Estimation of the wear rate associated with ball mill of mahd ad dahab gold mine, Saudi Arabia (KSA)

Abstract

This study aims to estimate the wear of the middle chrome grinding balls in both dry and wet grinding media. The selected ball mill for this study is located at Mahd Ad Dahab Gold Mine, Saudi Arabia.Methods. The amount of wear is determined based on the decrease in the balls weight with respect to grinding time. Findings.The results show that, the loss in the balls weight is proportionally related to their diameters. Also, the amount of wear is reduced by almost 12% when using wet grinding than dry medium.Originality. This study provides a methodology to evaluate the performance efficiency of grinding operation as a function of the amount of wear results in the grinding medium. Practical implications.Grinding is an intrinsic step in almost all mineral processing. Such step is very expensive; but, it is essentially required to reduce the size of the run-of-mine (ROM) material, to liberate valuable minerals from the ore matrix and to increase the surface area for higher reactivity. Thus, this study sheds light on the cost of wear rate associated with ball mill at Mahd Ad Dahab Gold Mine, Saudi Arabia, and its significant impact on the efficiency of grinding operation.

Effect of ore heterogeneity on the ball mill wear rate during a grinding process at gold mines of Saudi Arabia (KSA)

“…Likewise, when a grinding process is completed, all balls are removed from the mill and cleaned of suspended materials; further, they are weighed again accurately to obtain the lost weight as a result of grinding. Each time, a wear rate of the balls is defined with respect to time as in Equation (1) [21], [40]:…”

“…In terms of Mahd Ad Dahab gold mine, the ball wear rate is about 1.2% per day; however, this rate is about 0.3% per day in laboratory tests as the ball mill is laminated with a rubber layer. Sometimes the milling circuit is designed without considering the variables that may occur and affect the efficiency of the grinding process such as changes in throughput, blending patterns, and rock properties [21].…”

“…As with any feasibility study, when talking about grinding media in a ball mill, it is necessary to obtain the highest possible efficiency and achieve the lowest expected losses. The wear of balls used during a grinding process is considered one of the losses that cause an increase in the operating cost allocated to the ball mill [21]. Ball wear occurs due to abrasion, corrosion, and impact [22].…”