Reduction in Major Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Mineral Comminution Using Ultra-High-Intensity Blasting (UHIB)—A Study for the Chilean Mining Industry

Comminution is the most energy-intensive stage in mineral processing and a major source of indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in mining. This study evaluates the impact of Ultra-High-Intensity Blasting (UHIB) on downstream comminution energy demand and associated GHG emissions under conditions representative of large-scale Chilean mining. Fragmentation from conventional blasting and UHIB was simulated using JKSimBlast, and the resulting particle size distributions were used as input for four comminution circuit configurations modeled in JKSimMet. Two ore hardness scenarios were analyzed: hard ore (Bond Work Index, BWI = 19 kWh/t) and soft ore (BWI = 11 kWh/t). Power draw of crushers and mills was used to estimate specific energy consumption and GHG emissions based on the Chilean electrical system emission factor. Results show that UHIB enables significant reductions in comminution energy demand, reaching approximately 18% for hard ore and over 30% for soft ore. These reductions are primarily associated with circuit simplification, including the removal of energy-intensive stages such as primary crushing and SAG milling. The results demonstrate that improved fragmentation can reduce downstream energy demand and carbon intensity, highlighting UHIB as an effective mine-to-mill strategy for energy efficiency and emission reduction.