Development of a methodology for planning an experiment to study the parameters of mills at a mining and processing plant

The article presents the results of studying the process parameters of ball mills at a mining and processing plant during the development and implementation of a complete factorial experiment. A methodology for conducting this experiment has been developed that takes into account the specific features of mining production. The main process factors have been established, i.e. productivity, hardness of the ore fed for grinding, density of the classifier discharge, which have the greatest impact on power consumption. An analysis of the input parameters for the grinding process was carried out, the ranges of their variation were determined, a planning matrix was built, the coefficients of the linear regression equation were calculated, and their significance was assessed. Along with this, a transition was made from code values of variables to natural values, and a mathematical model was designed, with the help of which it is possible to calculate and forecast power consumption depending on the most significant process parameters. The obtained results allow to control the operating modes of the mills at mining and processing plants in on-line mode and are planned to be included in the automated process control systems of the enterprises.