Wet Pan Mill is now the best and most economical replacement for small or medium-scale milling machines, such as ball mills. It is widely used in small and medium mineral processing plants in African countries like Sudan.
Wet pan mill, also known as wet mill, is a kind of grinding equipment developed on the basis of traditional stone mill. It is mainly used for grinding various metal minerals (such as gold, silver, lead, zinc, molybdenum, iron, copper, etc.) and non-metallic minerals, further grinding the crushed materials, so that the useful minerals and chalcopyrite minerals are dissociated, and conditions are created for the subsequent sorting operations (such as flotation, re-election, magnetic separation, etc.). Wet mill is especially suitable for small and medium-sized mineral processing plant.
Key Benefits of Using Wet Pan Mill
Why has this machine taken over the African gold mining market? The answer lies in its unique combination of efficiency and simplicity.
1. Simultaneous Grinding and Amalgamation:This is the biggest advantage. In a standard circuit, you crush, then grind, then separate. The Wet Pan Mill grinds the ore and mixes the mercury (amalgamation) simultaneously. The heavy pressure of the rollers forces the gold particles into contact with the mercury, achieving recovery rates of over 95% for free coarse gold.
2. Incredibly Low Investment Cost:Comparing a wet pan mill to a ball mill circuit is like comparing a bicycle to a Ferrari. A complete ball mill setup costs tens of thousands of dollars. A wet pan mill costs a fraction of that. For a startup miner with limited capital, this allows you to start production immediately and pay off the machine in weeks, not years.
3. Robust and Easy to Repair:The design is pure mechanical brute force. There are no complex electronics or hydraulic systems. If a belt breaks, you change it. If a bearing wears out, you grease it. Spare parts like the roller rings and basin liners are available everywhere. This is crucial when your mine is located five hours away from the nearest city.
Which Material is Suited for Wet Pan Mill?
The Wet Pan Mill is a specialist. It is not designed for every type of rock, but for specific ores, it is unbeatable.
1. Rock Gold (Vein Gold):This is the primary application. It excels at processing quartz veins containing free gold. The crushing action breaks the quartz, and the mercury grabs the gold. It handles feed sizes of up to 20-30mm, reducing them to fine dust.
2. Oxidized Ore:Weathered, oxidized rock is softer and easier to crush. The wet pan mill processes this material very quickly, allowing for high daily throughput.
3. Tailings Reprocessing:Many miners use these mills to re-grind old tailings. The rubbing action can scrub the surface of old gold particles that were previously coated in clay or oxidation, making them active again for recovery.
Unsuitable Materials:You should avoid using it for extremely sticky clay ores. The clay acts as a cushion, absorbing the impact of the rollers and preventing grinding. It also prevents the mercury from contacting the gold. For clay, you need a washing plant, not a pan mill.
What are Key Components of Wet Pan Mill?
To maintain the machine, you must understand its anatomy. ZONEDING builds these units with reinforced components to tougher standards than generic market models.
Grinding Rollers: Two massive steel wheels. These provide the crushing weight. The outer ring is a replaceable wear part made of manganese alloy.
Grinding Base (Basin): The circular trough where the action happens. It is lined with heavy steel plates to prevent the rollers from wearing through the bottom.
central Shaft & Crosshead: The main vertical pillar that drives the rollers.
Gearbox (Reducer): This sits on top. It converts the high speed of the electric motor into the slow, torque-heavy rotation needed for grinding.
Electric Motor: Generally a 15kW to 30kW motor, depending on the mill size.
How does a wet pan mill work?
The wet pan mill mainly consists of a power unit (motor, reducer), frame, water basin, grinding wheel, and grinding pan, adopting wheel-driven grinding.
Start: The motor spins the gearbox, which rotates the central shaft.
Drive: The crosshead pushes the two rollers, making them roll around the basin.
Feed: You shovel crushed ore and add water into the basin.
Action: The rollers crush the ore. Because the inner and outer paths of the roller cover different distances, they also create a twisting/rubbing motion. This “shear force” is what effectively grinds the rock into fine powder.
Recovery: After grinding for a set time (batch), mercury is added. The machine runs for a bit longer to mix.
Discharge: The slurry is flushed out, and the gold amalgam (mercury + gold) remains heavy at the bottom or is caught in sluice mats.
How does the grinding wheel rotate?
The motor drives the vertical main shaft through a reducer. The vertical main shaft transmits torque to the horizontal shaft above. Pull rods at both ends of the horizontal shaft drive the grinding wheels. The grinding wheels both revolve around the vertical main shaft (revolution) and rotate around their own axes (rotation). This dual motion creates crushing and kneading effects on materials.
How is the grinding pan fixed?
The grinding pan is fixed to the frame and remains stationary.
How are minerals crushed and ground?
In summary, the wet pan mill combines the grinding wheels’ dual motion with a fixed pan to pulverize minerals through pressure and friction, offering simple structure, easy operation, and low investment costs.
Minerals and water are fed into the water basin.
The grinding wheels apply pressure through their weight during revolution and rotation.
Intense friction between grinding wheels and pan subjects minerals to repeated compression, kneading, and grinding.
Scrapers on the grinding pan continuously push materials under the wheels for uniform processing.
