A comparative study of the effects of high voltage pulse (HVP) treatment and conventional comminution was conducted to examine the suitability of the alternative comminution method in the processing of an industrial mineral. Comminution efficiency studies were based on the principles of energy-optimised comminution according to the OCS method, which compares net energy consumption and the increase in mass-specific surface for comminution sequences with and without HVP-induced fragmentation, pre-weakening and/or pre-concentration. The results indicate that the effect from pre-weakening is only present in the next fragmentation stage. Observation of the comminution efficiency of HVP fragmentation determined the Rittinger coefficient for HVP breakage was more than 95 % lower than that obtained by conventional comminution. Analysis of the effect on ore properties showed that HVP fragmentation generated a lower yield of fines <1 mm. Product quality (e. g. mineral liberation, pre-concentration by grade splitting, process contamination, etc.) and analysis of fracture patterns by X-ray computer tomography did not confirm results found in previous research carried out on other rock types. Additionally, separation efficiency based on recovery, remaining impurities in the concentrate, losses and selectivity did not improve by implementing a HVP stage in the comminution circuit nor directly after HVP fragmentation. This poses the question as to the suitability of the HVP method for the processing of the researched raw material and its product requirements.