XQM Planetary Ball Mill for Ultra-Fine Ore Sample Grinding in Mining Laboratory

Case Overview

A gold mining company in South America needed to upgrade the sample preparation capacity of its mine-site laboratory. Hundreds of ore, concentrate and tailings samples had to be finely ground every week for fire assay, XRF/XRD mineralogy analysis and ore dressing test work. The previous preparation method was slow and could not deliver the uniform ultra-fine powders required by modern analytical instruments. The customer selected the Y&X XQM Planetary Ball Mill (YXQM series) as its standard fine grinding solution.

Customer Challenge

• The mine laboratory processed a large number of drill-core and blast-hole samples every week; conventional grinding could not meet the required throughput.
• Inconsistent particle size and cross-sample contamination reduced the reliability of assay results and mineralogical interpretation.
• Hard ores, slag and tailings samples with different grindability demanded a flexible machine with changeable grinding media.
• Sample preparation had become a bottleneck delaying exploration decisions and plant optimization work.

Solution

Y&X supplied the XQM Planetary Ball Mill, a professional laboratory grinding machine of the YXQM series (YXQM-2 to YXQM-100). Based on the planetary motion principle, the mill produces extremely high impact and friction energy, grinding ore samples down to 0.1 micron quickly and uniformly.

Sample Grinding Workflow

1. Crush and split the ore sample to the required feed size (≤3 mm for most materials).
2. Select the jar and grinding media according to sample hardness and target fineness.
3. Load the sample, set rotation speed and grinding time on the variable frequency panel.
4. Run the mill; four jars grind simultaneously, processing four samples per cycle.
5. Collect the ultra-fine powder for assay, XRD/XRF analysis or further metallurgical testing.

Results & Benefits

• The laboratory achieved uniform powders down to 0.1 micron, improving the accuracy and repeatability of assay and mineralogy results.
• Four-jar simultaneous operation significantly increased weekly sample throughput and removed the sample preparation bottleneck.
• Interchangeable grinding media enabled one machine to handle ore, concentrate, slag and tailings samples of different hardness.
• Vacuum jar capability allowed safe grinding of sulfide and oxidation-sensitive samples without quality loss.
• Stable gear drive, variable frequency speed control and long continuous running time (up to 3600 min) ensured dependable operation in a busy mine laboratory.

About Y&X

Beijing Y&X Technology Co., Ltd. is a professional supplier of laboratory mineral processing equipment. From rock crushing, grinding and sieving to flotation, spiral classification, gravity separation and analysis instruments, Y&X provides complete laboratory solutions for mining enterprises, geological exploration teams, testing institutes and universities worldwide.