Minerals Engineering 15 (2002) 10431053

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Inferential measurement of SAG mill parameters II: state estimation

a,c,*
T.A. Apelt , S.P. Asprey a, N.F. Thornhill a,b

a
Centre for Process Systems Engineering, Imperial College, London SW7 2BY, UK
b
Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University College, London WC1E 7JE, UK
c
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Received 21 June 2002; accepted 20 September 2002

Abstract
This paper discusses the combined state and parameter estimation of SAG mill inventories and model parameters. Recognised
simulation models are utilised for the rock and water charge state equations. New models of the ball charge and mill shell lining
states are presented. The 36 state system is detectable although not completely observable. Five ore grindability and mill discharge
grate parameters augment the state system. One mill weight and two discharge measurement models are presented and utilised in
two state estimation formulations. Results indicate that a size by size SAG mill discharge measurement model provides superior
state estimates and improved discharge grate parameter estimation compared to a bulk SAG mill discharge measurement model.

2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: SAG milling; Comminution; Modelling; Simulations

1. Introduction models incorporated in the CSPE formulation. Discus-

The SAG milling process presents measurement and
control problems typical of an industrial process in that
the total state vector can seldom be measured and the
number of outputs is much less than the number of
states. State estimation techniques may be utilised to
provide acceptable estimates of all the state variables
(even those not directly measured) in the face of mea-
surement error and process disturbances (Ray, 1981).
The estimates may be used for process monitoring, op-
eration and control.
This paper discusses combined state and parameter
estimation (CSPE) for SAG mill charge levels and is a
continuation of earlier work (Apelt et al., 2001a) which
described inferential models for the mill inventories in
detail. The formulation of the CSPE problem will be
described following a review of related works. State
equations for mill rock, water and grinding ball inven-
tories and the shell protective lining are then presented
with a list of ve parameters included in the formu-
lation. Discussion of system observability and detect-
ability follows the presentation of the measurement
sion of the requisite Kalman lter tuning precedes the
presentation and discussion of the results. To conclude,
the major ndings of this paper are summarised.
2. Circuit description
The discussion centres on the primary grinding circuit
shown in Fig. 1. Ore is fed to the SAG mill for primary
grinding. The mill discharge is screened with the over-
sized material recycling via a gyratory cone crusher, and
the screen undersize being diluted with water and fed to
the primary cyclones for classication. Primary cyclone
underow is split between a small recycle stream to the
SAG mill feed chute and a ball mill feed stream. The
primary grinding circuit products are subjected to fur-
ther size reduction (ball mill), classication (cyclones)
and separation (ash otation) in the secondary grind-
ing circuit. Further details of the grinding circuit and the
other sections of the processing plant may be found
elsewhere (Apelt et al., 1998, 2001a,b; Freeman et al.,
2000; Apelt, 2002).

3. Related works
*
Corresponding author. Address: Centre for Process Systems
Engineering, Imperial College, London SW7 2BY, UK. Signicant research has been conducted in the use of
E-mail address: t.apelt@ic.ac.uk (T.A. Apelt). Kalman lters for comminution process state estimation.
0892-6875/02/$ - see front matter
2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 8 9 2 - 6 8 7 5 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 2 2 9 - 7
1044 T.A. Apelt et al. / Minerals Engineering 15 (2002) 10431053
Fig. 1. Primary grinding circuit.
Much of the research has been conducted by J.A. Herbst
and colleagues whom, over time, have had association
with Utah Comminution Centre, Control International
(Inc.), GS Industries, JA Herbst and Associates, Svedala
(Optimization Services and CISA) and Metso Minerals.
Herbst and Alba (1985) discussed the use of a Kal-
man lter to estimate the current state, model para-
meters and the predicted state (in the next time step) for
adaptive control. Herbst and Gabardi (1988) used a
Kalman lter in conjunction with the use of a lifter-bolt
strain gauge (for charge position indication), mill power-
draw measurement, and process models of the grind-
ing media and mill shell lining, to estimate the ball
charge level and wear rate, liner thickness and wear rate
in a ball mill. The result was a consistent ball charging
rate for ball charge control at maximum mill power-
draw.
Kalman lters were applied to autogenous/semiaut-
ogenous (AG/SAG) mills by Herbst et al. (1989) when
estimates of rock (one combined state), ball and water
charges, shell liner weight and ore grindability were
obtained from a dynamic model. Mill bearing pressure
and powerdraw measurements were used. Other work of
Herbst and colleagues has documented industrial ap-
plications and development of a commercial soft-sensor
(Herbst and Pate, 1999; Herbst and Pate, 2001).
A Kalman lter has been used on an iron ore pebble
mill (Herbst and Pate, 1996). A commercial software
product was installed to estimate ve states (mill hold-
up of two rock states (
55 mm), water, grinding balls
and shell liner weight) and two parameter estimates (ore
grindability and charge angle of repose) (Herbst and
Associates, 1996). Herbst and Pate (1999) describe a
generic softsensor with examples of ore grindability es-
timation for a ball mill and estimation of mill lling (ore,
balls and water), dynamic angle of repose and ore
grindability for a SAG mill.
The Svedala Cisa OCS
optimising control system
package for AG/SAG mills includes a softsensor module
(Broussaud et al., 2001). Applications on both mini-
mally and comprehensively instrumented plants are de-
scribed. The softsensor continuously computes a mass
balance and estimates mill charge (mass of solids, sim-
plied size distribution and percent solids in the mill),
cyclone feed, circulating load and cyclone overow
(particle size and percent solids).
The review shows that the technology of Kalman
lters in SAG mill state estimation is well progressed.
However, the industrial uptake of state estimation has
been slow and isolated to larger mining houses and new
installations. The lag between development and uptake
is a reection of the level of uptake of model based
decision making control technologies. Herbst (2000)
suggested that industry reluctance is due to perceived
gap between the technology cost and its benets and
also the performance record of the technology. There-
fore according to Hodouin et al. (2001) the area should
be considered active with some key issues to be ad-
dressed. This assessment is reinforced by the following
points:
Broussaud et al. (2001) considered the diculty of de-
termination of the ball load and wear rate in a SAG
mill in the absence of a suitable commercial ball ad-
dition system. They concluded the future combi-
nation of Continuous Charge Monitoring (CCM)
instrumentation and good control of ball addition
should allow a closer on-line optimization of the ball
load and further improve SAG mill performance.
The Herbst and Pate application of a Kalman lter
for the estimation of mill rock and ball hold-up is rec-
ognised in a review of automation in the minerals
processing industry. Jamsa-Jounela (2001), for in-
stance, highlighted engineering costs, lack of prece-
dent applications and limited control technology as
constraints.
Research into state estimation for SAG mills is also
currently being progressed at the Julius Kruttschnitt
Mineral Research Centre where a Kalman lter is uti-
lised to predict ore hardness, mill total charge and
mill discharge factors (Schroder, 2000). An open-loop
plant trial gave good correlation and tracking perfor-
mance.
The contribution of the work reported here is to
present further examples of state estimation for SAG
mills and novel models of the SAG mill discharge, SAG
mill ball charge and shell protective lining. State esti-
mation of mill rock charge, ball charge (Jb ), water
charge and thus total charge (Jt ) is demonstrated. An
assessment of structural properties of the models (their
observability and detectability) gave insights into 50
their relative performance when used with a Kalman
Filter.
CSPE for SAG mills is now discussed further with the
presentation of the state equations and parameters. Two
formulations are presented which include process mea-
surement equations for mill weight and mill discharge.
 T.A. Apelt et al. / Minerals Engineering 15 (2002) 10431053 1045