Properly ground minerals discharge with water flow, completing the grinding process.
What is the Cost of Wet Pan Mill? Which Factors can Affect the Price?
The 1200 Wet Pan Mill is the industry standard size. Prices fluctuate based on raw material costs and specifications.
Price Range:In general, a single unit of a 1200 model ranges from $2,500 USD to $5,000 USD. Smaller models (1100) are cheaper, and larger models (1500, 1600) cost more.
Factors Influencing Price:
Liner Material: This is the most critical cost factor. Cheap mills use cast iron liners that crack easily. ZONEDING uses 6% Manganese or High-Chromium Alloy liners. These cost more but last 3 times longer.
Gearbox Quality: The gearbox is the heart of the machine. A cheap gearbox uses soft gears that strip teeth under load. A heavy-duty truck-style gearbox costs more but ensures you don’t face downtime.
Rim Thickness: The grinding ring on the roller determines lifespan. A standard rim is 80mm thick. ZONEDING offers enhanced rims up to 120mm thick, which adds to the steel cost but doubles the service life.
Motor Brand: Copper-wound motors from reputable brands (like Siemens or regional equivalents) are more expensive than cheap aluminum-wound motors that overheat.
Technical Parameter of Wet Pan Mill
Model
1600
1400
1300
1200
1100
1000
900
Dia.of grinding wheel (mm)
1600(+-)10
1400(+-)10
1300(+-)10
1200(+-)10
1100(+-)10
1000(+-)10
900(+-)10
Thickness of grinding wheel(mm)
400(+-)20
250(+-)20
250(+-)20
200(+-)20
200(+-)20
200(+-)20
160(+-)20
Dia.of grinding pan (mm)
2100(+-)30
2000(+-)30
2000(+-)30
1800(+-)20
1800(+-)20
1800(+-)20
1700(+-)20
Thickness of grinding pan (mm)
200(+-)10
170(+-)10
150(+-)10
90(+-)10
90(+-)10
90(+-)10
80(+-)10
Width of grinding pan (mm)
360
360
360
230-250
230-250
230-250
170-220
Power (kw)
25
18.5
15
7.5
5.5
5.5
3
Rotary speed (r/min)
For extract gold: 10-13 other: 18-22
Input size (mm)
< 25
Capacity (t/day)
Gold 20
Gold 20
Gold 15
Gold 10
Gold 8
Gold 5
Gold 3
Weight(t)
14.5
8.5
7.5
5.5
5
4.5
3
Advantages of wet mill:
Simple structure, easy to operate and maintain: The structure of wet mill is relatively simple, easy to install, operate and maintain.
Small investment, quick results: Compared with other grinding equipment such as ball mills, wet mills have lower investment costs and are suitable for small and medium-sized beneficiation plants.
Good grinding effect: the grinding and rubbing action of the mill wheel can make the minerals fully dissociated from the monomer, and improve the effect of beneficiation.
Wide scope of application: it can be used for grinding of many kinds of metal and non-metal minerals.
Energy saving: Compared with other grinding equipment, the energy consumption of wet mill is relatively low.
Uniformity of mixing: Combined with the function of mixing and stirring to make slurry, so that the slurry concentration and other grinding indexes are stable.
Finished product quality: high density, good strength.
Full utilization of resources: Tailings can be recovered, so that effective resources can be fully utilized.
Stable operation: can strictly control the grading size, avoiding the phenomenon of over-crushing or uneven size of minerals.
How to choose the right wet mill?
Mineral properties:
Ore hardness: Harder ores require a wet mill with more wear-resistant wheels and discs and higher power.
Ore particle size: The feed size and desired product fineness determine the size and type of wet mill. Generally, the smaller the feed size, the smaller the required mill wheel diameter.
Mineral Composition: Certain minerals may be corrosive, requiring the selection of a wet mill made of corrosion-resistant material.
Production scale:
Processing capacity: According to the daily processing capacity or hourly processing capacity of the mineral processing plant to choose the appropriate specifications of the wet mill. Small size can be selected for small processing plant, while large size or multiple combinations are required for large processing plant.
Continuity: If continuous production is required, consider selecting a wet mill capable of continuous feeding and discharging.
Economic factors:
Equipment investment: The price of different models and specifications of wet mills varies greatly, and needs to be selected according to the budget.
Running cost: Consider the energy consumption, frequency of replacement of wearing parts and maintenance cost of the wet mill.
Customer Cases
What is a Wet Pan Mill?
A Wet Pan Mill is a grinding machine traditionally used to pulverize materials in a wet environment using heavy rollers that crush and grind.
How does a Wet Pan Mill work?
A Wet Pan Mill consists of heavy rollers circulating in a circular pan, crushing and grinding material mixed with water into a slurry.
What are the benefits of using a Wet Pan Mill?
Wet Pan Mills effectively liberate valuable minerals, reduce dust generation, and achieve high recovery rates, especially for gold processing.
What materials can be processed in a Wet Pan Mill?
Wet Pan Mills are primarily used for gold ore processing, as well as for grinding various minerals and raw materials into a slurry.
What factors should I consider when choosing a Wet Pan Mill?
Consider capacity requirements, material hardness, desired particle size, power consumption, and the mill’s construction quality when selecting a Wet Pan Mill.
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