Crushing Circuit

Run-of-mine ore from the mine pit is fed by front-end loader into the crushing plant. A single toggle jaw crusher is used to reduce the ore into about 3 inches in diameter. The crushed ore is discharged from the bin by a reciprocating plate feeder and delivered to the milling circuit.

Milling Circuit

Crushed ore is delivered from the crushing plant to a surge hopper. The ore is withdrawn from the hopper by a mill feed conveyor and, together with water, is fed to the milling circuit which consists of a SAG mill and a ball mill. Further size reduction occurs with the aid of steel balls. Minerals are liberated when these rocks become finely grounded.

Base Metal Plant

The mixture of water and finely ground sulfide ore, called slurry, goes to the base metal plant. Here, reagents are added in a sequence of bulk flotation of copper and zinc sulfides to produce bulk concentrate which is composed of copper, zinc, gold, and silver.