Minerals Beneficiation - The Use of Spiral Classifiers as Ball Mill Feeders

AT the new Graham-Central Mill of Eagle-Picher, near Galena, Ill., material is simultaneously dewatered and introduced into the ball-mill scoop boxes by the use of variable-speed, 24-in. spiral classifiers. This arrangement has proved satisfactory in that the moisture content of the wet feed is reduced, thus allowing maintenance of density within the mills, and a constant feed at any desired rate to the mills is provided. In this mill the primary feed is wet crushed to minus 1/2 in. and preconcentrated by jigs to produce a bulk lead-zinc-iron concentrate and a waste tailing. The jig concentrate is then dewatered by a conventional dewatering classifier and stored in bins ahead of the ball mills. Even though this material is well dewatered, the discharge at the bin bottom is sloppy because of the gradual drainage of the water from the surface of the particles. Conventional belt feeders with vertical cutoff gates are unsatisfactory because of the flushing characteristic of the wet sand. The new installation employs 24 in. x 10 ft, 9-in. Simplex double-pitch spiral classifiers for feeders from the bin bottoms to the ball mill scoop boxes (fig. 1). These units are arranged with straight tanks and are driven by 5 hp motors through a U. S. Vari-Drive to provide a 4 to 1 speed ratio. Each bin discharges through a chute into the rising side of the spiral. The flushing characteristic of the material from the bottom of the bin is utilized to maintain a steady feed. A small amount of water tapped into the bottom of the bin insures uniform feed to the classifier. Excess clear water drains over the weirs. Feed rate to the mills is controlled by the variable-speed drives. The feed delivered by the spiral at a given speed setting is relatively dry, uniform, and steady, and as such is easily controlled by the operator. The classifiers are set on a pitch of 5 in. per ft and have a sand-raking capacity of from 8 to 32 tons per hr. It is believed that the solution of this problem offers possibilities for the storage of deslimed rod-mill sands and other similar products of the industry.