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Mass Balancing
Mass Balancing This section provides information about the mass balancing capabilities of JKSimMet V6.

Introduction to Mass Balancing

Purpose Overview This chapter describes how to use the JKSimMet mass balancing component of the software. Even the most carefully collected plant survey data are subject to many sources of variation. Some of these errors are generated within: the natural variation in process flows, assays, etc. sampling procedures or design assaying procedures sizing procedures fluctuations in plant flow rates, operating variables, feed parameters, etc. As with all data improvement processes, the usefulness of the mass balanced data will be strongly dependent on the quality of the input data. The mass balancing module can assist the user to assess data and to refine their experimental technique when problems are detected. Mass balancing will improve the quality of good data. It will not fix poor quality data or do anything more than highlight inadequate experimental techniques. The module is used to mass balance sizing data, head assay data, assay data in size classes and flow rate data collected at steady state. The balancing process produces best fit estimates of flow rates, size and assay data which are consistent within the mass balancing constraints. The overall process is: Collect data, using appropriate sampling methods (see Gy (1982), etc.) Review data Mass balance data, Check accuracy of data fit and Refine experimental technique and instrumentation until desired level of accuracy is obtained.

Data Collection
Good data collection procedures are essential to the success of a mass balance. While this section is not essential for learning how to use the mass balancing program, it should be studied in detail as poor data collection will have a significant impact on the quality of mass balance that can be achieved. Flow Rates Numerous flow rate measurements are very useful. Hence, calibration of all flow measurement devices (weightometers, flow meters, etc.) is important. Whenever possible, try for an independent flow rate check. In small or pilot plants, time and weigh a known volume of material. As a minimum requirement, the feed tonnage to the circuit is required. The percent solids of a slurry as measured with a Marcy scale are subject to error, due to solids density variations in the circuit. Such variations are common in cyclone

Percent Solids

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underflow streams. Therefore, percent solids determined from wet and dry sample weights are preferred. Steady State JKSimMet is a steady state simulator. Hence, models can most usefully be fitted to data which were taken at steady state. The most common approach is to take a series of regular samples and combine them to make composite samples which cover a period which is long (several hours) compared with circuit fluctuations, which must be kept to a minimum. If circuit variations are a serious problem, sample and fit one process unit at a time. JKSimMet can be used to combine the units and predict circuit steady state behaviour. Sampling Good sampling practices are a topic in themselves. Some useful references are those of Gy (1982) and Lyman (1986) . For a simple estimating technique for sampling requirements refer to the paper by Lyman (1986). There are well established rules for calculating the accuracy of a sampling and assay process. These can be used to establish an error model which can then be used to provide estimates of standard deviation for each point. Alternatively, 5 to 10 replicate samples can be taken and processed. If these input accuracies are established, then the estimates of accuracy used for flow rates and assays will be real estimates and not relative estimates. If replicate sampling is carried out for assays on a number of streams (i.e. a range of assay values), a simple two term error model can be generated by plotting relative standard deviation against average assay values from each stream. The intercept and slope of this plot will provide fixed (minimum) and relative (%) error components which can be used in the generalised version of the Whiten model. A sensible maximum (absolute) error will also need to be specified. Determining good estimates of the errors associated with each sampling point will provide a more reliable mass balance.

Background
Mass Balancing is a type of model fitting. The models in this case are quite fundamental. Hence, they do not impose the experience knowledge (which is built into other mathematical process models) onto the data. The mass balancing models are: a stream combiner (for example, a pump sump), a general stream splitter (for example, a hydrocyclone or a flotation cell),

a unit that conserves some properties but not others (for example, a grinding mill will preserve total assays and flow rates but not size fractions). The basis of the mass balancing algorithms is the differences in composition of various streams; that is, the differences generated by the process equipment. Consider a process with these streams having assays a, b, c:

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If the solids flow rate in a stream of assay "a" is 100 tph, then: (1) where x is the solids flow rate in stream of assay "b" and then: (2)

This is the basis of the traditional two-product solution, where a, b and c may be assays for a size fraction, element or any other conserved property. It does not matter what kind of assays a, b and c are, as long as there is some difference in their values. For example, if the process is a splitter and the assays are all the same: a = b = c and therefore, using equation (2), then x= 0/0 which is undefined. Expressed another way, the flow rates can be estimated only if a process imposes a difference on its products; that is, some information is imparted by the process. If no information is imposed, as is the case with a splitter, then the information cannot be used to make estimates, as it is not there to begin with. Note that the split ratio of a splitter can be used in the mass balance. It follows that the most useful properties to use for mass balancing around a process unit will be those which have the largest difference in the product streams. This means that size assays will work well around a size classifier such as a screen or a hydrocyclone, and elemental assays will work well around a flotation circuit. The reverse will generally not be true, with some notable exceptions. For example, elemental assays such as gold or lead are often very useful around a hydrocyclone classifier because its density-separating characteristic will usually produce a large difference in these assays. The power of this program lies in its ability to use a wide range of assays across a large flowsheet. The program algorithm is driven by the assays with large differences but still takes account of those with small differences. Concept: Mass Balancing The mass balancing module takes all selected streams and calculates the smallest set of data adjustments which will make the data consistent. If some (or all) of these streams are measured (sampled and sized, etc), the experimental measurements can be compared with the data. The root mean square of the normalised differences between measured data and adjusted data is taken as a measure of goodness of fit of the model. i.e. Hence, the mass balancing program adjusts user selected flow rates to find a best set of flow rates which make the balance output match the experimental measurements as closely as possible. Concept: Weighted Sum of Squares If the precision of each data point is measured (or can be estimated from experience), then each difference between experimental data and mass balanced prediction is normalised by dividing by its precision. That is, a small difference (or adjustment) between an accurate data point and its mass balanced prediction will make the same contribution to the weighted sum of squares as a large difference from an inaccurate data point.

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Concept: Standard Deviation

The usual measure of precision is the standard deviation. If repeated measurements are made of any data point, experimental variations will cause variations in the measured value xi. Then with many repeats, the mean of the values will provide an estimate of the true value of x. Subject to a number of assumptions, the expected variations from true x can be characterized by one number - the standard deviation defined as:

Standard Deviation If the measurements are normally distributed then, out of 100 measurements, 67 could be expected to lie within plus or minus one standard deviation of the true value (as estimated by the mean), 95 within plus or minus two standard deviations and 97 within plus or minus three standard deviations. Concept: Estimating Standard Deviation Concept: RMS (Root Mean Square) Errors Experimentally, 5 to 10 complete observations, that is, independent sampling plus analysis, will provide an estimate of the standard deviation. The mean of such a set of measurements should provide a good test of sampling precision - if the test circuit was at steady state. As its name suggests, the RMS (root mean square) error is the square root of the residual mean square error, which is the error associated with the calculated mass balanced data and the experimental data. A root mean square error of value 1 means that all data points were estimated with errors similar to the measured standard deviations of the experimental data points. Obviously, the more the RMS error varies from one, the more error is associated with fitting the data.

