Operating experience with a roller press at the Los Colorados iron ore dressing plant in Chile

As part of the new development of the Los Colorados ore dressing plant, for the first time, the idea of installing a large-sized roller press was considered as an alternative to the conventional third and fourth crushing stages commonly used for the liberation of iron ores. First, to gauge the consequences of this measure with regard to expected advantages and disadvantages, extensive tests were performed on both laboratory and pilot-plant scale. A comparison drawn up from the test results indicated that the anticipated advantages would easily outweigh the disadvantages. Consequently, a roller press of the type RPBR 16-170/180 was installed at the plant. Now, after almost two years of operation, the machine performance has undergone interim assessment. This has established that both the technical and economic advantages of the roller press still easily offset those weaknesses identified so far.