Both are based on a University of Sydney thesis dis-
sertation (Apelt, 2002).
4. Combined state and parameter estimation model
discrete-time system function, Pbkjk is the propagated
estimated state covariance matrix, Pbk1jk is the estimated
state covariance matrix at the next time step time
k 1Dt, Q is the process output (measurement) co-
variance matrix, R is the state covariance matrix.

Continuous-time nonlinear systems can be described 5. State equations and parameters

as follows (Henson and Seborg, 1997):
x_ t f x; u; h; t 1 This research models the SAG milling process by the
following 36 state equations and ve parameter equa-
h_ 0 2
tions:
yt gx; h; t 3 Solids. The size by size solids mass balance developed
by the Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre
where x is the state of the system, x_ is the time derivative
(Napier-Munn et al., 1996; Valery and Walter, 1998):
of state of the system, u is the system input, y is the
system output, t is time, h is the system model para- Accumulation Inflow  Outflow Generation
meters to be estimated, h_ is the time derivative of the  Consumption
system model parameters, f is the system function and g
is the measurement function. Eqs. (1)(3) is referred to a dsi X
i1
fi  pi rj sj aij  1  aii ri si i 1; . . . ; 27
CSPE model since it is utilised to estimate states x and dt j1
parameters h.
14
In discrete-time, where measurements are available at
equally spaced intervals (sampling periods) Dt, Eqs. (1) pi d0 ci si i 1; . . . ; 27 15
(3) can be described as follows (Henson and Seborg, where fi is the SAG mill feed rate of solids in size i (t/h),
1997): ri is the SAG mill breakage rate for particles in size i
xk1 f xk ; uk ; hk ; k 4 which varies with operating conditions within the mill
(Variable Rates) (h1 ), aij is the SAG mill appearance
hk1 hk 5
function which describes the distribution that particles
yt gxk ; hk ; k 6 in size i will form in the smaller sizes j (dimensionless), pi
where k is the discrete time index (time kDt), f is the is the SAG mill discharge rate of solids in size i (t/h), si is
discrete time system function and g is the discrete time the SAG mill rock charge in size i (t), ci is the SAG mill
measurement function. discharge grate classication function value for size i
One method of on-line state and parameter esti- (dimensionless) and d0 is the SAG mill maximum dis-
mation is achieved through the utilisation of an the ex- charge rate constant (h1 ).
tended Kalman lter on the system described by Eqs. Water. The water mass balance also developed by the
(4)(6) (Henson and Seborg, 1997): Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre (Napier-
Munn et al., 1996; Valery and Walter, 1998):
x^kjk xkjk1 Lk yk  g^
xkjk1 ; hkjk1 ; k 7
T T
Accumulation Inflow  Outflow
Pbkjk1 Gk Gk Pbkjk1 Gk
1
Lk R 8
dsw
fw  pw 16
Pbkjk I  Lk Gk Pbkjk1 9 dt
xkjk ; h^kjk ; uk ; k
x^k1jk f ^ 10 pw d0 sw 17
T where fw is the SAG mill water feed rate (t/h), pw is the
Pbk1jk F k Pbkjk F k Q 11
 SAG mill water discharge (product) rate (t/h), sw is the
ogx; h; k  SAG mill water charge (t) and d0 is the SAG mill
Gk  12 maximum discharge rate constant (h1 ).
ox 
xkjk1 ;hh^kjk1
x^ Grinding balls. The new grinding ball mass balance