How the Mass Balancing Program Works

The mass balancing program used by JKSimMet is a program called JK2DMBal written and developed by Dr Stephen Gay. Other JKMRC staff, including Michael Andrusiewicz, Jake Stoll, Ricardo Pascual and Robert Lasker, provided assistance with the integration of JK2DMBal into the JKSimMet program. The mass balancing problem is essentially a minimisation of sum of squares with multi-linear constraints. This corresponds to a common set of mathematical problems generally described as the quadratic problem. The algorithm is based on a Quasi-Newton approach which means that the errors in the constraints are used to determine the changes required in calculated variables, with the amount of movement of the calculated variables controlled by the standard deviations of the experimental values. Hence standard deviation values of 0 mean that a calculated value will equal the experimental value and will not change. If all the standard deviations are near 0, the program will not have enough freedom to find a solution, and therefore will not converge. The JKSimMet standard deviation interface provides formulae to allow appropriate standard deviation values to be set. When a plant is surveyed, size and assay information are often obtained, as well as percent solids. However, the solids flow is only known for a small number of streams (and in some cases, the feed stream only). Very high standard deviation values imply

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that the corresponding experimental value is unreliable. Hence, large standard deviation values are often used for the solids flow values. The main algorithm (Quasi-Newton algorithm) needs reasonable starting values of solid and water flow in order to converge satisfactorily. In order to estimate these flows (principally where experimental values are not given), a second algorithm is used. This second algorithm uses information such as assays and size distribution data to estimate solids flows. This algorithm is very similar to the method described as the Morrison solution in JKSimMet. The main difference is that it also uses the standard deviations of the assay and size information, and it provides an estimate of the standard deviation of the estimated solids flow. If there are many missing streams, or missing data, the algorithm will still have some difficulty in obtaining a solution as the standard deviation values are too high. A third algorithm is used to reduce the standard deviation values as the algorithm proceeds to ensure that convergence is obtained. The three algorithms (Quasi-Newton, missing flow estimation and variable standard deviation reduction) are all integrated together within the one algorithm interfaced to JKSimMet. Even though the algorithms work together it still remains that in some circumstances data reduction may be required to improve performance. For example, if there are many missing solids flow values it is best to mass balance solids flow first with information such as sizes and head assays prior to mass balancing assays within size classes. JKSimFloat has a hierarchy of data associated with the mass balancing algorithm. This hierarchy has the solids mass flow at the top, with head assays, size fractions and % solids all subordinate to the solids mass flow. The assays of size fractions are subordinate to size fractions, and the mass flow of water is always a bottom level measurement. This can be represented schematically by the following diagram.

Learning Mass Balancing

The mass balancing module of JKSimMet is useful in two areas. Firstly, it provides a check on data accuracy that is not model dependent. The mass balancing models are correct (that is, they contain no built in experience). Hence, if the data balance well but the model fitting does not fit well, it indicates that the model is not appropriate.

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Where coarsely sized samples are used, as in crushing and screening circuits, the mass balanced data may be more useful as the starting point for model fitting than the raw data. Secondly, mass balancing is useful for determining flow rates and recoveries around complex circuits. The example we will use in this section, Learning Mass Balancing, is concerned with flow rates in the comminution circuit of a copper concentrator. Normal Sequence for Mass Balancing in a Comminution Circuit It should be noted that JKSimMet V6 provides the ability to balance assays within size classes as well as total assays and sizes. Unlike V5, the user does not balance everything at once. Under the assumption that in a comminution circuit your sizing data will be the most reliable survey data, the suggested process to balance a whole circuit is as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Make selections for all required equipment, streams, sizes and elements. Set TPH Solids and Sizes to Adjust and all other components to Unused, then run the balance. Then set the TPH Solids and Sizes to Fixed, the TPH Water to Adjust and % Solids to Influence and run the balance again. Set the TPH Water and % Solids back to unused and the Elements to Adjust and run the balance again. Set the Elements to Fixed and Size x Element to Adjust and run the balance a final time.

The individual steps will be covered in more detail over the remainder of this chapter. Mass Balancing Sequence where Assay Data is the Most Reliable Data In cases where your assay data is considered more reliable that the sizing data, you would modify the above sequence as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Mass Balancing Sequence where % Solids Data is the Most Reliable Data Make selections for all required equipment, streams, sizes and elements. Set TPH Solids and Elements to Adjust and all other components to Unused, then run the balance. Then set the TPH Solids and Elements to Fixed, the TPH Water to Adjust and % Solids to Influence and run the balance again. Set the TPH Water and % Solids back to Unused and the Sizes to Adjust and run the balance again. Set the Sizes to Fixed and Size x Element to Adjust and run the balance a final time.

In cases where your % solids data is considered the most reliable data, you would be better using the balance sequence below: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Make selections for all required equipment, streams, sizes and elements. Set TPH Solids and TPH Water to Adjust and % Solids to Influence and all other components to Unused, then run the balance. Now set the TPH Solids to Fixed, TPH Water and % Solids to Unused and the Sizes to Adjust and run the balance again. Set the Sizes to Fixed and the Elements to Adjust and run the balance again. Set the Elements to Fixed and Size x Element to Adjust and run the balance a final time.

Model Types for Mass Balancing

In V6 of JKSimMet the flowsheet drawing for mass balancing is the same one used for simulation and model-fitting, with the full range of equipment icons available to draw

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the circuit diagram. However, no matter what equipment icon is visible, there are only two model types in mass balancing. These are: classifier or mixer unit This unit either selects particles to go to different product ports of the unit (classifier) or adds particles from different feeds (mixer). That is, particles are sorted or mixed in this type of unit, not broken down or altered. transform unit In this unit assays are preserved but size structures are destroyed. In mass balancing all comminution devices are transform units. The mass balance algorithm decides which type of mass balance unit is required according to the flowsheet icon selected by the user.

Entering the Data

Data Entry Alternatives The first step in a mass balancing exercise is to enter the experimental data. This can be performed in two ways: Individual Stream Data windows, or Configurable Stream Overview

Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages; it is mainly dependent on what form the experimental data is in. Accessing the Individual Stream Data The Streams window provides access to the Stream data windows to view the data for each stream. The Streams window for each stream can be opened by three methods: 1. 2. 3. Double-clicking on a stream in the flowsheet. Selecting Stream on the Flowsheet sub menu or Clicking on the Stream icon.

All of the streams in the current flowsheet may be accessed from the Streams window via the Stream Name drop-down list. The Streams window can only be accessed when the flowsheet is locked. A typical Streams window is shown below. The Streams window also shows the equipment from which the stream originates and the equipment to which the stream flows. Clicking on the double arrow buttons next to the From Equipment and To Equipment dialogue boxes opens the Equipment window relating to that equipment.

