Ore mills are industrial facilities designed to grind and process raw ore into smaller, more manageable particles to extract valuable minerals or metals. They play a crucial role in mining operations by reducing the size of mined ore to liberate target minerals for further processing (e.g., smelting or leaching).
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Types of Ore Mills
1. Ball Mills
– Use rotating cylinders filled with steel balls to crush and grind ore.
– Common for grinding hard ores (e.g., gold, copper, iron).
2. Rod Mills
– Similar to ball mills but use long steel rods instead of balls.
– Ideal for coarse grinding and softer ores.
3. SAG Mills (Semi-Autogenous Grinding Mills)
– Use a combination of ore and grinding media (balls) in a large rotating drum.
– Often used in the first stage of grinding in large mining operations.
4. Stirred Mills (Vertical Mills)
– Use agitators to enhance grinding efficiency with fine media.
– Energy-efficient for ultrafine grinding (e.g., platinum, rare earths).
5. Hammer Mills & Stamp Mills
– Older designs using mechanical impact (hammers or stamps) to crush ore.
– Still used in small-scale or historical mining contexts.
6. Autogenous Mills (AG Mills)
– Rely on the ore itself as the grinding medium (no steel balls/rods).
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for softer ores that can self-break under impact.
Key Functions
– Size Reduction: Crushing ore into fine particles for mineral liberation.
– Separation Prep: Produces material suitable for flotation, leaching, or magnetic separation.
– Energy Efficiency: Modern mills optimize power use while maximizing output.
Applications
– Gold/silver extraction
– Copper, iron, and nickel processing
– Rare earth element refinement
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