of x; h; u; k  model (Apelt, 2002) is as follows:
Fk  13
ox  ^
Accumulation In  Out Generation
xkjk ;hhkjk ;uuk
x^
 Consumption
where x^kjk is the ltered estimate of state x at time kDt,
x^kjk1 is the prediction of state x at time kDt from the dbci
bii  bei bwi1  bwi i 1; . . . ; 7 18
previous time step k  1Dt, Lk is the Kalman lter gain dt
at time kDt, I is the identity matrix, Gk is the linearised, where bci is the SAG mill ball charge for balls in size i
discrete-time measurement function, F k is linearised, (t), bii is the SAG mill ball feed rate for balls in size i
1046 T.A. Apelt et al. / Minerals Engineering 15 (2002) 10431053

(t/h), bei is the SAG mill ball charge ejection rate for  3
p Db 3600
balls in size i (t/h) and bwi is the SAG mill ball charge bii SGb bps 22
wear rate for balls in size i (t/h). 6 1000 bst
Shell lining. The new SAG mill liner weight mass where bps is balls per stroke, bst is the ball stroke time
balance model (Apelt, 2002) is described as follows: (s), Db is new ball diameter (mm) and SGb is ball specic
gravity (t/m3 ). Stroke refers to the stroke rate of the
Accumulation Wear feeding ram.
d SMIW
wearate 19
dt 5.1.2. Ball wear
where SMIW is the SAG mill protective shell lining in- The overall ball wear rate may be determined from
stallation weight (t) and wearate is the SAG mill shell operating data. If the ball charge level is being main-
protective lining wear rate (t/h). tained at a constant level, the ball wear rate is equal to
Parameters. These state equations are augmented by the ball feed rate plus ball ejection. For the larger sizes
the following set of ve parameter equations: where there is no ejection the wear rate is equal to the
ball feed rate. The overall ball wear rate translates to
A_ 0 impact breakage ore parameter in aij ball wear rates by size. These ball wear rates by size
b_ 0 impact breakage ore parameter in aij (bwi ) are proposed here to be proportional to the frac-
tional surface area and the ball mass in size i and in-
t_a 0 abrasion breakage ore parameter in aij versely proportional to ball hardness, i.e.,
f_p 0 relative fraction pebble port open area in pi 1
bwi / fSAi SMBCi 23
HBi
d_ 0 0 maximum mill discharge rate coefficient in pi
where bwi is ball wear of grinding balls in size i (t/h),
20
fSAi is fractional surface area of grinding balls in size i
Ore breakage parameters A, b and ta are included in (fraction), HBi is Brinnell Hardness of grinding balls in
anticipation of an inferential measurement of ore grin- size i (N/m) and SMBCi is mass of grinding balls in size i
dability. The mill discharge grate parameter fp is in- (t).
cluded due to its close link to the pebble port diameter, The total surface area of grinding balls in size i, SAi ,
xp , which is an inuential to the relative contribution to is the product of the number of balls in size i, Ni , and the
error in the feed passing sizes (F80 . . . F20 ). The maximum surface area of a ball of size i, i.e.,
discharge coecient parameter, d0 , is included since it
SAi Ni pDb2i 24
aects not only the mill discharge but also the rock and
water charge remaining in the mill. A mill discharge The number of balls in size i, Ni , is determined from the
factor parameter has also been used elsewhere (Sch- mass fraction of the total ball charge in size i and the
roder, 2000). Tallying the number of states and para- mass of a ball of size i, i.e.,
meters brings the order of the system function, f , to 41. smbci
BC
Ni  100 3 25
p Db
5.1. Ball charge model 6 1000
i
SGb
where BC is total ball charge mass (t), Dbi is diameter of
The dynamic ball charge model proposed by this re- ball of size i (mm) and smbci is mass percent of balls in
search is as follows: of size i (%).
Accumulation In  Out Generation The fractional surface area of the ball charge in size i,
fSAi , is
 Consumption
i smbc
dbci SAi
bii  bei bwi1  bwi 21 fSAi Pn Pn Dbismbci 26
dt i1 SAi i1 Db i

where bci is the mass of balls in ball charge of size i (t),
bii is the feed balls in size i (t/h), bei is the balls of size i
ejecting from the mill i (t/h) and bwi is the mass of balls
wearing out of size i into size i 1 (t).
5.1.1. Ball feed
The ball feed to the SAG mill, bii , can be determined
from operating conditions. Assuming that the feed balls
are of a single diameter, Db , the ball feed is as follows:
The ball hardness model proposed here is based on the
ndings of Banisi et al. (2000), i.e., that the ball hardness
of 80 mm balls drops signicantly when the ball wears to
less than 65 mm in size ( 81% original size). In this
work the original ball diameter is 125 mm and it is
assumed that the nominal ball diameter at which hard-
ness decreases markedly is 95 mm (76% original size).
Assuming hardness of 450 and 250 Brinnell for
the outside and inner layer of the balls, respectively,
 T.A. Apelt et al. / Minerals Engineering 15 (2002) 10431053 1047