The Stream data window is accessed by clicking on the double arrow button next to the selected stream. Once the Stream data window has opened, the user can view the various categories of data by selecting the appropriate tab. The name of the stream being viewed is displayed in the header of the Stream data window. The Streams window remains open and accessible after the required Stream data window has opened. If you then select another stream from the drop-down and click again on the

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double arrow, you will open a second Stream data window for the new stream. You can open as many Stream data windows as you require in this way. A typical Stream data window is shown below.

The status of the stream can be set to Major, Minor, or Missing from the dropdown box at top right. See later in this help file for an explanation of these terms. Totals Tab The Totals tab lists the overall properties of the stream. The other tabs and the data displayed are: Name of Tab Sizing data Elemental assay data Size by elemental assay data Data Displayed Size fractions and the proportion of the stream in each size fraction Elements and the proportion of each element in the stream Proportion of each size class that is made up of each element

Data can be inserted into the individual stream windows using the copy and paste functions from Excel. Sizing Data If you click on the Sizing Data tab you will here be able to enter the sizing data for the size fractions that have been defined for this project and the associated SD values. The Stream Data window will then look similar to the one shown below:

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The above window will also show balanced values from the most recent balance, provided the balancing engine has been run at this point. Elemental Assay Data The next tab is for the Elemental Assay Data and the appearance of this window will be similar to the one shown below when this tab has been selected.

The last tab is for Size by Elemental Assay Data and a screen grab of the appearance with this tab selected is shown below:

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In this case the numbers are all zeros since no sizing data have been entered at this point. Configurable Stream Overview An alternative to entering data individually into the stream windows is to use the Configurable Stream Overview. This is recommended when the data has been initially configured into a similar style table in Excel. Such a table can then simply be copied and pasted into JKSimMet. Click on the Configurable Stream Overview icon or select this item from the Flowsheet menu to open the Configurable Stream Overview window. You may need to create a new overview that will have the data in the same order as it is structured within the Excel source file. Alternatively you could manipulate the setting out of the Excel file to match a structure you have previously created within the Configurable Stream Overview. For more information on how to make changes or create new Stream Overviews, you should revise the topic Using the Configurable Stream Overview.

Standard Deviation Calculations

Every data point must have a standard deviation entered, even if it is Missing. During the mass balancing routine, if any data point has 0 as its standard deviation, an error message will be displayed with an option for the user to enter the correct SD. Standard deviations can be entered individually in the stream data windows, or through the Configurable Stream Overview window. They can also be copied and pasted from Excel. Entering a standard deviation in individual stream data windows is particularly useful if, for instance, no experimental data for a particular stream exists. The procedure for this is outlined below. Entering Individual Stream Standard Deviations Ensure the flowsheet is locked and double click on a stream to bring up the stream window for that stream. If the sample or flow data for a particular stream is not available, you can leave the experimental value set to zero and then set the standard deviation value to Missing.

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If missing is entered for the standard deviation, the mass balancer will recognise that no experimental data was recorded for this stream. However, the stream will be included in the mass balance and a balanced value will be generated using the rest of the data set. For an initial pass, the actual stream can be omitted from the balance routine, rather than setting the SD values to missing. This will not make much difference in a simple flowsheet, but may speed up the balance in a more complex one. Alternatively, if experimental data exists for that stream and the standard deviation is known, it is possible to enter that standard deviation directly in this window. Simply click in the appropriate cell of the SD column and type in the standard deviation. Press Enter when complete. It is also possible to copy and paste standard deviation values from Excel into the individual stream data windows and the Configurable Stream Overview window. The Automatic SD Calculation window allows the user to set SD values for multiple streams and data points simultaneously. This is accessed by the SD Calculation button in both the individual stream window and the Configurable Stream Overview windows. Entering Standard Deviations for all Streams The Automatic SD Calculation window appears as follows.

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The left-hand panel lists all the streams in the current flowsheet. Individual streams can be selected by clicking on the stream name. Multiple streams can be selected in a similar manner to the way this is achieved when using Windows Explorer. A contiguous group of streams can be selected by holding <Shift> when clicking on a stream further down the list. A selection of non contiguous streams can be made by holding down <Ctrl> and clicking on the streams required. The Property drop-down permits the user to select the parameter that is to have the standard deviation formula applied to it. To select a property, click the drop-down arrow and double click on the desired property. The SD Calculation Option drop-down allows the user to choose from a list of mathematical formulae and other options for setting the standard deviations. This list contains the following formula options: Bounded percentage, Parabolic, SD Multiplication Factor, Exp Val Multiplication Factor, Replacement Value and Missing Value. If you tick the check-box labelled Include SD values currently set to missing? the program will take the experimental value for the stream and apply the selected SD calculation to this value. There are also default values set to enable rapid SD calculation: Fixed : SD = 0.001 Poor : SD = 20% of the experimental value Average : SD = 10% of the experimental value Good : SD = 5% of the experimental value Excellent : SD = 2% of the experimental value These values can also be changed if necessary in the Automatic SD Calculation window. Note that although this facility allows you to use relative SDs as a quick way of setting up the balance, their use is not generally recommended because a balance using relative SDs takes most notice of the smallest assay values and these are often the least well defined. Bounded Percentage When the Bounded Percentage option is selected, the user inputs the Upper (U), Lower(L) SD limits and the percentage error in between (P) to calculate the standard deviations for an experimental data value (x).

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Parabolic

When the Parabolic option is selected, the user inputs the proportionality constant (a) which will be used to calculate the magnitude of the standard deviations associated with each experimental data value (x).

SD Multiplication Factor Exp Value Multiplication Factor Replacement Value Missing Value

When the SD Multiplication Factor option is selected, the user inputs the multiplication factor to be multiplied by the existing standard deviations in the system. When the Exp Value Multiplication Factor option is selected, the user inputs the multiplication factor to be multiplied by the existing experimental values in the system. When the Replacement Value option is selected, the user is asked to input the value to replace selected SD values in the system. When the Missing Value option is selected the user does not enter any value. On calculation, the selected stream and property values are assigned as missing values. Note that the selections associated with a particular property class persist so that when the user changes the property class selection, the calculation option and its associated parameters last entered by the user for that property are displayed. When the user clicks on the Calculate button the program will calculate the SDs only for the Stream and Property Class that are currently selected and in view. Note that even after SDs have been automatically calculated, the user is still able to go to an individual experimental data point in the Stream Data window and change the SD for that data point. However any changes to SD values in the Stream Data window will not be reflected in the Automatic SD Calculation window. It is up to the user to decide which standard deviation calculation method best suits the data. Click Close to exit the Automatic SD Calculation window.

IMPORTANT NOTE

All data points MUST have a standard deviation value associated with them or else be set to Missing. This includes the TPH water and % solids, as well as the TPH solids, overall assays and size-by-assay data. The water balance is performed on TPH water, using the experimental % solids and TPH solids to calculate the experimental values. The balanced water flow rates are determined from the % solids values.

