Each type of metal ore has unique physical characteristics during the crushing stage, so equipment and processes must be selected accordingly.
Iron ore: High hardness and strong abrasiveness cause severe equipment wear. Jaw crushers or cone crushers are suitable, utilizing interparticle crushing to reduce wear, along with high-wear-resistant materials to extend the life of wearing parts.
Copper ore: Valuable minerals are finely disseminated and deeply embedded. The goal of crushing is to liberate copper minerals. Multi-stage crushing combined with screening is typically adopted to achieve progressive size reduction and ensure liberation, while avoiding over-grinding.
Gold ore: Gold particles are ductile and tend to be flattened rather than fractured under conventional compression crushing. High-pressure grinding rolls are used for quasi-static crushing, creating numerous micro-cracks inside the ore to increase surface area for leaching agents, thereby improving gold recovery.
Polymetallic sulfide ore: Multiple minerals are tightly intergrown. Crushing energy needs precise control. At low energy levels, the degree of fineness is dominated by the applied energy; at high energy levels, it is dominated by the feed particle size. Proper energy regulation enables selective liberation.
Bauxite: High stickiness and a high proportion of fine particles cause the crushed material to adhere and clog in ore bins. Anti-clogging and anti-sticking measures are needed, such as installing polymer anti-clogging liners or vibratory arch-breaking devices to ensure smooth material flow.
Understanding the differences in crushing behavior among metal ores and applying a “tailored approach for each ore” is key to improving crushing efficiency and reducing downstream processing costs.
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