Mount Carlton Comminution Circuit Design, Start-Up and Optimisation

The Mount Carlton project in Queensland's North East sits on a high-sulphidation epithermal style deposit rich in gold, copper, and silver. Mt Carlton is an open pit mining operation with ore processed using a primary crusher, single stage SAG mill and flotation to produce a concentrate for sale. Orway Mineral Consultants (OMC) was involved in the original design of the comminution circuit and the project was commissioned in late 2012, with first concentrate shipped in March 2013. When Evolution sought to optimise the project in 2015, OMC was invited to assist by undertaking a circuit review to identify opportunities for the optimisation. This paper will discuss the circuit design, start up and will detail the changes made during the optimisation and why these were successful.