But what makes steel as mill lining material so reliable and versatile? Below are seven facts that will give you a clear idea about the benefits of metallic mill liners:
1. First choice
Metallic liners have traditionally been the first choice when selecting the initial liners for a new heavy-duty mill like a big ball and SAG mills as well as rod mills. Many customers prefer to use what they feel comfortable with and know that they can trust to work well.
2. Freedom of design
As a metallic liner is a fully customized product with each new liner requiring its own patterns, there is total freedom of design. It is possible to do almost any shape or size; the only limitation is the maximum allowed weight of the liner and the mill feed end trunnion diameter.
3. High level of optimization
This freedom of design also allows a high level of optimization, as it is possible to make very precise design changes by adding or removing material exactly where it is needed. Our experience and advanced simulation tools allow us to take full advantage of this freedom. If this is not enough to create the solution you need, we can combine different liner materials like rubber, Poly-Met, and metallic inside the same mill and in different sections to further optimize your grinding process.
4. Volumetric advantage
A metallic liner can be made thinner than other typical liner materials, which is a benefit when a mill is limited by volume. This can improve mill power efficiency and reduce energy wastage, increasing throughput, and operational revenue.
5. Recycled
A worn-out metallic liner can be recycled and sent back to the foundry and used to produce new liners. An added sustainability benefit is that our metallic mill liners are not painted.
6. Temperature and chemicals
The metallic liners are less sensitive to various chemicals in the process, to very sharp materials, or to higher temperatures. They tolerate both very high or low pH.
7. Specialized alloys
Over the years, Metso Outotec has developed a full range of modern highly specialized alloys to suit any mill lining application. This gives a great toolset for optimizing liner abrasion and wear resistance. The best solution can be found for both thick and thin linings, low and high impact applications, and corrosive environments. With the global footprint of five foundries, we can provide reliable, high-quality linings.
As you can see, metallic linings are an outstanding liner choice, that will work hard for miners with all ore and mill types. Read more about our offering of metallic liners here.
