Iron ore grinding is a crucial step in the mineral processing process, directly impacting the efficiency and concentrate quality of subsequent magnetic separation and flotation operations. As a technical team with 20 years of experience in EPCM+O services for mineral processing, we will systematically analyze the advantages and disadvantages of five mainstream iron ore grinding technologies from the perspectives of equipment principles, energy efficiency, and process adaptability. This will help you choose the most economically beneficial solution.
Working Principle: Through a Φ3-6m rotating drum containing steel balls (filling rate 25-35%), ball mills exert both impact and grinding forces to crush ore to a fineness below 0.074mm.
Advantages:
Handling capacity reaches 500 t/h, suitable for various ore types such as magnetite and hematite.
New wear-resistant liners and grading liners reduce media loss by 30%.
Intelligent control systems maintain a stable fineness of -200 mesh ≥ 85%.
Application Scenarios: Suitable for large-scale mineral processing plants in two-stage or three-stage grinding operations, especially for finely disseminated ores requiring fine grinding.
Innovative Structure: The gap between the two rollers can be adjusted to 2-10 mm, with a pressure intensity of 4-8 N/mm², achieving efficient crushing through the "layer crushing" principle.
Advantages:
Energy consumption is reduced by 40% compared to ball mills (0.8-1.2 kWh/t).
Product qualification rate increases by 15% (-3 mm content ≥ 85%).
Roller surface lifespan exceeds 8,000 hours using hard alloy stud technology.
Application Scenarios: Best suited for ores with a moisture content<5% and a Mohs hardness of f ≤ 15.
Innovative Combination: A Φ8-12m SAG mill combined with a linear vibrating screen forms a short circuit system, utilizing large ore pieces (<350mm) as 20-30% of the grinding media.
Economic Benefits:
Capital investment is reduced by 25% by eliminating the medium and fine crushing workshops.
Steel consumption is lowered to 0.6 kg/t (compared to 1.2 kg/t in traditional processes).
Processing capacity is increased to the 3000 t/d scale.
Note: Requires configuration of online particle size analyzers (e.g., Malvern Insitec) for real-time control of feed particle size.
Process Configuration: C160 jaw crusher (coarse crushing) + HPT500 cone crusher (medium crushing) + VSI6X vertical shaft impact crusher (fine crushing) in a three-stage combination.
Performance Parameters:
Suitable for ultra-hard ores with a compressive strength of f ≥ 18.
Crushing ratio reaches 1:40 (feed particle size ≤ 1200mm).
Cubic product content ≥ 90%.
Typical Case: A vanadium-titanium magnetite project using this scheme reduced grinding energy consumption by 28% and increased iron concentrate grade to 67.5%.
Modular Design: ZM-200 series equipped with a variable frequency vibration exciter (vibration intensity 4-6G), handling capacity 5-50 t/d.
Technical Highlights:
Occupies 60% less space compared to ball mills of the same specification.
Particle size distribution is concentrated (-0.045mm content ≥ 92%).
Quick changeover design allows for switching between different product specifications.
Application Scenarios: Suitable for medium and small-scale mineral processing plants, laboratory scale-up tests, and re-grinding of tailings.
Decision Matrix for Grinding Method Selection: Four Evaluation Dimensions
Ore Characteristics: Hardness (Mohs scale), dissemination size, moisture content.
Process Requirements: Handling capacity, target particle size, subsequent separation methods.
Economic Indicators: Energy consumption per ton (kW·h/t), steel consumption (kg/t), spare parts cost.
Operational Factors: Equipment reliability, automation level, maintenance cycle.
It is recommended to use the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to establish a quantitative evaluation model, combining the life cycle cost (LCC) of the mineral processing plant over 15 years for scheme selection.
As a professional provider of EPCM+O services for mineral processing, we offer comprehensive solutions from grinding tests to equipment selection and intelligent operations. Please contact our technical team to obtain the "Iron Ore Grinding Process Selection Handbook" and customized solutions, helping your project achieve a reduction in ore processing costs by 15-30%.