(estimated from data in Perrys (Perry et al., 1984)) and eciency to undersize since the ejected balls are screen
that the variation of hardness across ball diameter can be undersize.
described by a Whiten classication model type rela-
k !
tionship (Whiten, 1972; Napier-Munn et al., 1996), the Dbi
Edci 1  exp  N foag 1  30
ball hardness, HBi , can be described as follows: xp

HBDbi 250 for Dbi 6 K1 where N 1 and is a discharge grate eciency para-
 K3 meter, foag is discharge grate fraction open area (frac-
K2  Dbi
HBDbi 450  for K1 < Dbi < K2 tion), Dbi is ball diameter of size i (mm), xp is discharge
K2  K1
grate pebble port size (mm) and k 2 and is a discharge
HBDbi 450 for Dbi P K2 grate eciency parameter.
27 The model is validated against operating data by
tting the ball wear model parameters (BWki ) and the
where K1 is the ball size below which hardness equals
ball ejection model parameters (BEki ).
250 Brinnell (mm), K2 is the ball size above which
harness equals 450 Brinnell (mm) and K3 2:3 and is
5.2. Shell lining model
the ball hardness curve shape parameter. The ball
hardness model is illustrated in Fig. 2.
The dynamic model of the SAG mill shell protective
The model can be adjusted to suit a given set of op-
lining proposed by Apelt (2002) is presented here. The
erating conditions by the introduction of a ball wear
SAG mill installation weight, SMIW, can be considered
coecient, BWki , which can be tted to operating data.
a sum of a number of constituents:
For mass balance consistency, the units of the ball wear
coecient are (Brinnel/h). The ball wear model can now SMIW shell lining D=C grate 31
be stated as follows: where SMIW is SAG mill installation weight (t), shell is
1 SAG mill shell weight (t), lining is SAG mill shell lining
bwi BWki fSAi SMBCi 28 weight (t), D/C grate is SAG mill discharge grate weight
HBi
(t).
The mill shell remains intact throughout the opera-
5.1.3. Ball ejection
tional life of the mill. Therefore, the mill shell weight
The model of ejection of balls from the SAG mill
(shell) is a constant. The lining is the internal shell
proposes that the SAG mill discharge grate behaves as a
protective lining and is subject to wear through direct
vibrating screen which can be modelled by an eciency
contact with the mill contents. The SAG mill discharge
to oversize model (Napier-Munn et al., 1996). Ball
grate is internal to the mill also and is subject to wear.
ejection of size i, bei , can then be stated as follows:
Periodic change out of the mill protective lining and
bei BEki Edci SMBCi 29 discharge grate occurs to accommodate the wear of
where Edci is ball ejection eciency to discharge of size i these internal components. From plant experience, the
(fraction), bei is ejection rate for balls of of size i (t/h), shell lining wear occurs predominantly at discharge end.
BEki is ball ejection model tting parameter (h1 ). Therefore, the lining term can be broken up into a feed
The eciency model utilised here is taken from Na- end and a discharge end term:
pier-Munn et al. (1996) and is expressed in terms of
SMIW shell liningFE liningDE D=C grate
32
where liningDE is the weight of the discharge end of the
shell lining (t), liningFE is the weight of the feed end of
the shell lining (t).
Combining the feed end lining terms and a constant
(to accommodate mill weight instrument oset) into a
SAG mill weight constant, SMWconst (t), allows the
model to we rewritten as follows:
SMIW SMWconst liningDE D=C grate 33
The dynamic SAG mill liner wear model may then focus
on the grouped mill discharge end terms and may be
written as follows:
d SMIW
wearate 34
Fig. 2. Ball hardness model. dt
1048 T.A. Apelt et al. / Minerals Engineering 15 (2002) 10431053

where wearate is the SAG mill shell wear rate (t/h). similar to pieces of pie), foag is the fraction grate open
Integrating Eq. (34) with respect to time, t, yields area (fraction) and Dtsm is the SAG mill trunnion di-
SMIW SMIW0  wearate
t 35 ameter (m).
In Eq. (38), the rst term represent the weight of the
where SMIW0 is the initial SAG mill installation weight large at disc (that constitutes the discharge grate) of
(t) and t is time (h). thickness, dgt, less the apertures in the grates (fraction
open area foag) and the absent central piece of diameter
5.2.1. Wear rate Dtsm .
The mill liner wear rate, wearate, can determined from The second term in Eq. (38) represents the weight of
the change-out frequency and the relative change in the portion of the discharge end lifter bars that protrude
weight of the discharge grate and discharge end shell above the surface of the discharge grate. The discharge
lining at change-out time. Based on typical plant expe- grate lifter bars are of thickness (height) hlt (mm) and of
rience, the change-out frequency is approximately 6 length (Dsm  Dtsm ) (mm).
weeks, or 1008 h (6  7  24), and the change-out liner
weight is approximately half the liner installation weight, 5.2.2. Shell thickness
i.e., The assumption that all mill lining wear occurs in the
1
liningDE0 D=C grate0 discharge end of the mill allows the mill liner model to
wearate 2 36 be simplied. Subtracting the mill weight constant
1008
(SMWconst) from both sides of Eq. (35) yields
where liningDE0 is the installation weight of the dis-
charge end of the shell lining (t) and D=C grate0 is the liningDE D=C grate
installation weight of the discharge grate (t). liningDE D=C grate0  wearate
t 39
The shell lining is a series of alternating low lifter and
high lifter bars separated by shell lining segments. The Assuming that wear is uniform throughout the dis-
installation weight of the discharge end shell lining, charge end of the mill, the wear thickness, wt (the
liningDE0 , is calculated as follows: amount of lining component that has been worn away)
(mm) can be determined as follows:
1 lbw hlt  slt
liningDE0 Lsm qliner nhl
2 1000 1000 1. Take all terms in Eq. (39) to one side of the equation
1 lbw llt  slt
Lsm qliner nll 0 liningDE D=C grate0  wearate
t
2 1000 1000

