Glencore reflects on fine grinding feats as IsaMill turns 30

Thirty years after transforming fine grinding in mineral processing, the IsaMill continues to evolve, helping operations around the world improve energy efficiency, increase throughput and unlock greater value from their ore bodies, Glencore Technology says.

Originally developed through a partnership between Mount Isa Mines and NETZSCH to solve a complex metallurgical challenge, the IsaMill has The post Glencore reflects on fine grinding feats as IsaMill turns 30 appeared first on International Mining .

Thirty years after transforming fine grinding in mineral processing, the IsaMill continues to evolve, helping operations around the world improve energy efficiency, increase throughput and unlock greater value from their ore bodies, Glencore Technology says.

Originally developed through a partnership between Mount Isa Mines and NETZSCH to solve a complex metallurgical challenge, the IsaMill has become one of the mining industry’s most successful grinding technologies, the company claims.

Since its introduction in 1994, it has been installed at 157 metalliferous operations across 23 countries, helping sites improve recovery while reducing energy consumption and operating costs.

During the 1980s, declining ore quality at Mount Isa Mines created the need for much finer grinding to unlock mineral value.

Existing technologies struggled to achieve the required grind size efficiently, prompting engineers to look beyond the mining industry for a solution.

Working with German ultrafine milling specialist NETZSCH, the team developed the IsaMill, a technology that ultimately increased zinc recovery by 16% while maintaining concentrate grade.

While the IsaMill established itself as a breakthrough in fine and ultrafine grinding, continuous improvement has remained central to its development.

Over the past three decades, Glencore Technology has expanded the IsaMill platform from the original M3000 design to larger configurations capable of processing significantly higher throughputs, including the 5.5 MW M20,000 mill and designs up to the M50,000 scale.

Thirty years after transforming fine grinding in mineral processing, the IsaMill continues to evolve, helping operations around the world improve energy efficiency, increase throughput and unlock greater value from their ore bodies, Glencore Technology says.

Originally developed through a partnership between Mount Isa Mines and NETZSCH to solve a complex metallurgical challenge, the IsaMill has become one of the mining industry’s most successful grinding technologies, the company claims.