Cradle to grave
Grinding ball design
optimises SAG milling
Sino Grinding delivers grinding media that
works effectively with a processing plant’s ore
characteristics, milling method, and other objectives.
The sheer size and scale of new ore
processing operations, with their
associated desire to substantially increase
product throughput, means that primary
SAG mills have grown to larger capacities.
According to Paul Peng, CEO and
chief metallurgist at Sino Grinding
Industries (SGI), it is critical that grinding
media is designed and manufactured
to cope with this increased demand.
“A primary influence on maximised
performance is the longevity and overall
health of the grinding media,” says Peng.
“There are standards of steel
manufacturing for specific applications
and each end use is covered by an ISO,
AS, JIS, or other basic chemistry design.
However, with grinding media,
there is not one specific standard
that provides a basic grade for steel
grinding media. Sino Grinding
therefore went back to the drawing
board to define the purpose of all
media it produces,” says Peng.
Sino Grinding determined that
any SAG grinding balls it produced
would need to withstand high levels
of impact and should possess superior
abrasion resistance. The current
product range includes seven distinct
types and grades of forged steel SAG
grinding media, in sizes ranging
from 90mm to 155mm. Each grade
has variations in chemistry, physical
characteristics, and efficiencies to
suit the various grinding and impact
environments of mills.
“The key to ensure grinding
balls will perform optimally is to
dispense with the assumption that
a single ball design can work well
for all sites. One needs to factor
in variations such as mill size, ore
type, and characteristics; final grind
targets; and milling work practices,”
says Pieter Theunissen, Sino
Grinding’s marketing manager for
Africa, Europe, and Middle East.
OCTOBER 2018 MINING MIRROR
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