2 !  liningDE D=C grate 40
p slt slt
Lsm qliner Dsm0  37
2 1000 1000 2. Express (liningDE D=C grate) in terms of wear
thickness, wt, by the substitution of (slt  wt) for slt
where qliner is the liner density (t/m3 ), nhl is the number in Eqs. (37) and (38):
of high lifter bars, nll is the number of low lifter bars,
lbw is the lifter bar width (mm), hlt is the high lifter bar liningDE D=C grate
thickness (height) (mm), llt is the low lifter bar thickness 1 lbw hlt  slt
Lsm qliner nhl
(height) (mm), slt is the shell liner thickness (height) 2 1000 1000
(mm) and Lsm is the SAG mill shell length (m). 1 lbw llt  slt
Lsm qliner nll
In Eq. (37), the third term represents the weight of an 2 1000 1000
annular piece of shell lining of thickness slt, dened by
2 !
p slt slt
the shell inside diameter, Dsm (m), and extending to half Lsm qliner Dsm0 
2 1000 1000
the mill length, Lsm =2 (m). The rst and second terms  2 
are the weight of portion of high and low lifter bars, Dsm dgt Dt2sm dgt
qliner p 1  foag  p
respectively, that protrude above the shell lining. 4 1000 4 1000
 
The installation weight of the discharge grate, lbw hlt  slt
D=C grate0 (t), is calculated as follows: qliner ndg Dsm  Dtsm 41
1000 1000
 2 
D dgt Dt2 dgt 3. Solve Eq. (40) for wear thickness, wtthe root of the
D=C grate0 qliner p sm 1  foag  p sm
4 1000 4 1000 equation, e.g., with fzero, the MATLAB scalar non-
  linear zero nding function.
lbw hlt  slt
qliner ndg Dsm  Dtsm 4. Determine the current lining thickness, (slt  wt)
1000 1000
(mm).
38
where dgt is the discharge grate thickness (mm), ndg is The state equations required for the combined state
the number of discharge grate segments (conceptually and parameter estimation formulation have now been
 T.A. Apelt et al. / Minerals Engineering 15 (2002) 10431053
presented, i.e., dynamic mass balance models of the rock
(Eqs. (14) and (15)), water (Eqs. (16) and (17)), and ball
charges (Eq. (18)) and the shell protective lining (Eq.
(19)). These equations form the matrix of state equa-
tions that describe the state of the system, Eq. (1). The
model parameters of the system, Eq. (2), have also been
presented (Eq. (20)). In the following section, the models
of the system output (process measurements) (Eq. (3))
are presented.
6. Measurement models
The measurement (process output) models typically
utilised in CSPE are based on mill powerdraw and mill
weight (by way of bearing pressure or load cell mea-
surement) (Herbst and Pate, 1999; Herbst and Pate,
2001). The SAG mill discharge screen oversize conveyor
measurement has also been utilised in a formulation that
estimates a mill discharge factor parameter (Schroder,
2000) which is assumed to be or related to the maximum
mill discharge rate coecient, d0 (h1 ).
6.1. SAG mill weight measurement model
The SAG mill weight is measured by load cell. This
measurement, y1 t, is the process output that is paired
with the mill weight measurement model, g1 x; h; t,
which is a sum of the
mass of ore particles, grinding balls and water in the
mill charge kidney (the charge material that is not in
free-fall from the charge shoulder to the charge toe),
Mkidney ,
mass of the mill shell discharge end lining and the dis-
charge grate, (liningDE D=C grate), as presented
above,
a calibration term, tare, that allows for the dierence
between the actual total mill weight and the load cell
measurement (includes the mill shell weight and the
feed end shell lining weight),
g1 x; h; t Mkidney liningDE D=C grate  tare
42
The state functionality of the SAG mill weight mea-
surement model, g1 x; h; t is via the rock, ball and water
charge components in the charge kidney and the dis-
charge-end shell lining weight. The latter is, in fact, one
of the states considered. The kidney mass is a state
function, Mkidney x; h; tit is the sum of the rock, ball
and water states in the charge kidney.
6.2. SAG mill discharge measurement model
6.2.1. Model 1bulk ow model
Model 1 is a bulk ow model which estimates the
total volumetric discharge rate of the SAG mill. The
1049
SAG mill discharge stream volumetric owrate can be
reconstructed from four available plant measurements
and then utilised in the CSPE formulation as the second
process output, y2 t as described by Apelt et al. (2001b),
MVOSCF %solsOSCF
y2 t
100SGs
MVPCFDm3 MVPCFD%sols SGl
MVPCFD%sols SGl 100  MVPCFD%sols SGs
MVPCFDm3 100  MVPCFD%sols SGs
MVPCFD%sols SGl 100  MVPCFD%sols SGs
MVOSCF 100  %solsOSCF
 MVPCFWm3
100SGl
43
where MVOSCF is the oversize crusher total feedrate (t/h),
MVPCFDm3 is the primary cyclone feed owrate (m3 /h),
MVPCFD%sols is the primary cyclone feed density (% sol-
ids w/w), MVPCFWm3 is the primary cyclone feed water
addition owrate (m3 /h), %solsOSCF is the oversize
crusher feed density (% solids w/w), SGs is the ore spe-
cic gravity (t/m3 ) and SGl is the process water specic
gravity (t/m3 ).
The plant measurement, Eq. (43), requires pairing
with a measurement model, according to Eq. (3). The
corresponding measurement model, g2 x; h; t, is
SMDCs SMDCl
g2 x; h; t 44
SGs SGl
The state functionality of the SAG discharge measure-
ment model, g2 x; h; t, is through the constituents of the
terms in Eq. (44). The solids mass owrate, SMDCs
(t/h), is the summation of the size by size mill product
stream and is thus state dependent.
X
n X
n
SMDCs pi d0 ci si 45
i1 i1
where pi is the SAG mill discharge rate of solids in size i
(t/h) si is the SAG mill rock charge in size i (t) and ci is
the SAG mill discharge grate classication function
value for size i (dimensionless).
The liquid mass owrate, SMDCl (t/h), is a function
of SMDCs and thus is also state dependent:
 
