Weir was recently awarded an order to supply two ENDURON high-pressure grinding rolls (HPGRs) to Zijin’s Golden Ridge operation at the Akyem mine in Ghana.

Zijin is undertaking a brownfield optimization project. The existing processing circuit includes a conventional SAG/ball mill configuration, which is experiencing operational limitations because of increased ore competency. The ENDURON HPGRs will process pebbles, which will debottleneck the comminution circuit, improve grinding efficiency and boost throughput and recovery. HPGRs offer highly efficient reduction, generating a substantial amount of fines that reduce the energy required for downstream milling.

“The benefits ENDURON HPGRs deliver in terms of reduced energy consumption, lower carbon emissions and improved grinding efficiency compared to traditional tumbling mills are well understood, but this project highlights that they also have a vital role to play in circuit debottlenecking and pebble crushing applications,” said Bjorn Dierx, director HPGR and process engineering at Weir. “As surface deposits deplete and miners encounter a higher proportion of competent ores, they are increasingly installing HPGRs to overcome the processing challenge.”

The Akyem mine is an open-pit gold mine with a throughput capacity of 8.6 million metric tons per year of ore. “With a mine life that extends into the 2040s, Zijin’s decision to install an ENDURON HPGR future-proofs their grinding circuit, delivering energy efficiency, superior handling of hard and variable ore feed and a reduced environmental footprint over a long operational horizon,” said Steve Wei, regional sales manager for Weir.

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