Many ore dressing plants will encounter the following problem: after using the ball mill for a period of time, the grinding efficiency will decrease, which will affect the subsequent ore dressing efficiency and revenue. Today, I will recommend 6 methods to improve the grinding efficiency of ball mills.

1. Reduce the particle size of the ball mill by crushing more and grinding less
The larger the particle size of the ball mill, the greater the work it does on the ore, and the grinding efficiency of the ball mill will naturally be affected. To achieve qualified grinding fineness, the workload of the ball mill will inevitably increase, and the energy consumption will also increase accordingly.

If the feeding particle size needs to be reduced, it is required that the crushing product particle size is small, that is, "more crushing and less grinding". In this way, the feeding particle size is appropriate, and the grinding efficiency of the ball mill will be improved accordingly.

2. Maintain an appropriate steel ball filling rate
When the speed of the ball mill is maintained at a certain level, the higher the steel ball filling rate, the more times it hits the material, and the grinding area will also increase. Correspondingly, the grinding efficiency of the ball mill will also be improved, but at the same time, energy consumption will also be high. But if the filling rate of the steel ball is too high, it is easy to cause a change in the movement state of the steel ball, which actually reduces the impact effect on large particle materials. In production practice, most mines set the filling rate at 45% to 50%, but this is only a rough range because the actual conditions of each beneficiation plant are not the same, and blindly copying will not achieve the ideal grinding efficiency, which depends on the situation.

3. Reasonably adding steel balls
During long-term operation, the mutual grinding between the steel balls of the ball mill and the ore can cause a certain degree of wear on the steel balls, resulting in changes in the ratio of steel balls of different sizes, causing changes in the fineness of the grinding product, and thus affecting the grinding efficiency of the ball mill. Therefore, the operators of the ball mill need to regularly check the condition of the steel balls, add them reasonably, and ensure stable production of the ball mill.

4. Strictly control the grinding concentration of the ball mill
Generally, the grinding concentration can affect the specific gravity of the slurry, the fluidity of the slurry, and the degree of adhesion of the ore particles to the surrounding steel balls. The grinding concentration is low, the slurry flows quickly, and the material is not easy to stick around the steel ball, weakening the impact and grinding effect on the material, resulting in unqualified discharge particle size and low grinding efficiency of the ball mill; The high grinding concentration makes it easier for the material to be around the steel ball, enhancing the impact and grinding effect on the material. However, the slurry flow is slow, which can easily cause overgrinding.

In production practice, the grinding concentration can be controlled by controlling the amount of ore fed by the ball mill, the amount of water supplied by the ball mill, or adjusting the particle size composition and water content in the graded sand return to help improve the grinding efficiency of the ball mill.

5. Optimize the grinding process of ball mills
Optimizing the grinding process based on the ore properties of the original ore (useful mineral embedding particle size, monomer dissociation degree, and vein mineral embedding particle size), such as pre tailings disposal, pre enrichment, stage grinding, and pre classification, can reduce the amount of grinding input and timely recover useful minerals, which can improve the grinding efficiency of the ball mill.

6. Improve classification efficiency
The impact of classification efficiency on grinding efficiency is self-evident. High classification efficiency means that qualified particle sizes can be discharged in a timely and efficient manner, while low classification efficiency means that most qualified particle size products are not discharged and are returned to the ball mill for further grinding, which can easily cause overgrinding. In production, two-stage classification or improved classification equipment can be used to improve classification efficiency, correspondingly increasing the grinding efficiency of the ball mill.

In the grinding process, there are many factors that affect the grinding efficiency of the ball mill. Many factors can only be qualitatively analyzed and judged, making it difficult to make quantitative analysis. This requires ball mill technicians to analyze based on the actual production situation and qualitative analysis results on site, and ultimately obtain reasonable technical parameters to guide on-site production and strive for the ideal grinding efficiency of the ball mill