SMDCs
SMDCl kg Qm  SGl 46
SGs
where Qm is the SAG mill volumetric discharge rate
through the grinding media (m3 /h) and kg is a coarse
material adjustment factor (dimensionless).
On account of the SAG mill discharge grate charac-
teristics, i.e., high fractional open area (foag), high rel-
ative radial position of the open area (c), and high
relative radial position of the outermost aperture (rn ),
the mill discharge ow is assumed to be only through the
grinding media and that no slurry pool exists at the toe
1050 T.A. Apelt et al. / Minerals Engineering 15 (2002) 10431053
of the charge. Therefore, the mill discharge owrate may
be calculated as follows:
Qm 6100Jpm c A/1:38 D0:5
2 2:5
47
where A is the total discharge grate open area (m2 ), D is
the mill inside diameter (m), c is the mean relative radial
position of open area (fraction) and / is the fraction
critical mill speed (fraction). The nett fractional holdup
jAT CT
51
of slurry in mill that is contained within the grinding
charge (live area) interstices, Jpm , is calculated as fol-
lows:
P16 mm
si sw
in
SGs
SG l
Jpm 48
Vmill
where sw is the mill water charge (t) and Vmill is the mill
volume (m3 ).
The parameter functionality of the SAG discharge
measurement model, g2 x; h; t, is also through the con-
stituents of the terms in Eq. (44). The solids mass
owrate (SMDCs ), Eq. (45), is a function of the maxi-
mum mill discharge rate constant (d0 ), explicitly, and
also the relative fraction pebble port open area (fp ),
implicitly (via the grate classication function, ci ). The
maximum mill discharge rate constant (d0 ) aects not
only the mill discharge but also the rock and water
charge remaining in the mill.
The relative fraction pebble port open area (fp ) is
linked by the classication function to the pebble port
aperture size (xp ) which is an inuential parameter in the
feed passing size estimates. This reinforces the inclusion
of the relative fraction pebble port open area (fp ) in the
list of parameters in Eq. (20).
The ore breakage parameters A, b and ta aect the
rock breakage occurring within the mill and the mill
rock charge fractions (si ) and are therefore implicitly
present in the state equations, Eqs. (14) and (15), and
the measurement model function, Eq. (45). As men-
tioned, these parameters are included in the formulation
in anticipation of an inferential measurement of ore
grindability which inuences mill performance.
The mill weight measurement y1 t and measurement
model g1 x; h; t, Eq. (42), and the reconstructed mill
28 x; h; t OSCFtph s
discharge measurement y2 t, Eq. (43), and measurement
model g2 x; h; t, Eq. (44), were paired together to form
the system output and measurement functions (Eq. (3)).
6.2.2. System observability and detectability
SGl
Initial diculties in generating results utilising this
formulation (Model 1) prompted an investigation of the
observability and detectability of the system. This was
achieved by:
1. Linearising the CSPE at steady-state conditions to
generate a state-space model of the form
x^t Ax Bu 49
yx Cx 50
where A; B; C are the system matrices, x is the system
states (36 states), u is the process inputs and y is the
process outputs (measurements).
2. Generating the observability matrix, L0 , (Ray,
1981; Henson and Seborg, 1997)
2 n1
L0 C T jAT C T jAT C T j
Matrix A is n  n where n is the number of states and
matrix C is l  n where l is the number of measure-
ments. The observability matrix, L0 , has dimension
n  nl.
3. Determining the rank of the observability matrix, L0 .
If the rank of L0 is n then the system is completely ob-
servable and each initial state x0 can be determined
from knowledge of the process inputs, u, and process
outputs, y, over a nite time period.
If the rank of L0 is less than n then the system is only
partially observable. If the system modes that cannot be
observed or reconstructed from the output measure-
ments are stable then the system is detectable (Henson
and Seborg, 1997).
The rank of the observability matrix, L0 , was deter-
mined to be 8 which is less than the dimension of the
system (n 36). Therefore, the system is not completely
observable. The model was therefore further enhanced
as described in the following subsection.
6.2.3. Model 2size by size model
The issue of primary concern in utilising the bulk ow
model was the low number of plant measurements and
measurement models (2) relative to the number of states
in the system (36). Therefore, the number of plant
measurements was increased through the extension of
the SAG mill discharge bulk ow model to a size by size
model.
Twenty eight new plant measurements, y2...29 x; h; t,
are generated by as follows:
 
