The potential of the discrete element method (DEM) for the design and optimization of tumbling mills is unequivocally accepted by the mineral engineering community, The challenge is to effectively use the simulation tool to improve industrial practice. There are several areas of application in the analysis of tumbling mills where DEM is most effective. These include analysis of charge motion for improved plant operation, power draw prediction, liner and lifter design and microscale modeling for calculation of size distribution. First, it is established that charge motion in ball and SAG mills can be computed with ease using DEM. The simulation results in the case of the ball mill are verified by comparing snapshots of charge motion. Furthermore, it is shown that power draw of ball as well as SAG mills can be predicted within 10%. Finally, it is demonstrated that in the near future direct simulation of the entire comminution process by DEM will become possible by using the impact energy spectra and the breakage distribution data. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.