What Types of Ores Can Mineral Sizers Process
The working principle of Mineral Sizer
Unlike traditional crushers that use impact and compression to break materials, Mineral Sizer eliminates the high-energy single-point force mode and instead employs a combination of shear and tension forces to achieve material breakdown. It achieves efficient crushing through non-impact stress, fundamentally changing the working logic of traditional equipment that relies on high-intensity impact or compression.
Core components
Two rotating rollers, with crushing teeth configured according to the material characteristics installed on the rollers.
Crushing process
- Materials enter between the two rollers.
- Rotating tooth plates “bite” large pieces of ore.
- Through shear force and tension force, the materials are torn and split along their natural fractures and weak surfaces.
Advantages
First, it can maximize the integrity of the ore, reducing over-crushing phenomena; second, the energy utilization rate is higher, with unit crushing energy being 15%-30% lower than that of traditional equipment; third, it has stronger adaptability to materials, capable of stably processing both hard ores and viscous materials.
Mineral sizer processes iron ore
The over-crushing rate is extremely low
The value of iron ore lies in its iron content. Excessive crushing will produce a large amount of difficult-to-handle mineral powder, which has a low recovery rate in subsequent beneficiation processes (such as magnetic separation, flotation) and will cause environmental pollution and resource waste.
The shearing and tearing action of the Mineral Sizer can effectively avoid excessive crushing. The resulting cubic-shaped products are numerous and the powder is less, thereby improving the yield and quality of the final iron concentrate.
Strong ability to process sticky and wet materials
Iron ore, especially that from certain open-pit mines or from regions with humid climates, often contains a certain amount of moisture and clay, which is prone to clogging the cavities of traditional crushers.
The two rollers of the Mineral Sizer, like “gears”, clean each other and have a self-cleaning function, which can effectively prevent clogging and ensure the continuity of production.
Uniform and controllable discharge particle size
By adjusting the gap between the two rollers, the maximum particle size of the product can be precisely controlled. This is crucial for providing an ideal feed for subsequent grinding operations and can achieve “more crushing and less grinding”, reducing overall energy consumption.
Low energy consumption
Compared with traditional impact or compression crushing, the energy required for tearing and crushing using the internal fractures of the material is less, thus resulting in lower tonnage per unit of ore energy consumption.
Relatively low maintenance cost
The wear-resistant parts such as the teeth plates are usually made of high-strength wear-resistant materials, with a long service life. And the structure is relatively simple and maintenance is convenient.
The application position of Mineral Sizer in iron ore processing
Ⅰ. Followed by medium crushing
After coarse crushing is done using a gyratory crusher or a jaw crusher, Mineral Sizer is used for medium crushing to break the ore into a particle size of -50mm or smaller.
Ⅱ. Pre-crushing before self-grinding/half-self-grinding
In the self-grinding/half-self-grinding process, if the feed particle size range fluctuates greatly, it will affect the efficiency of the mill. Using Mineral Sizer to re-crush the product after coarse crushing can provide more uniform feed, significantly improving the processing capacity and stability of the self-grinding mill.
Ⅲ. As an alternative to cone crushers
In many new or renovated projects, large-scale Mineral Sizers are directly used to replace traditional cone crushers as medium and fine crushing equipment to achieve a lower under-crushing rate and higher overall benefits.
Mineral sizer processes bauxite
High viscosity, prone to caking
Problem: Many bauxites, especially the trisodium aluminate type, have high moisture content and contain clay minerals, which are very sticky. When entering traditional jaw crushers or cone crushers, they will quickly adhere to the inner walls of the crushing chambers, causing severe blockages and requiring frequent shutdowns for cleaning, greatly affecting production efficiency.
Solution of Mineral Sizer: Its two mutually rotating, toothed plate-equipped roller shafts have a powerful self-cleaning effect. When the material on one roller shaft has a tendency to adhere, the teeth on the other roller shaft will scrape it off, effectively preventing clogging and ensuring continuous and stable operation.
Medium to low hardness, but possibly with toughness
Question: The Pittsburg Hardness of bauxite is usually not high, but traditional impact crushers (such as hammer crushers) tend to produce excessive powder during processing, and the hammer heads wear out quickly.
Solution by Mineral Sizer: It mainly relies on shear force and tensile force for “tearing” and “splitting” type crushing. This mode of action is very efficient for crushing materials with medium to low hardness and toughness, and has lower energy consumption than crushers that mainly use compression and impact.
Lower fines content
Question: In the Bayer process for producing alumina, if the feed powder is excessive (over-pulverization), it will increase the consumption of alkali during the dissolution process and cause difficulties in the separation and washing of red mud, thereby affecting the overall production efficiency and cost.
Solution by Mineral Sizer: Its layered/shear crushing principle can minimize the generation of powder. The products it produces are mostly granular with uniform particle size, which is very beneficial for the subsequent dissolution process.
The application position of mineral sizer in the processing of bauxite
Ⅰ. In the coarse crushing stage of the mining site
After bauxite is extracted from the mine, the mineral sizer can crush the large pieces of bauxite and break the ore to an appropriate particle size range, making it easier for subsequent transportation and further processing.
Ⅱ. In the crushing system of the beneficiation plant
After the initial crushing, the particle size of the ore is still relatively large. The mineral sizer can perform secondary crushing on it, controlling the particle size of the ore within an appropriate range, which can improve the working efficiency of the grinding machine and reduce grinding energy consumption.
Ⅲ. Pre-treatment before grinding
If the particle size of the ore is too large, it will increase the load on the grinding machine, reduce grinding efficiency, and also increase the consumption of grinding media. The mineral sizer can crush the ore to an appropriate particle size, making the grinding process more efficient.
Ⅳ. Tailings processing stage
During the processing of bauxite, tailings will be produced. After long-term accumulation and sedimentation, they may form large blocks. By crushing them with the mineral sizer, further screening and recycling processing can be carried out. This can improve resource utilization and reduce the impact of tailings on the environment.
