Processing plants have the reputation of being energy inefficient, but a recent study has put some hard numbers on their energy usage.

After investigating three industrial grinding mill circuits operated by Agnico Eagle Goldex Division, Mine Canadian Malartic and New Gold New Afton Mine, researchers concluded “on average, 79 per cent of the supplied electrical energy was converted to heat absorbed by the slurry, eight per cent was lost through the drive system and approximately two per cent was transmitted to the ambient air.