Blogs
Troughing Idlers
To start with the idlers, let’s look at the ones that carry the load first. They are called troughing idlers. This type of idler comes in various depths of trough. The depth used will depend upon the material being carried and the speed that the conveyor is traveling at. The deeper conveyors will carry more at higher speeds and
Feeder Safety
Feeders can be dangerous, so lets talk feeder safety a bit. All walkways and work areas should be kept clear for easy access and exits, don’t leave things laying on or around feeders. If you have to bar in a feeder or a chute, here are a few hints that may save you a lot of pain. When barring always
Keep Frozen Feeder Running in Winter
In cold climates, winter is an enemy of all three kinds, this is due to the ore freezing and becoming a solid mass of LUMPS. When this happens simply getting the ore out of the bin may become the hardest part of the operators day. These lumps will not go through the feeders. PRY BARS, AIR LANCES sometimes even EXPLOSIVES
Slot Feeder
The slot feeder on the other hand is slightly different, all three types of feeders draw the ore from a fine ore storage area, usually a bin. To be able to draw the ore evenly from this area is important, for the chute/gate and pipe types this means that there has to be quite a few of each kind placed
Fine Ore Feeders
This section is about the feeders that control the fine ore. This is the ore that has already been through the crushing stage of concentration. Of these feeders there are three basic types, chute/gate, pipe, and slot feeders. The circuits that carry out the remainder of the steps required to concentrate the fine ore must be fed in a continuous
Feeder Operations & Troubleshooting
More than the normal hot bearings and gear reducers, worn chains, oil levels, and the other common problems that are familiar with moving machinery, is the problems with the high abrasion caused by the ore movement. This is where the bolts on the liners become a problem indicator. There is only two ways that a bolt may fall out, one
Sliding Gate Feeder
The sliding gate feeder is used for the smaller ore sizes, in some applications it will even be used in our next group of feeders the ones that handle fine ore. How this works is just as the name implies, the gate is lifted up out of the way of the ore allowing it to slide through. The lift may
Vibratory Feeders
Vibratory Feeders do not like wet ore much either but it is the next feeder type on my list. How this one works is quite simple. The feeder has two parts to it, a stationary portion and a vibrating pan. The frame or the stationary portion is attached under the ore pass. It guides the ore onto the pan that
Pan Feeders
The next feeder on the list is the PAN FEEDER, this one may also be called the reciprocating feeder and it works like this. The pan moves back under the ore picking up a load, it then slides forward carrying the ore with it. The pan is pushed forward then retracted. As the pan is withdrawn the ore is forced
Ross Chain Feeders
A feeder that uses chains to regulate the ore flow in a different manner is the ROSS Chain FEEDER. This feeder uses a series of very large, heavy chain that has been forged into loops. These loops are placed over cogged wheels that are suspended over the ore passage. The free end of the chain loops are hung down onto
Coarse Ore Feeders
Once the ore has been blasted and hauled from the mine, it is sent through the milling process. At the beginning of each major stage of processing there is a holding area where the ore is stockpiled to ensure that the next phase of the process has enough material for continuous operation. The ore must then be guided through each
Chilean Mill
The Quartz Mill AKA Chilean Mill is one of the more popular types of the original Chilean mill. Still used for certain grinding problems, this mill employs the convex-concave principle of crushing ores, resulting in a product surprisingly low in slime content and which has its particles, such as sulfides and gold, well polished and free of recovery retarding tarnish. The Chilean
Sepor Mini Jaw Crusher
The SEPOR Mini-Jaw Crusher is suitable for crushing small quantities of rock and other friable material, ranging in hardness from hard quartz to relatively soft claystone. It is available with a variety of wear surfaces: Hardened steel alloy plates for users not concerned with iron contamination and 85% Alumina (Ceramic) for those who can
What Gives Gold Different Colours
Gold often comes as an alloy and for that will be of various color. Gold colouring goes from that bright yellow we all know to White, Rose, Pink, Red Gold, Green, Blue, Purple and Black Gold. Depending on the allow mix, you can derive or metallurgically fabricate colors. illustrates it well. White Gold: For gold to take a white color, it
If Safety Matters, Concentrator Housekeeping Matters
Table of ContentsConcentrator Housekeeping Method -How to Keep a Mill Clean10 Rules for Working Safely in a Concentrator These are; working with and aiding other personnel and maintaining good housekeeping standards. These two definitely go together. You won’t have good housekeeping standards if you don’t work with and aid the other workers. Like it or not, good housekeeping is very
Monitoring a Circuit’s Operating Variables
The term “operating variable” is what I use when I refer to any condition that effects the operation and is subject to change. As a simple example tonnage, which is the amount of ore that the mill can process at any one time, is controlled by the operator. Because it can be increased or decreased it is considered an operating
Rubber Tire Driven Ball Mill -Grinding Mill on Rollers
These very nice rubber tire driven grinding mills do not come cheaply priced. A small, 1 meter X 1.5 meter Rod mill OR Ball Mill cost approximately $160,000 US (in 2014) The small(est) mill starts at 600mm x 900mm and goes up to the large(est) 2100mm x 4200mm Options in the small “tyre” or Rubber roller grinding mills include Sepro as well as
Quick Bearing Temperature Check
If a bearing is heating and running at high temperature it is an indication that friction is being generated by the bearing. The friction could he caused by dirt or the bearing surface itself breaking down. When the heat caused by the friction reaches a critical temperature the oil or the grease will lose its lubricating properties. The bearing’s condition
Hydrodynamic, Hydrostatic, and Roller Bearing Compared
Bearings that interest us are in 3 categories: Hydrodynamic, Hydrostatic, and Roller. Hydrodynamic and the hydrostatic make use of a phenomenon called the Wedge Effect. This wedge effect is a self-generated pressure that is developed when a film of oil between a moving shaft and a collar or sleeve is forced through a wedge shaped passage. This pressure is high
Bearing Characteristics and Properties of its Metal
To start with there are five areas of concern that are taken into account when selecting the metals that go into the construction of the different bearings. They are: ANTI-SEIZURE PROPERTIES When a bearing becomes seized, what happens is that the two metal surfaces that are in contact with one another become welded together. Different metals weld at different rates
Know your Flowsheet and what Matters in it
A flow-sheet is a schematic drawing that shows simply the order of processing. In the below example, the arrows indicate the direction that the ore is taking through the process. Some are very basic or conceptual, others are very detailed. Here is very basic. Use a flowsheet for a properly done circuit check that will save you lots of work
List Responsibilities of Concentrator Operating Crew
In the different concentration plants of the mining industry, job descriptions change, responsibilities fluctuate, positions are phased in and out. However there is one position whose relationship to the crew doesn’t change, and that is the foreman. Some where there is a boss, and he must be considered part of the operating crew. It has been recognized that he, unlike
Concentrator Operator – What does a Mill Man Do
The manual is aimed at laying out the basic tasks a good mill operator needs to perform and master on the path to becoming a good concentrator operator. This guide will provide a source of reference material for the operator and an instructional text containing material giving the operator a basic understanding of the purpose of each stage of mineral
Gold Chlorination Process by Miller
Miller’s Gold Chlorination process was introduced by F.B. Miller. The refining process employs chlorine gas, which passed into molten gold covered with a layer of borax and silica, and reacts with most of metals present in the molten charge. Platinum group metals do not react. Basically, gold is slightly attacked in the first moments and all the chlorides formed rise