Russia is rich in high-quality vein quartz resources, characterized by high silicon dioxide (SiO₂) content and extremely low impurity levels. To further increase product value, a major local mining group planned to process its raw quartz ore to an ultrafine grade with D50 = 7.5 μm, targeting high-value markets such as electronic packaging, paints and coatings, and engineered quartz stone.
Customer’s Core Challenges in Ultrafine Grinding of Quartz
- Extremely high hardness
Quartz has a Mohs hardness of approximately 7.0, resulting in severe equipment wear and a high risk of iron contamination during grinding. - Strict particle size distribution requirements
The customer required a stable D50 of 7.5 μm (approximately 2000 mesh grade) with tight control over the coarse particle cut size. - Production capacity demand
A stable industrial output of 1–2 t/h was required.
Solution: Epic Powder Ball Mill + ITC Classification System
For the ultrafine grinding of quartz and other high-hardness minerals, Epic Powder provided a closed-circuit system combining a dry Ball Mill with an ITC Ultrafine Air Classifier.
1. Key Equipment Configuration Highlights
- Ball Mill (dry grinding)
Designed with an optimized length-to-diameter ratio and carefully graded alumina grinding media, ensuring high-frequency and effective particle-to-particle impact within the mill. - ITC Air Classifier
The core classification wheel is installed in a horizontal orientation, delivering extremely high classification accuracy. Its specially designed flow channel efficiently extracts particles finer than 7.5 μm, while coarse particles are returned to the ball mill for further grinding. - Full ceramic protection
To preserve quartz whiteness and purity, the ball mill is lined with 99% alumina ceramic, and all product-contact parts of the ITC classifier are ceramic-treated, enabling a fully iron-free (“non-metallic”) processing route.
2. Process Parameters
- Material: Russian vein quartz
- Feed size: ≤ 5 mm
- Product specification: D50 = 7.5 μm
- System capacity: 1.2 – 1.8 t/h
Customer Value and Performance Results
| Evaluation Aspect | Conventional Process | Epic Powder System Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Product purity | High iron content, affecting electrical insulation | Iron-free processing, SiO₂ purity retention > 99.9% |
| Particle size stability | Prone to over-grinding or coarse particle leakage | D50 fluctuation ≤ ±0.3 μm |
| Equipment service life | Frequent replacement of steel liners | Ceramic liner service life extended by 3–5 times |