oscf i
y2
100
 
pcfdi
PCFDtph s i 1; . . . ; 27
100
52
y29 x; h; t OSCFtph l PCFDtph l  PCFW
53
where oscf i is the oversize crusher feed retained in size i
(% w/w), pcfdi is the primary cyclone feed retained in
size i (% w/w), OSCFtph s is the oversize crusher solids
feedrate (t/h), OSCFtph l is the oversize crusher liquid
feedrate (t/h), PCFDtph s is the primary cyclone solids
 T.A. Apelt et al. / Minerals Engineering 15 (2002) 10431053 1051

feedrate (t/h), PCFWtph l is the primary cyclone liquid Table 1

feedrate (t/h), PCFW is the primary cyclone feedwater CSPE model resultsstates and parameters
addition (m3 /h) and SGl is the process water specic State Unit SS Model 1 Error Model Error
gravity (t/m3 ). value estimate (%) 2 esti- (%)
mate
Eq. (52) is a size by size SAG mill discharge process
Rock charge by size
measurement and represents the solids discharge rate for
s1 (t) 0 0 0 0 0
size i (t/h). Eq. (53) is SAG mill discharge process s2 (t) 0.23 0.23 0.5 0.23 0
measurement for process water and the liquid discharge s3 (t) 3.54 3.51 1.0 3.54 0
rate (t/h). The corresponding measurement models, s4 (t) 8.91 8.68 2.6 8.91 0
g2...29 x; h; t, are the right hand sides of Eqs. (15) and s5 (t) 9.33 9.43 1.1 9.33 0
s6 (t) 7.66 7.63 0.4 7.66 0
(17), i.e.,
s7 (t) 5.26 5.13 2.5 5.26 0
g2

