This paper describes the modeling and simulation of the main processes of a hydrometallurgical plant, followed by the hybrid model identification of its crushing circuit. Simulation results of the response of the identified models are compared to the response of a nonlinear simulator, calibrated with real plant data, to qualitatively validate the models developed. The hybrid models identified in this manner are used for the design and development of hybrid controllers for the crushing plant. Simulation results show that the hybrid controllers exhibit a better performance when compared to a basic control scheme.