Abstract

DANOCZI, J.  and  CREIGHTON, S.. Microdiamond analysis - a method for estimating the size frequency distribution of the macrodiamonds. J. S. Afr. Inst. Min. Metall. [online]. 2016, vol.116, n.8, pp.737-743. ISSN 2411-9717.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2411-9717/2016/v116n8a5.

Estimating the size frequency distribution of the macrodiamonds on a new deposit is important for both economic reasons and for the design of the processing plant. Millions of dollars can be lost due to incorrectly sized comminution circuits. This report analyses an alternative methodology for macrodiamond grade estimation using the cumulative results from small parcels of microdiamonds and plotting them on a log-log scale. The method was first evaluated mathematically for diamond populations to assess the confidence for data extrapolation. Macrodiamond size distributions and grades were predicted using microdiamond data from three kimberlites, and the actual macrodiamond grades compared to the the predicted grades. The predicted grades were found to replicate the actual grades closely, showing that a high degree of confidence can be ascribed to the results from this method of analysis. This analysis can be used both for resource estimates and for predicting the diamond size distribution information needed for designing a new operation.

Keywords : diamond resource estimation; microdiamond distribution; macrodiamond grade; probability density function; grade-size plot.

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