Essential Equipment in Gold Ore Dressing Plants

Gold ore dressing plants hold a vital position in the gold production process, depending on a series of specialized equipment to fulfill ore processing procedures like crushing, grinding, flotation, and dehydration. Each kind of equipment performs unique functions, and their coordinated operation ensures the smooth advancement of the gold dressing process.

In the crushing stage, two key pieces of equipment are extensively applied. The jaw crusher takes charge of the primary crushing of raw ore. It operates with two jaws—one fixed and the other moving in a periodic reciprocating manner. When the moving jaw draws near the fixed jaw, the ore is squeezed and crushed; when it moves away, the crushed ore is discharged by means of gravity. This equipment is critical for reducing large-sized ore into smaller particles that are suitable for subsequent processing. The cone crusher, by contrast, adopts the laminar crushing principle. During the crushing process, the ore is not only pressed by the moving cone and the fixed cone but also collides with other ore particles. This not only crushes the ore more thoroughly but also makes the shape of the crushed ore more regular, laying a solid foundation for the subsequent grinding process.

The ball mill is the core equipment in the grinding stage. Its main structure is a rotating cylinder filled with a certain number of steel balls. When the cylinder rotates, the steel balls are lifted to a certain height by centrifugal force and friction, and then fall down. This falling movement exerts a strong impact and grinding force on the ore inside the cylinder, further refining the crushed ore into fine particles, which is beneficial for the subsequent separation of gold.

In the separation and classification process, the spiral classifier and centrifugal concentrator are indispensable. The spiral classifier makes use of the difference in sedimentation speed of solid particles in liquid for classification. The ore pulp flows into the classifier from the upper part, and under the stirring of the spiral blades, coarse particles settle to the bottom of the tank and are pushed to the upper part by the spiral blades for discharge, while fine particles flow out from the upper overflow port along with the water flow. This helps separate ore particles of different sizes, ensuring that only appropriately sized particles enter the next process. The centrifugal concentrator works based on the principle of centrifugal force. The ore pulp is fed into a high-speed rotating drum, and the rotation of the drum generates a strong centrifugal force. Under this force, heavy mineral particles (which may contain gold) quickly move to the drum wall and stick to it, while light mineral particles remain in the ore pulp. This achieves the effective separation of heavy and light minerals, enhancing the gold recovery rate.