28 x; h; t d0 ci si i 1; . . . ; 27 54 s8 (t) 2.43 2.46 1.3 2.43 0

s9 (t) 1.39 1.40 0.7 1.39 0
g29 x; h; t d0 sw 55 s10 (t) 0.83 0.84 1.7 0.83 0
where si is the mill rock charge in size i (t), sw is the mill s11 (t) 0.60 0.63 5.3 0.60 0
s12 (t) 0.53 0.55 4.0 0.53 0
water charge (t), d0 is the maximum discharge rate
s13 (t) 0.51 0.53 4.5 0.51 0
constant (h1 ) and ci is the discharge grate classication s14 (t) 0.48 0.50 4.6 0.48 0
function (fraction). s15 (t) 0.42 0.44 4.3 0.42 0
The system matrix A for the size by size model (Model s16 (t) 0.36 0.37 4.2 0.36 0
2) is the same as that for the bulk ow model (Model 1). s17 (t) 0.30 0.31 4.0 0.30 0
s18 (t) 0.27 0.29 4.2 0.27 0
Since the measurement (process output) matrix C has
s19 (t) 0.26 0.27 3.6 0.26 0
changed with the utilisation of 29 measurements (instead s20 (t) 0.27 0.28 3.4 0.27 0
of two), the observability matrix, L0 , has changed ac- s21 (t) 0.27 0.28 2.9 0.27 0
cordingly. s22 (t) 0.27 0.28 3.3 0.27 0
The rank of the observability matrix, L0 , for Model 2 s23 (t) 0.25 0.26 3.0 0.25 0
s24 (t) 0.22 0.23 2.8 0.22 0
is 20 which, though a signicant improvement on eight,
s25 (t) 0.20 0.11 44.5 0.20 0
is (still) less than the dimension of the system (n 36). s26 (t) 0.17 0.17 0.8 0.17 0
Therefore, the system remains not completely observable s27 (t) 0.72 0.50 30.5 0.72 0
for the new CSPE formulation. However, improved
Water charge
state estimates were possible using the size by size model sw (t) 2.06 2.08 1.2 2.06 0
as described in the following section.
Ball charge by size
bc1 (t) 0 0 0 0 0
7. Results and discussion bc2 (t) 0.9 0.9 0 0.9 0
bc3 (t) 46.7 46.7 0.0004 46.7 0
The system of states was shown to be detectable for bc4 (t) 32.7 32.7 0.0003 32.7 0
both CSPE formulations (Model 1 and Model 2) despite bc5 (t) 13.1 13.1 0.0008 13.1 0
bc6 (t) 0 0 0 0 0
the incomplete observability of the system. Detectability bc7 (t) 0 0 0 0 0
was established through achieving satisfactory results by
appropriate selection of Kalman lter tuning parame- Shell lining
SMIW (t) 337.7 337.7 0.0004 337.7 0
ters. The Kalman lter is described by Eqs. (7)(13).
Suitable initial values for the tuning parameters P , Q Parameters
and R were based on discussion points raised by Henson A (dimen- 75.8 75.8 0 75.8 0
sionless)
and Seborg (1997), Cheng et al. (1997) and Welch and b (dimen- 0.45 0.45 0.1 0.45 0
Bishop (2001). sionless)
The results of the CSPE models are given in Tables 1 ta (dimen- 0.13 0.13 0 0.13 0
and 2. The state and parameter estimates for both CSPE sionless)
formulations are shown in Table 1 with the steady-state fp (frac- 0.011 0.011 0 0.034 208
tion)
information and the respective errors relative to the D0 (h) 29.85 29.85 0.001 28.79 3.6
steady-state values (initial state values, x0 ). Table 2
contains the corresponding volumetric total (Jt ) and ball
(Jb ) charge estimates. ow SAG mill discharge measurement model (Eqs. (43)
and (44)). Referring to the fourth and fth columns of
7.1. Model 1bulk ow model Table 1, the results show that, overall, good state and
parameter estimates are possible through the utilisation
Table 1 contains the state and parameter estimates of this CSPE formulation using two plant measure-
for Model 1the formulation incorporating the bulk ments. The relative error present in the state estimates is
1052 T.A. Apelt et al. / Minerals Engineering 15 (2002) 10431053
Table 2
CSPE model resultscharge fractions
Volumetric SS Model Error Model
fraction value 1 esti- (%) 2 esti-
mate mate
Total charge, Jt 0.2298 0.2284 0.6 0.2298
Ball charge, Jb 0.1420 0.1420 0 0.1420
generally <5%. The relative error present in the para-
meter estimates is either exactly equal or approximately
equal to zero.
The poor observability of this model can be inferred
from the two poor state estimate results that stand out in
Table 1, the estimates of the 25th and 27th rock charge
states, s25 and s27 , respectively. These relatively high
levels of error (44.5% and 30.5%, respectively) are at-
tributed to the small amounts of rock in these size
fractions where a small deviation from the steady-state
value therefore represents a large relative error.
7.2. Model 2size by size model
Table 1 also contains the state and parameter esti-
mates for Model 2the formulation incorporating the
size by size SAG mill discharge measurement model
(Eqs. (52)(55)). The results in the sixth and seventh
columns show that improved state and parameter esti-
mates are possible through the utilisation of this CSPE
formulation with 29 plant measurements, which incor-
porates the size by size mill discharge models and pos-
sesses improved observability properties. The results
show the extension of the bulk ow SAG mill discharge
measurement, Eqs. (43) and (44), to a size by size
throughput measurement, Eqs. (52)(55), improved the
resulting state estimatesall state estimates displayed
exact agreement with the steady-state values, see the
seventh column of Table 1. Exact agreement was also
displayed in the estimates of the ore impact breakage
and abrasion parameters (A, b and ta ).
Relative error is present in the estimates of the mill
discharge parameters (fp and d0 ) in the seventh column
of Table 1. The high level of relative error in the no-
tional fraction pebble port open area relative to total
grate open area, fp , is clearly evident. This is due to the
CSPE model adjusting the mill discharge parameters (fp
and d0 ) to achieve the exact agreement for the rock and
water charge state estimates via Eqs. (54) and (55).
The state estimates of Table 1 translate to the volu-
metric charge fraction estimates results in Table 2.
Overall, all of the estimates show good agreement with
the steady-state conditions and reinforce that both
CSPE formulations (Model 1 and Model 2) can be uti-
lised for state estimation.
The volumetric ball charge (Jb ) estimates from both
CSPE formulations exhibit exact agreement with the
steady-state conditions. The total volumetric charge (Jt )
estimates from both CSPE formulations exhibit good
Error agreement with the steady-state conditions (to within
(%) 0.6%). The exact agreement between the Model 2
formulation estimates of the mill charge levels (Jt and Jb )
0
and the steady-state conditions is expected following the
0
analysis of Tables 1 and 2 above. That analysis also
leads to the expectation of the relative error present in
the Model 1 total volumetric charge (Jt ) estimate.
Although both CSPE formulations are capable of
good estimates, the Model 2 formulation provides su-
perior state estimates through adjustment (estimation)
of the mill discharge parameters (fp and d0 ). On account
of these two characteristics the Model 2 CSPE formu-
lation is considered superior. In either case, further
model validation would be required before entering an
implementation phase.
The results arising from a suite of inferential mod-
elsmodels that infer unmeasured conditions from
other measurementsto be presented in a future paper,
indicate the error in the charge estimates from a mill
weight-based inferential model is 1.3% and 1.8% for the
estimates of the total volumetric charge (Jt ) and ball
charge (Jb ), respectively. Comparison of these gures
with the results in Table 2 (00.6% error) suggests that
the CSPE formulations yield superior results.
8. Conclusions
Two formulations of combined state and parameter
estimation (CSPE) for SAG mills have been presented.
They incorporated novel dynamic models of SAG mill
ball charge and protective shell lining. Two novel mea-
surement models of the SAG mill discharge, a bulk ow
model and a size by size throughput model, and a novel
mill weight measurement model were also presented.
Assessment of system observability and detectability
showed that observability was poor for formulation
utilising the mill discharge bulk ow model. The sub-
sequent development of the size by size throughput SAG
mill discharge measurement model yielded better ob-
servability properties and improved state estimates.
Both of the CSPE formulations, whilst not completely
observable, are detectable. Both formulations would
require further validation prior to implementation.
The size by size SAG mill discharge measurement
model (Model 2) yielded superior state estimate results
and increased capacity to adjust the important discharge
parameters (fp and d0 ).
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements go to Northparkes Mines for
their assistance with and permission to publish circuit
 T.A. Apelt et al. / Minerals Engineering 15 (2002) 10431053
information, the Centre for Process Systems Engineer-
ing for part hosting and the University of Sydney for
providing Australian Postgraduate Award funding for
this research.
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