Preparation for Mass Balancing

Selecting Streams and Equipment The Mass Balance feature of JKSimMet allows the user to select the streams and equipment items to include in the balance, as well as selecting which parameters can be adjusted during the mass balancing process. Open the Mass Balance window by either pressing the Run Balance button on the toolbar or by selecting Run Mass Balance from the Flowsheet drop-down menu. Once

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this window is open, the user enters mass balance mode where no alterations to the flowsheet, streams or equipment can be made. For this tutorial, mass balancing will be performed on the Learner Project, which has already been established and has been used for examples throughout this help file. The Learner Project file will have been supplied with your copy of the software. You can either follow along using this project, or alternatively if you have your own project with data, you can use the instructions as a general guide for mass balancing your own flowsheet. See the section Create a New Project if you are unfamiliar with the steps necessary to establish a project and you wish to create and then load data into your own project. . Step 1 Load the Learner Project and select the Learner Flowsheet from the dropdown list. If necessary, resize the flowsheet window to view the entire flowsheet. Ensure that the flowsheet is locked. Click on the Mass Balance button ( Balance window into view. ) on the toolbar to bring the Mass

Step 2

The left-hand panel of the Mass Balance window is where you set up the conditions for the mass balance that is to be carried out on your circuit. Here you select which streams and equipment items are to be included in the balance and you specify the components including the size fractions and elements (mineral or chemical assays) that will be available for the balancing procedure. At the bottom of this panel you have the Control fields where you select what is to be included in the current balance and you specify values for the parameters that control the balance. The right-hand panel contains all of the results for your balance. When the mass balance is under way, you can observe its progress in the top two fields which show the number of iterations that have so far taken place plus the current convergence value. The balance will be complete when the convergence value goes below the convergence target that has been set in the Controls section.

Selecting Data

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As is also the case for the Simulation and Model-Fitting modules, you may select a single unit or a cluster of units from your flowsheet on which to perform a mass balance. This allows you to check small parts of a circuit for data consistency. Step 1 Step 2 Open the Mass Balance window ( ). When you first open this window there will be a default Mass Balance Case called MBal Case 1 in the selection drop-down at top left. There is a Rename button that can be used to change the name of this Test Case to something more appropriate, if required. The New button can be used to create further Test Cases with different balance settings, which can then be saved and returned to later. There is also a Delete button provided so that you can eliminate any test cases that you have previously created but no longer need.

The default selection for a new Mass Balance Case is for all of the units and streams to be selected. Therefore the first stage in defining a Mass Balance Case is to examine the list of equipment and streams and to decide which items are to be included in your balance. The next step is to remove any unwanted items by clicking on the adjacent check-box to remove the tick. Select All and Select None buttons have also been provided to speed up the process of balance configuration. In this case we will be balancing with all equipment units selected and all streams - apart from the water streams, which we will add later. Note that if you de-select an item of equipment, the input streams for that equipment will no longer be balanced with the output streams, even if all of these streams remain selected on the Streams list. If only equipment has been selected, it is not necessary to specify which streams to include in the mass balance. The mass balancer will automatically determine which streams should be included in the mass balance based on which equipment has been selected.

Designation

In the streams list there is a second column labelled "Designation". There are three settings possible for the designation field, Major, Minor and Missing. This distinction between the different categories of streams enables selected streams to be balanced or fixed at various times throughout the mass balancing process.

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A Major stream refers to one that can be balanced initially, for example the plant feed, final concentrate and final tail streams, and then fixed with the intermediate streams subsequently adjusted within the circuit. A Minor stream is an intermediate stream that may have some data missing, restricting its usefulness in the balance. A Missing stream is defined as a stream that is missing all data. These streams can be omitted from the balance until such a stage that there is enough information in the other streams to allow a mass balance to be successful. Note that streams belonging to the different categories are not treated differently in the balancing process. The categories are simply groups to which you can assign each of your streams and then later you can elect to keep their values fixed or adjust them during the next run of the balancing process. There is visual feedback provided regarding the groups to which each stream has been assigned to. When you have the Mass Balance window open, you will notice that all the selected streams of the flowsheet are displayed in bold black, which is the default for stream designated as Major. If you change a stream's designation, the colour will change to bold blue for Minor or bold red for Missing. These are just the default colours, so they can be changed to the users preference if required. This is done via the Default Stream Properties item on the Edit menu. These visual cues can help users identify the equipment and streams that have been selected, which can be especially useful when dealing with complex flowsheets.

By default, all streams are initially assigned to the Major group. As another example of where you might make use of this facility, you may have a complex circuit and wish to adjust values for a sub-section of the circuit only. In this case you could assign all of the streams that make up this sub-section, to one of the other two groups. You would then find that during the next run of the balance, all plant values would remain fixed at their previous balanced levels and it would be only the stream values for the required sub-section of plant that would be adjusted as a result of this balance.

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Note that the group assignation for each stream can be changed in the above frame. To do this you just click on the required stream and then click the appropriate button at the bottom of the list. Note that this assignation can also be changed using the dropdown list in the top right corner of the Stream Data window. Step 3 In the Equipment / Streams frame, select all of the equipment items and all streams with the exception of the two water addition streams. Leave all the streams with the default designation of Major.

Note that on the flowsheet there is also visual feedback for the selection of equipment items, with those that have been selected being highlighted in bold blue.

It is possible also to select and deselect items (both streams and equipment) for your balance list, by clicking on these items on the flowsheet. You will see that the bold highlighting will disappear to indicate de-selection. Clicking on them performs a toggle action - so clicking again will re-instate the selection. Step 4 Now examine your Mass Balance Case and ensure that: all equipment units are selected all streams are selected except for the water addition streams (BM Water & Cyc Water) all streams are designated "Major"

Because each Mass Balance Case has a name, you may set up several different ones to examine different sections of a circuit. You can select all streams and equipment units on your flowsheet, a single unit (together with its input and output streams) or else a selection of units and their associated streams. Note that they need to be contiguous i.e. with streams connecting all of the selected units, to ensure that your selected subcircuit does get balanced as a single circuit. In V5 all stream data were stored in equipment ports. To balance a subset of the data, you needed to choose both equipment and ports (streams). In V6, the stream data are now stored within the streams themselves, but the same rule still applies for the balancing of data sub-sets.

Selecting Components

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The mass balancing module can perform mass balances based on two types of data; namely elements and size distributions. These can be used individually or together to achieve the balance. If you also have assays of the size fractions, then you can add an extra dimension to your balance by allowing the size by element data to be used in the balancing process as well. Mass balancing therefore contrasts with the model-fitting and simulation modes in JKSimMet since in the latter modes it is only ever the size distribution data that are used. In the next frame of the Mass Balance window, you can select the elements and sizes that are to be used for the current mass balance case.

