*3.4. Product Material* < *0.425-mm Sizing*

Comminution products passing the 0.425-mm threshold were more specifically analyzed in terms of granulometric distribution. This was necessary for the assessment of the ore behavior under different comminution forces aiming to deliver good quality material for further separation steps.

Wet sieving methodology was selected. Figure 6 shows the granulometric curve obtained resulting in values of *d*<sup>80</sup> = 0.300 mm and *d*<sup>50</sup> = 0.160 mm. These findings show that the presence of fine fractions (*d* < 0.063 mm) is relevant. In fact, material passing 0.063 mm accounted for 27.2 wt % of the total considered sample.

**Figure 6.** Particle size distribution obtained by means of wet sieving on comminution products < 0.425 mm.
