Abstract:In view of the problem that the fineness of grinding products in an iron concentrator plant in Panzhihua, Sichuan Province is not up to standard and the iron recovery rate is low, a scheme of using ceramic balls instead of steel balls as grinding medium in KLM-1250 tower mill is put forward. Firstly, laboratory tests were conducted with only changing the media of steel balls and ceramic balls to compare the grinding characteristics under different grinding media materials. Subsequently, the important factors that affect the grinding effect (medium filling rate and grinding concentration) were explored, and the comparative experiments were conducted under the conditions of medium filling rates of 61.86%, 74.23%, 80.42%, and 86.60%, as well as under the conditions of grinding concentrations of 78%, 73%, 68%, and 63%, respectively. The analysis of experimental results was based on the particle size characteristics of grinding products, with a focus on analyzing and comparing indicators such as the fineness of grinding products, the content of intermediate particle size, and the content of over crushed particle size, in order to determine the optimal medium filling rate and the optimal range of grinding concentration. The results indicate that the grinding behavior of steel ball and ceramic ball media is similar when only the material of grinding media is changed. However, in JM-260 tower mill, ceramic ball media can not only effectively reduce overwear, but also increase the content of optional and easy-to-select fine particle required for subsequent separation. Therefore, in a vertical spiral stirring mill, the grinding effect of using ceramic balls as grinding media is slightly better than that of steel balls. According to the filling rate tests and grinding concentration tests, the optimal medium filling rate suitable for JM-260 tower mill is 80.42%, and the optimal grinding concentration range is 68%~73%. The optimal parameters combination obtained from laboratory tests can be used to guide the industrial tests.