In the left hand section of this frame is the list of elements that have been entered during the project configuration stage. At the end of this list you will see there is an element called Remainder that has been added to allow for any mass not accounted for by the sum of the defined elements. All of the elements will initially be selected by default. If for some reason you wish to leave out one of these elements from the balancing process, then you can simply uncheck the relevant check-box. To the right of the elements selection area is a similar list for sizes, which shows all the sizes (in mm) that have been defined for this project. Again they will be all selected by default to begin with. In this case we will de-select all of the sizes since we will be balancing on the assays alone. Again, with both of these lists, there is a check-box provided at the top to allow you to select or deselect all of them. This can be useful for speeding up the process of defining the suite of components that are to be balanced for the balance case in question. Step 1 Ensure that all of the elements have been selected, but that none of the sizes are selected.

To the right of the elements & sizes selection frame is another frame with the heading "Adjust Streams". Here there are check boxes for the 3 categories of streams. All three of these boxes will be checked by default. In this case we want the balance to make adjustments to all streams in the circuit and in any case, all the streams in this circuit have been left in the Major category. This means that as long as the Major check-box is ticked, all streams will get adjusted. However, there is no problem with leaving ticks in the other two categories as well. Step 2 Leave ticks in all three category check-boxes in the "Adjust Streams" frame.

Solution Controls

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To perform a mass balance the next step is to set the controls for this balance. In the Control frame there are various drop-down selection fields where you have the ability to choose the parameters that are to be involved in this balance. In addition, you can control the way the balance begins and concludes. Step 1 It is wise to initially keep a balance as simple as possible, so for the first run through of the current balance we will set the TPH Solids to "Adjust" and likewise for Elements, but we will leave all the other parameter fields set to "Unused".

Click in the white cells in the Select? column to change the settings on each parameter. There are a total of four settings that parameters may be set to, although not each setting will be available for each parameter. Adjust The experimental values associated with this measurement are included in the mass balance sum of squares calculation and a mass balance adjusted data value is calculated by the mass balance which is consistent with all other data in the system. Fixed The previously calculated balance values are held at their current value and are used in the calculation of other parameters selected as Adjust. This is used, for example, to keep flow rates fixed when adjusting size so as to stabilise the convergence. Influence The experimental values associated with this measurement influence the outcome of the mass balance (i.e. are included in the sum of squares calculation) but are not returned as an adjusted consistent set of values after mass balancing. This means the mass balanced values for this parameter are left as zeros after balancing. The exception to this is in the case of % Solids, where values are returned during mass balancing. The objective of the Influence option is to allow the experimental data for the parameter concerned to contribute to a higher level balance, even though the data for this parameter are too sparse to allow the generation of its own set of mass balanced values. Unused The experimental values associated with this measurement are not included in the mass balance sum of squares calculation and its mass balanced value is not changed. If only certain elements or size fractions are to be sent to the balance, use the tick boxes provided to select the required parameter. These will then be used according to the options set in the main drop-down boxes. If an inconsistent selection is made, an error message will be displayed when the mass balance is run. For balancing complex circuits, it is suggested to select all 'Major' streams in the first instance and balance (adjust) them. Once the user is happy with this balance, set the Major streams to 'Fixed' and adjust the minor streams, then the missing streams. In this way certain parts of the circuit can be balanced and fixed to continue balancing other parts of the circuit.

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The other two fields within the Control frame are "Constraint" and "Convergence". The first of these relates to how missing values are to be handled by the balancing engine. There are two options for this field; "Experimental" and "Balanced". If you select "Experimental" here, any stream values that are missing will be ignored in carrying out this balance. If you select "Balanced", then wherever a missing experimental value is encountered, the balancing engine will temporarily substitute the balanced value obtained from the last time the balance was run. Step 2 For the first run of this balance we will set the Constraint to "Experimental".

The "Convergence" field is where you determine how close the agreement between stream values has to be before the balancing engine decides that a balance has been achieved. When you click on the "Convergence" drop-down, the alternatives you will be presented with are "Average", "Good" & "Tight". The values for the convergence criterion that are associated with these alternatives are 0.1, 0.01 and 0.001 respectively. Once you have made your selection, it will be the appropriate number rather than the associated word, that will appear in the Convergence field.

Step 3

For this balance we will set the convergence to "Good", so the number appearing should be 0.01.

Typically you would use either % solids or TPH water as a component when balancing a flowsheet that involves gravity separations. Note that if you use % solids as a component, then you must specify appropriate water additions. For a description of what happens when % solids is included as a component, see the next topic on Water. It is usually a good idea to run mass balancing in stages however. In this case we will just run the balance using the TPH solids and the elemental assays as we have good measurements of these on all streams except the cyclone feed stream. After we have completed this simplified balance, we will then add in the water as an additional parameter to be balanced. After this, size distributions can be added in as well. Some Comments on Mass Balancing Note that it is not necessary to understand the detailed workings of the mass balance engine in order to make use the mass balance module. The following comments about its workings may be useful however. The mass balancing algorithm runs in several stages. The first is the simple solution, which is analogous to multiple linear regression. Unless the data have serious problems the balance will converge in one step; that is, the second solution will be the same as the first.

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If small negative values occur, you can increase the number of steps to eliminate such values. However, recheck your data carefully. Negative values indicate measurement bias. For higher numerical accuracy you may increase the iteration limits. However, there will be no gain in the balance accuracy because data accuracy will be the usual limit. Hint: Read the section on problems relating to mass balancing before adjusting these settings. The values shown above are the default values. If the adjusted data show unacceptable inconsistencies, then you must either reduce the limit or re-scale the assays. As an example, if you have Au assays expressed as a fraction (giving a number such as 1.0 E-06) this would not work too well with a convergence criterion of 1.0 E-05. In this case it would be most sensible to re-scale the assay, which might involve expressing your gold assays as Au ppm. You would of course then also need to specify that the assay total is not constrained to 100%.

Water in Balancing
If you have selected TPH Water as a component from within the Control frame, then you will be also mass balancing any water additions to the circuit together with the water contained in all the slurry flows throughout the circuit. Note that you cannot use % Solids unless you first select TPH Water as a parameter to be adjusted. Except for the water addition streams, experimental values for water are entered by specifying the % solids values for the streams. However, the program calculates TPH Water values from these values and it is TPH Water that is used by the engine as a balancing component. The % solids is not adjusted per se, but it can be used in determining the error after each iteration and this is what is meant by "influence". To allow the mass balancing engine to include water in the balance, you need to ensure that you have selected any water feeder product streams using the streams select list, in the Equipment / Streams frame. In the Learner Project, there are two water feeders on the Learner Flowsheet. Measured data and estimated SD's are entered in the data window associated with the water streams emanating from these water feeders.

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Running the Mass Balance

This is the simplest step. Once the components have been specified, the desired equipment and streams selected and the balance controls set, the mass balancing can begin. Click on the Start button which is located at the bottom right of the Mass Balance window.

The mass balancing program will run and when the balance has completed, the results will be summarised in the right hand panel of the Mass Balance window. In the Results frame at the top of this panel is the actual convergence value. This is the value that is compared with the required Convergence value selected by the user in the bottom drop-down of the left-hand panel. The program considers the balance is complete once the actual value goes below this user specified convergence setting. The right-hand field of the Results frame is the number of iterations that the balance has gone through before arriving at the indicated convergence value.

