摘要：This paper presents an economic model of a grinding-flotation mineral processing plant. The model is used to calculate the profit of the plant by subtracting the operating costs from the net-smelter-return. The former is composed of the fixed costs and the major variable costs: grinding media and energy consumption. The revenues are calculated with a typical smelting contract knowing the concentrate grade and flow rate. These are modeled from population mass balance by estimating the mineral liberation at the end of the grinding stage and linking it to flotation kinetics. Finally a simulation study shows that for the specific simulated plant higher throughput translates to better profitability even if product quality deteriorates.
