Dust abatement is a common challenge faced by most processing industries, wherever product is degraded through processing and transported; dust is involved. The iron ore industry is no exception to this with dust becoming a key focus for many sites as it represents either lost product revenue, environmental repercussions due to uncontrolled emission or increased downtime due to unplanned maintenance activities. In order to solve the challenges surrounding dust, the need for more novel and complex analysis has never been greater. This paper provides a decision framework for selecting CFD–DEM (computational fluid dynamics – discrete element method) or CFD–DDPM (dense discrete phase method) approaches for iron ore dust problems, supported by laboratory calibration and industrial-scale case studies. This builds on the work previously completed by Stone et al (2016, 2019, 2021), who focused specifically on biomass and alumina dust modelling in enclosed vessels, as well as developing a calibration methodology. To extend on this previous work, a literature survey of recent advances is presented both with respect to dust generally, the iron ore industry, and DEM coupled with CFD. The findings from this survey, as well as industry-based experience is then used to develop a practical guide and methodology to model dust such that it can be used to solve real world problems. Finally, a case study is presented that outlines how the developed methodology was implemented, and the outcomes form undertaking a complex DEM-CFD coupled analysis and design approach.