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The frame below the Results frame is labelled "RMS Errors" - standing for root mean square errors. In this frame you can gauge how well the data has balanced compared to the previous balance. Smaller values of the RMS errors will indicate that a better balance has been achieved. The RMS errors listed here are divided into the various areas of balancing, in line with the areas that can be selected from within the Controls frame: The Totals refers to the solids mass flows alone - it does not include water. Flows refers to the volume flows in the various streams, consisting of the volumes of both the water and solids in all streams, including slurry streams and water feeder flows. Note that balancing on the volume flows only occurs when TPH water has been selected as one parameters to be adjusted. Assays will have an RMS error displayed if you have selected "Adjust" in the Elements drop-down from the Control frame. Sizes will have an RMS error when Sizes has been selected for adjustment from the Control frame. Likewise Assay by Size will have an RMS error value if Size by Element has been selected for adjustment.

Below the listing of the RMS error values is the Parity Graph which allows an easy visual assessment of how good the balance has been. This graph is plotting the experimental values against the balanced values, so for a perfect balance, with no adjustments needed, all the points would be sitting on the 45 degree line. The distance that points are away from the 45 degree or parity line is a measure of how much adjustment was needed for these parameters to achieve the balance. Generalised Strategy for Mass Balancing If you have assays on most or all streams, the normal sequence for mass balancing would be to initially set TPH Solids and Elements to "Adjust" with all other parameters set to "Unused". Once a balance has been achieved using these parameters, you would next set both of them to "Fixed" and now set the TPH Water to "Adjust" and the % Solids to "Influence". Then after this balance has run, the next step would be (if you have sizing data), to set both water parameters to "Fixed" and set Sizes to "Adjust". Finally, if you also have Size by Element data you would set Sizes to "Fixed" and the Size by Element parameter to "Adjust". If you are working with Sizing data only and do not have any assays, you would start the process with TPH Solids and Sizes set to "Adjust". After this balance runs, you

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would set these two parameters to "Fixed" and set the TPH Water to "Adjust" and the % Solids to "Influence". The next step in the Learner Project is to make the TPH Solids and the Elements fixed and to balance on water, making the TPH Water set to "Adjust" and the % Solids set to "Influence. After you change these balancing settings, you should click on the Clear button prior to re-running the balance. The Mass Balance window will then look like the one below.

Pressing the Start button will then produce a balance similar to the one shown below.

Since in this case we also have sizing data, the next step is to balance on these data. To set this up you need to click in the check-box labelled "Select/Deselect All" above the Sizes list in the Elements / Sizes frame. This will select all of the sizes that are present in the size analysis for the samples in this circuit. You then need to uncheck the 13.2 mm size, since this contains a value of zero for the experimental retained mass for all three products and this will cause problems for the balancing routine.

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In order to run the balance on the sizing data, you need to also switch the TPH Water and % Solids back to "Unused". When the balance runs, you should see the window looking similar to the screen grab below.

In this case we do not have any size by assay data, so at this point the balancing process is complete. If you did have size by assay data, the next step would be to set the Sizes back to "Fixed" and then the Size by Element to "Adjust". The next step is to look critically at the balance results and there are various ways of doing this. The next topic discusses the options here and what you need to look for in examining the balance results.

The Mass Balance Engine

The Mass Balance Results section reports the value at which convergence occurred as well as the number of iterations that were required to reach that value. In most cases of mass balancing, there will be numerous missing data. The ideal scenario of the mass-balance algorithm is that the user may specify all their data, press a button and have the calculated values returned in seconds. Unfortunately the number of missing data points generally prevents the algorithm from being quite that accommodating. Therefore, mass-balancing needs to occur using a hierarchical approach; that is by first mass-balancing flows, then sizes and total assays, then assays within size-classes. This hierarchical approach was discussed previously. The key interface is therefore the Control frame in the Mass Balance window you specify which levels are to be mass-balanced. The mass balancing algorithm in JKSimMet allows high level variables to be calculated using lower level results without actually estimating the low-level values. For example, it is possible to use size information to estimate flows without actually having to estimate the calculated values of size. Data-checking is performed only for those variables that are being mass-balanced (not the values of lower level values used to influence the mass-balance). However one needs to bear in mind that unrealistic low-level standard deviations will cause unreasonable weighting to the lower levels Data Checking Data-checking is required to ensure that values are realistic. The data-checking occurs for all levels of variables to be calculated, and assumes that higher level values have

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reasonably small standard deviations of the calculated values. In other words datachecking treats upper level values as if they are fixed. Data-checking is used to check the reliability of the data. In particular, if standard deviation values are too small, the algorithm will have difficulty converging. The data-checking algorithm works by considering the difference between flow (of any property) going into and out of a unit. The difference should be consistent with the standard deviations. For example, for a unit having one stream in and two streams out, the total flow values may be represented by f1, f2 and f3 with corresponding variance values v1, v2 and v3. The flow difference is:

The expected variance of this difference value is given by:

Thus the statistic:

provides an estimate of the reliability of these data. The expected value of r is 1. This r value is referred to as the RMS (root mean square) value. An RMS value greater than 3 usually indicates that the data contains an outlier or that the standard deviations are too small. Data Mismatches During Mass Balancing Once the mass balance Start button has been selected, the data checking algorithm begins. All units are checked, and if any unit has an RMS value greater than 3, the following window is displayed:

This indicates the units where the RMS value is greater than 3, along with the component that is responsible for the mismatch. The value calculated for the Current mismatch is the RMS value. In the above screen grab, the Unit name is a system

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generated name which will be produced under circumstance where you have chosen streams that are the input and outputs from a section of the circuit but without including intermediate streams. The details of the mismatch can then be seen by clicking on the button in the Details column, which brings up a dialogue box, as follows:

This dialogue box gives the feed and product streams for the particular unit, along with the experimental value (for the example case, experimental TPH water values), the current standard deviation, and the suggested standard deviation to remove the mismatch. The method for arriving at the suggested value is as follows:

The user is given the option of accepting the suggested SD, by clicking OK, in which case the mismatch value in the data checking information box will be updated when the data mismatch box is closed. The user is also given the option of specifying a new SD. All information in the data checking information box needs to be updated after the data mismatch box is closed. If the user clicks Cancel, the current SD remains the same, and when the data mismatch box is closed, the current r value is calculated. The user can then choose to continue mass balancing, or cancel the mass balance process. Using the RMS Errors The Error Analysis section of the Control/Run window gives an indication of the quality of the mass balanced data through the use of RMS (root mean square) errors. As its name suggests, the root mean square error is the square root of the residual mean square error, which is the error associated with fitting the mass balanced data to the experimental data. A root mean square error of unity means that all data points were estimated with errors similar to the measured standard deviations of the experimental data points. Therefore, when performing a mass balance, an RMS Total value of somewhere between 0.5 and 2.0 indicates that the experimental data is good and that the correct standard deviations have been used. Along with the RMS Total value it is possible to check the error values (i.e. (observed predicted)/sd) on the other parameters used in the mass balance. Click the Detail button next to each parameter to see information about that parameter.

