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COMMINUTION AND METALLURGICAL TESTWORK PROGRAM GUIDELINES FOR SUCCESFULL MINERAL PROCESSING DESIGN AND OPTIMIZATION J. Torrealba-Vargas*, S. Girgin, R. Esteban and D. Runnels BBA Inc. 630, boul. René-Lévesque Ouest. Bureau 1900 Montréal, Canada H3B 1S6. (*corresponding author [email protected]) ABSTRACT Every mineral processing project requires testwork in the early stages to evaluate the economical potential of a deposit. The testwork needs to be efficient and it should provide enough information to obtain key parameters for a high level flowsheet selection. A successful project requires that the stakeholders develop an efficient sample collection program to produce enough material for both scoping and pre-feasibility level programs. As early as possible, a team of geologists, mining and metallurgical engineers involved in the project should work together to define the deposit characteristics that need to be validated. The challenge in test program development is not limited to greenfield projects. Often operating plants face improvement obligations to meet financial requirements or may target a throughput increase by the addition of a new ore body to their mining plans. This approach may require the analysis of the previous test work results along with operating data and to develop a testwork program that addresses the needs of the operation and to ensure that the new ore body can be processed using the existing flowsheet with an acceptable investment. The project schedule requires a close control of the testwork procedures, timing, but also the efficient analysis of results to quickly identify red flags that could impact circuit design and/or modifications. In some cases, due to fluctuations of the world economy, projects are put on hold until the return of better conditions. In these scenarios, an advanced data analysis of former testwork results and/or operating data could significantly reduce the amount of testwork required to restart a project for a greenfield project or to meet the production timeline and objectives for a brownfield project. The present paper will present examples of BBA’s latest projects that tackle the challenges described above with solutions that were developed according to these guidelines. KEYWORDS Testwork, Sample Selection, Plant Design and Optimization, R and Data Analysis.