Mining Crushing & Grinding Plants — Engineered to Feed Your Concentrator
Two- and three-stage crushing circuits coupled with ball-mill grinding, from 50 t/h pilot plants to 2,000 t/h mineral processing lines. We build the front end; you take it from there.
Built for the Mining Sector — Not Adapted from Aggregate
Crushing and grinding consume roughly 40% of a mineral processing plant's total energy — and dictate the recovery rate downstream in flotation, magnetic separation or cyanidation. Get the comminution circuit wrong and no flotation reagent in the world will save your project. XLM has spent two decades engineering crushers and ball mills specifically for ore processing conditions: harder feed, longer hours, tighter P80 targets, and operations that can't afford a 24-hour shutdown.
180+
Mining-sector plants commissioned
22 m³
Largest ball mill effective volume we deliver (φ3.6×6.4 m)
0.074 mm
Typical P80 our grinding circuits achieve
45 Countries
Gold, iron, copper, lead-zinc projects served
Why Comminution Decides Your Project's Economics
Before any flotation cell, magnetic separator or leach tank can do its job, the ore has to be reduced from run-of-mine boulders down to particles fine enough to liberate valuable minerals — typically 80% passing 74 microns for sulphide concentrators, finer for refractory gold.
That's a 10,000-to-1 size reduction across two distinct stages:
① Crushing — three stages of mechanical breakage taking feed from ~1,000 mm down to ~12 mm. This is where jaw and cone crushers do their work. Power draw per tonne is relatively low here.
② Grinding — ball-mill comminution that takes the 12 mm crusher product down to the target liberation size, typically below 0.1 mm. This is where 70–80% of the comminution energy gets consumed.
The crushing circuit feeds the grinding circuit. The grinding circuit feeds the concentrator. Get the size-reduction targets and machine selection right, and every downstream cost — energy, media, reagents, water — drops in lockstep. XLM engineers the crushing-and-grinding circuit as one coupled system, with the throughput, P80 and CSS values lined up to match the concentrator's design.
Where XLM fits in your project
We deliver everything from the ROM stockpile feeder to the cyclone overflow going into your flotation tanks. We don't supply flotation, magnetic separation or hydrometallurgy — and we'll tell you straight when an upstream choice locks you out of a specific downstream option.
Comminution Circuits by Ore Type
Six configurations covering the ores XLM clients process most often. Each one is a starting point — we tune CSS,
ball charge and circulating load to your specific orebody.
Iron Ore — Magnetite & Hematite
Hard, abrasive, often with Bond Work Index 12–18 kWh/t. Three-stage crushing followed by single- or two-stage ball milling to a P80 of 0.045–0.074 mm for downstream magnetic separation.
Typical process:
Copper Ore — Chalcopyrite & Porphyry
Most copper projects feed flotation at P80 = 0.106–0.150 mm. Bond Work Index typically 13–17 kWh/t. Standard three-stage crush + wet ball-mill grinding remains the workhorse globally.
Typical process:
Gold Ore — Free-milling & Refractory
Grind size depends on the downstream route. Gravity + cyanidation typically targets P80 = 0.075 mm. Refractory sulphide gold for pressure oxidation goes finer, P80 = 0.045 mm. We size the ball mill backwards from your leach kinetics.
Typical process:
Lead-Zinc Ore — Galena & Sphalerite
Differential flotation needs careful liberation control — typically P80 = 0.074 mm with strict avoidance of over-grinding to protect Pb-Zn separation. Closed-circuit grinding with cyclone classification is standard.
Typical process:
Manganese Ore
Lower work index than copper or gold ores (typically 8–13 kWh/t). Many manganese operations stop at the crushing stage for direct ferro-alloy feed; sulphide-rich ores go through ball-mill grinding before gravity or magnetic separation.
Typical process:
Coal & Coal Gangue
Soft, friable feed. Single-stage hammer or impact crushing usually replaces the multi-stage crusher train. Output sized for boiler feed, coke-making or cement-plant blending.
Typical process:
Single-stage PF Impact Crusher or Hammer crusher (one-stage circuit, no grinding needed for most thermal-coal uses)
Standard Mining Comminution Flowsheet
A typical mining comminution circuit runs in three stages of crushing followed by closed-circuit ball-mill grinding. ROM feed at up to 1,000 mm enters the primary jaw crusher and exits at 150–250 mm. Secondary cone crushing brings the product down to 30–60 mm. Tertiary crushing, screened in closed circuit, delivers the final crusher product at −12 mm to the fine-ore bin — sized for ball-mill feed.