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This window, for instance, would indicate that particular problems exist with the Cyc U/F and BM Product streams. Identifying particularly problematic streams allows the user to immediately focus on which data values may be less accurate than indicated by their standard deviation. It may be necessary to change standard deviation values to improve the mass balance.

Checking the Balance

There are various ways in which the user can assess the results: The Overview window is probably the most useful way to check data and results. It also allows recovery of any component to be displayed for all streams. See Learning Overview for details of the Overview facility. In the RMS Errors frame of the Mass Balance window, the magnitude of the accumulated error values under the various parameter categories, are all indicators of how close the original experimental data were to being already balanced. Smaller values of the RMS Errors indicate less adjustment was required to produce the balance. Moreover, in the case of these fields, comparisons between successive mass balances can be made. If these values are smaller than they were in the previous run, then the balance is getting better. If they are getting larger, then the adjustments you have made are taking this balance in the wrong direction. You can also judge the relative success of mass balancing by looking at the individual stream data windows. Examine the values in the Error column. Again, smaller error values indicate less adjustment has been required. The parity graph on the Mass Balance window allows for a good visual assessment of the balance. The further the data points are away from the 45 degree line, the greater was the adjustment needed to balance the parameters in question. The TPH Solids data usually consist of numbers that are very large compared to the assay data and when the two are plotted together on this graph, the assay data will lie in a clump near the origin, which is not very useful for assessment. To overcome this problem, you can temporarily switch the TPH Solids to "Unused", while leaving Elements on "Adjust". You will also have to de-select "Remainder" from the elements list, since this will be a relatively large number also, possibly approaching 100. After you have done this, you should get a much better picture of how well the elemental data have balanced. It should be noted though that you cannot actually carry out a

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balance with the TPH Solids set to "Unused". Note too that you can hover the mouse over individual data points to identify them, as is illustrated in the screen grab below. Don't be too impatient here though - you do need to have the mouse positioned over the point you wish to identify for between 1 and 2 seconds before the data will appear.

The Configurable Graphing facility allows the user to plot experimental and balanced size distribution data on the same screen. Further description of this can be found in the section Plotting Size Data Graphs. If mass balancing a large and complex circuit is proving difficult, a useful technique for tracing the source of the problem is to dissect the circuit into smaller chunks for balancing. The Mass Balancing module allows balances to be carried out on a single unit or on a small set of units, isolated from the main circuit by means of the Select List facility. This allows you to put the test data under a microscope.

If circuit conditions were changing as you did your test work, you may find that the unstable sections of the plant will have yielded unusable results. As a general principal, a good balance depends on having steady state conditions and varying conditions will usually produce nonsense.

Presentation of Mass Balance Results

There are two main ways to present the results of mass balancing: viewing on screen via the Configurable Stream Overview window and printing or exporting via the Reports function. We shall deal with these in turn. For mass balanced data, graph plotting is limited to GSIM format.

Configurable Stream Overview

Using Configurable Stream Overview to View Balance Results The Configurable Stream Overview window gives you a powerful means of summarising your data and checking it for adjustment problems. There are some built-in overviews that will already be present when you first open the Configurable Stream Overview. This includes one that contains Experimental, Balanced and SD data. This one is all you would normally need for assessing the results of a mass balancing procedure. However, as implied by the name, this overview window can be configured by the user and you can create your own overviews with additional data displayed or with just a subset of the streams in your flowsheet displayed.

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The best way to use the overview feature is to compare experimental and balanced values for each assay (or size fraction) across the complete circuit. This will give a very useful picture of the accuracy of the data and the mass balance. Step 1 Left-click on the Configurable Stream Overview button ( ) on the main JKSimMet toolbar. This brings the Configurable Stream Overview window into view. Select From the Select List at top left, select the pre-configured overview the existing Overview that is labelled "Stream Data (Exp, Bal & SD)".

Step 2

Note that from within this window, you can elect to change the way you view the sizing data. The drop-down at top right contains the sizing data options of % Retained, Cum % Retained and Cum % Passing. You can also gain access to the SD Calculation window from here via the button next to this drop-down. This is provided here since after examining the most recent balance data, it will often be the case that you may need to modify certain SD values before re-running the balance.

Reports Function and Printing

Printing Mass Balance Results Printing Individual Port Data Windows Normally for reporting the results of a mass balancing procedure you would most likely want to show the experimental, balanced and SD values for each type of data involved and for each of the streams included in the balance. One way to do this is via the individual stream data windows. To open a stream data window, just double-click on the required stream in your flowsheet. These windows all have SD and Mbal data as pre-configured display columns. You cannot directly print these windows, but you can copy the grid from them into Excel. To do this you press the Copy button, located top centre of the Stream Data window. As it is only the active tab that gets copied, you need to ensure that you have the appropriate tab selected for the type of data that you are intending to report on. This method may occasionally be useful if you are wishing to report the data for a particular stream, but in general one of the other two methods below is probably more practical. Printing the Configurable Stream Overview Another alternative is that once you have the Configurable Stream Overview set up according to your requirements, you can either print it directly or else export it to Excel for further manipulation before printing. When you use the Print function directly, the options for manipulating the format of your report are somewhat limited and it is likely to span across several pages. In most cases it is probably better to use the Export function and then print a report from Excel. There are two Export buttons - one is for exporting just the overview that is currently displayed, while the other will export all of the overviews that have been set up for

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this project. Note that this includes all the system configured overviews as well as any that you may have created. The export function will create a new Excel sheet for each of the existing overviews. The copy grid option is also available from the Configurable Stream Overview window and this may sometimes be useful as a quick way of getting the required data into Excel for further manipulation. Configure and Print a Report Probably the greatest flexibility for report production is afforded by JKSimMet's integrated Report generator. When you press the Report button ( similar to the illustration below will open. ), a window

From here you can create reports with complete flexibility regarding which equipment items, streams and types of data that are to be included. There is also a drop-down to allow you to choose the way your sizing data will be expressed in the report. For a mass balancing report, it is recommended that you place a tick in the Summary check-box. When you do this, the formatting of the report will be modified for easier comparison of values between streams. With the Summary check-box ticked, the stream data will be arranged with the stream headings across the page and the parameters down the page, grouped by data type. If you have also selected equipment for the report, the equipment data will still be listed down the page along the left-hand border, but it will have a lot less detail than in the non-summary version.

Plotting Size Data Graphs

Plotting Graphs of the Mass Balancing Results On the mass balancing window there is a graph of experimental data versus balanced data, which provides a visual assessment of how much of an adjustment of the various data points was needed to achieve the balance. For the sizing data it is possible to get a more detailed visual feedback on how much adjustment was needed, by plotting a size distribution graph of both the experimental

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and balanced data. A drop-down is provided to allow you to select the format of the sizing data. This can be either cumulative % passing, % retained or cumulative % retained. The data can be plotted for a number of streams on the same chart, to allow comparisons. An example of the graphing facility with the required data types in the process of being selected from the drop-down, is shown in the screen grab below.

