Method and system for operating a comminution process in a ball mill

A tumbling mill system configured to control a toe position of a tumbling mill performing a tumbling mill process, the tumbling mill having a rotatable shell including an internal shell surface having a plurality of protrusions for engaging a charge of material when the shell rotates, thereby causing a vibration having a repetition frequency dependent on a speed of rotation of said shell when a protrusion engages a toe of the charge of material, the tumbling mill system comprising:

• a vibration sensor configured to generate a signal indicative of said vibration;
• a position sensor configured to generate a signal indicative of a rotational position of said rotating shell;
• one or more data ports configured to connect with a communications network for receiving and transmitting data to a remotely located monitoring system;
• a communications system configured to:
• transmit via the one or more data ports,
• data indicative of said vibration signal, and
• data indicative of said position signal;
• and
• receive, via one or more data ports, data indicative of a position of the toe of the charge of material;
• wherein said received data indicative of a toe position is generated remotely based on transmitted said vibration signal data and said position signal data;
• and
• a controller configured to control said toe position by adjusting at least one operating parameter set point based on:
• a toe position reference value,
• said data indicative of said toe position, and
• a toe position error value, wherein said toe position error value depends on
• said toe position reference value, and
• said data indicative of said toe position.

A monitoring apparatus, at a monitoring location that is remote from a mill location of the tumbling mill system according to claim 54, wherein the monitoring apparatus comprises:

• one or more monitoring apparatus data ports configured to connect with a communications network for receiving and transmitting data with a tumbling mill system;
• wherein said monitoring apparatus data ports are configured to receive:
• data indicative of a vibration signal, and
• data indicative of a position signal;
• one or more hardware processors configured to:
• generate data indicative of a temporal relation between an occurrence of an event signature in said vibration signal, and occurrences of detected reference position signal values in said position signal;
• wherein said temporal relation is indicative of a position of a toe of a charge of material as a proportion of a distance between a first reference position and a second reference position;
• and
• wherein said one or more monitoring apparatus data ports are configured to transmit said generated data indicative of said toe position for delivery to said tumbling mill system.

A tumbling mill system configured to control a parameter of a tumbling mill, the tumbling mill having a rotatable shell including an internal shell surface having a plurality of protrusions for engaging a charge of material when the shell rotates, thereby causing a vibration having a repetition frequency dependent on a speed of rotation of said shell when a protrusion engages a toe of the charge of material;

• the tumbling mill system comprising:
• a vibration sensor configured to generate a signal indicative of said vibration;
• a position sensor configured to generate a signal indicative of a rotational position of said rotating shell;
• one or more data ports configured to connect with a communications network for receiving and transmitting data to a remotely located monitoring system;
• a first tumbling mill arrangement communications device configured to transmit via said one or more data ports,
• data indicative of said vibration signal, and
• data indicative of said position signal;
• and
• a second tumbling mill arrangement communications device configured to receive to receive, via said one or more data ports, a solid material feed rate set point for control of a solid material feed rate into said tumbling mill;
• wherein said solid material feed rate affects a position of the toe portion;
• and wherein said received solid material feed rate set point is based on said delivered vibration signal data and said delivered position signal data.