Inside the grinding circuit, a wet-overflow ball mill operates in closed circuit with hydrocyclones. The cyclone overflow — material that has reached the target P80 — flows forward to flotation, magnetic separation or leaching. The underflow (oversize) recirculates back to the mill for further size reduction. Circulating load typically runs 200–350% for stable, energy-efficient operation.
Throughput, P80 and ball charge are tuned together for your ore's Bond Work Index. Send us a representative sample (5–10 kg) and we'll run lab work to calibrate the circuit before quoting.
Ball Mill Selection — Match the Mill to Your Throughput
Common XLM ball mill models for mineral processing. Throughput shown is for wet grinding of medium-hardness ore (Bond WI ≈ 13 kWh/t) at typical mining P80 targets.
Not on the list? We engineer mills up to φ4.5 × 7 m for mega projects, and rod mills, AG/SAG mills on request. Pair every ball mill with Vibrating Feeder and Circular Vibrating Screens to complete the grinding circuit.
Equipment Tested in Mining Service
The eight machines we deploy most often in mineral processing plants. Every one has run in a producing mine somewhere on the planet.
The universal primary. Handles ROM feed up to 1,200 mm at 1–1,000 t/h.
Heavy-duty primary for hard sulphide ore and high-tonnage operations.
HP Hydraulic Cone Crusher
Secondary/tertiary workhorse for granite, basalt, river pebble. 90–1,200 t/h.
Multi-stage compound design — common in mid-scale gold and lead-zinc plants.
Wet/dry overflow ball mill, the standard ore-grinding unit. 0.65–48 t/h per mill.
On-demand mobile crushing for rugged field deployment120–625 t/h Diesel / Electric
Engineered for the Realities of a Mine Site
A mine isn't a quarry. Here are the four things we always engineer in differently.
High-Altitude & Cold-Climate Builds
We've delivered concentrators above 4,200 m elevation in the Andes and below −30 °C in Mongolia. Motor de-rating, cold-start lubrication systems, and altitude-adjusted air compressors are designed in from the start, not retrofitted.
Closed-Loop Water Recycling
Mine permits increasingly mandate near-zero process water discharge. We engineer thickeners and water-reclaim circuits into the comminution flowsheet so 80–90% of process water cycles back to the mill.
24-Month Wear-Parts Package
Mining downtime costs more than aggregate downtime. We bundle a 24-month consumables package — liners, balls, screen panels, jaw plates — shipped with the line so unplanned downtime never waits on international logistics.
PLC Central Control + Remote Diagnostics
Every plant ships with PLC-controlled start/stop sequencing and remote-monitoring access. Our engineers in Henan can diagnose your circuit in real time during commissioning and the first 12 months of operation.
Mining Comminution — Frequently Asked Questions
A: We start from your Bond Work Index (run on a representative sample in our lab — about 10 kg of ore needed), your target P80, and your design throughput. From those three inputs the Bond equation gives required mill power; we then pick the closest standard mill size that meets it with 10–15% margin for variability. Send us a sample with your project basics and we'll return a sized mill recommendation within 2 weeks.
A: For sulphide flotation (copper, lead-zinc, gold) and most magnetic-separation circuits (iron ore), wet grinding is the standard — it integrates directly with the downstream water-based separation. Dry grinding is reserved for cement, dry-magnetic-separation iron ore, and some industrial minerals where the product must stay dry. Tell us your downstream process and we'll specify accordingly.
A: Yes. For projects choosing SAG-ball or SABC circuits, our crushing train delivers SAG feed at typically −250 mm to −150 mm (only one or two crushing stages). We don't manufacture SAG mills at this time, but we configure the crushing front end to whatever SAG vendor you've selected (Metso, FLSmidth, CITIC, etc.).
A: We routinely deliver crushing-and-grinding circuits for plants from 300 t/d (small gold operation) up to 20,000 t/d (mid-large copper or iron mine). Above that range we partner with EPC firms on the engineering scope.
A: Yes — they're our bread and butter. Bond Work Index up to 22 kWh/t and abrasion index up to 0.6 are within our standard wear-package design. Beyond that, we specify chrome-moly or hi-chrome liners and design longer wear-parts replacement intervals into the OPEX model.
A: For a standard 1,000–3,000 t/d crushing-and-grinding circuit: 5–7 months manufacturing, 45–75 days shipping, 2–3 months installation and commissioning. Total project window typically 9–12 months. For phased delivery of long-lead items (large mills) we can start fabrication on signing the LOI to compress timelines.
Ready to Spec Your Concentrator's Front End?
Tell us your ore type, design throughput and target P80 — and ideally send a 5–10 kg sample for Bond Work Index testing. We'll come back with a sized flowsheet, equipment list and budget within 10 working days