Once the streams to be displayed have been selected and the data format and data types selected, you simply click on the Graph tab and the required chart will appear in place of the graph configuration table. The screen grab below shows a typical example in which the user has chosen to show the circuit feed from the Learner Flowsheet plus the two products from the cyclone.

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It is also possible to make changes to the way this graph appears, using the Format button near the top right of this window. If you click on this button, a new window will open where you can make a number of changes to the chart formatting. An example is shown below.

Any graph that you generate here can be easily inserted into an Excel or MS Word report using the Copy button at top right.

Problems Related to Mass Balancing and Possible Solutions

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There are, of course, many problems that may be encountered during mass balancing. It is possible however, to point out some of the more common problems and a description of these has been set out in the remainder of this section. While the list below is not comprehensive, we hope that it will alert you to some of the more significant pitfalls. Errors, Warnings, Faults Some problems detected by JKSimMet can produce error messages. In version 5 the errors had error numbers and were referenced via a key that could be found in the help file. In version 6 it is no longer necessary to refer to a key since the error explanations now appear in the error message window. The graphing capability of JKSimMet is the most powerful way to examine your data fit. Discontinuities in size data highlight poor data or a change in size measurement technique. Graphical analysis also highlights any bias in the data fit. Be very wary of changes in size measurement technique e.g. from screens to a Cyclosizer. Where assay techniques change between stream samples, as they sometimes do for different assay ranges, there may be inherent biases within the assay techniques. These will lead to biases within the mass balance. Mass Balancing is not a cut and dried procedure. The only way to acquire a useful skill level is to practise on a wide range of real data. JKSimMet offers a user-friendly environment for what are really very complex and powerful mathematical techniques. Note that it is necessary to have enough feed and product data to achieve a useful mass balance. This is very important. Generally you need to have redundant data and the more of this you have, the better. If you have no redundant data at all, then the mass balancing exercise reduces to just a calculation i.e. there is only one solution to the balance. In this case the internal checking that comes from having these extra data (and is also one of the major advantages of mass balancing), will no longer be operating. Without redundant data, there could well be a very large error in one of your data points and you would have no way of ever being alerted to it. There are a couple of simple traps which can appear in many guises. If you become aware of these now you may recognise them more easily when you encounter them in the future. These are discussed in the two sub-topics that follow.

Graphical Analysis Different Sizing Techniques Different Assay Techniques Skill versus Practice Data

Common Mass Balancing Pitfalls

The Middlings Problem

Below we have a single unit flow diagram for a separation node where there is a middlings stream of assay m.

In this situation there are not enough assays to go around. However, if we have two assays in each stream, we would write them out as simple equations and solve for two unknowns. However, if m really is a middlings stream, it will be close to a in composition and very often recycled back to it. In this case, no matter how accurately we can sample and assay the streams, we can only find out: or the ratio between flows b & c (if m goes elsewhere)

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the flows in b and c if m is recycled.

The actual flow rate in m can be anywhere between zero and infinity. However, there is a straightforward solution. Measure (or estimate) the flow rate in stream m and input this flow rate as data. The mass balancing module allows you to do this.

The Infinite Division Problem

The Infinite Division Problem If one wishes to extract maximum information from a survey, it is not unusual to assay on a two (or even three) dimensional matrix, for example, assay by size or assay by size by specific gravity. This subdivides the stream into even smaller sub-groups. Each sub-group has an extra step of processing and an increased relative error. Hence, we tend towards trying to solve for (0 - 0) / (0 - 0). This is not a useful numerical exercise. The solution to this problem is straightforward, however. You should first use the total assays where there are large differences, to calculate the mass balance flow rate solutions. Once you have these flow rates, fix them by selecting "Fixed" from the TPH Solids drop-down (in the balance controls frame) and only then add in all of the smaller fraction assays to the mass balancing problem. Once the flow rates have been defined, the mass balancing module will be more easily able to allocate the minimum adjustments required to make all of the fractional assays consistent.

Metallurgical Accounting
Use in Metallurgical Accounting The day to day data collected from a mineral processing plant are rarely consistent and will almost always contain redundant information. In general, any two methods of calculation will yield different results. The challenge for metallurgical accounting is to produce adjusted data that are both self-consistent and as accurate a representation of plant performance as possible. Consider a typical base metal concentrator with several products from several circuits,

At each point marked , we have Au, Cu, Fe, Pb and Zn Assays. For the feed, we have weightometer readings and for the concentrates we have load out weights with stockpile surveys. If we select an accounting period that is large compared with the circuit residence time, we can carry out a mass balance over this complete data set. If large adjustments are required, these may be an indication of problems in either sampling or assay techniques. In this case you may need to select smaller circuits for mass balancing in order to isolate and identify these problems. Once a consistent set of adjusted data is produced for each accounting period, the sums of these sets will also be consistent. If assays and flow rates are available on a short time scale, e.g. several times per shift, these data can be balanced for each time period, printed to a file or exported to most Windows spreadsheet or word processing packages using copy and paste.

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JKMetAccount

For users with a serious interest in metallurgical accounting, the JKMetAccount program was created to enable the Metallurgist or Plant Manager to track the performance of a mineral processing plant over time.Changes to a plant flowsheet, which can so often cause problems for a spreadsheet based system, are easily accommodated by the JKMetAccount software. The major strength of this program comes from harnessing the power of the JKMBal mass balance engine (and more recently a model based mass balance engine), within a rigorous data management environment that is accessed via a user friendly graphical interface. JKMetaccount also still provides for very flexible reporting, as it utilises the formatting power of Excel within its report production module. With its rigorous data management advantage over a spreadsheet system, we believe that JKMetAccount will in time become regarded as an indispensable tool for modern mineral processing plants. At the end of 2006, all rights to the JKMetAccount program were sold to the large Brisbane based software development company Mincom, whom were considered better able to handle the further development and marketing of this product. Mincom have since been taken over (in July 2011) by ABB and are now part of the ABB owned company Ventyx. If you are interested in finding out more about JKMetAccount, further information can be obtained either from the JKTech website (http://www.jktech.com.au/commercialisation-case-studies) or directly from Ventyx, whose contact details can be obtained from their website at http://www.ventyx.com/.

References
LYNCH, A.J., 1977. Mineral Crushing and Grinding Circuits, (Elsevier, Amsterdam), Chapter 7. LYMAN, G.J., 1986. Application of Gy's sampling theory to coal, International Journal of Mineral Processing, Vol 17:1-22. GY, P.M., 1982. Sampling of particulate materials: theory and practice, 2nd Ed, (Elsevier, Amsterdam), p 431. MORRISON, R.D., 1976. A two stage least squares technique for the general material balance problem, JKMRC Internal Report No 61 (unpublished)

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