparation area of Kidd Creek's copper smelter, was modified. The plant, which originally had treated only copper-bearing materials for the smelter, at a rate of 10 tonnes per hour, was expanded to 40 tonnes per hour capacity and modified to treat silica ores to meet the smelter's flux requirement and also gold ores from the company's Hoyle Pond property. In the storage area adjacent to the crushing plant a 300 tonne per day gold mill was constructed. This paper outlines the construction and first year of operation of the crushing plant and gold mill with emphasis placed on the capital and operating advantages to be gained by utilizing an existing metallurgical infrastructure.

Mots Clés: Metallurgy, Crushing plants, Gold, Copper, Smelting, Mills, Silica drying systems.