80% of Mexico mines have restarted operations
About 80% of Mexico’s mining sector has restarted as the country continues to ease restrictions on miners amid the coronavirus pandemic, Francisco Quiroga, Mexico’s undersecretary of mines with the country’s Ministry of Economy, said in an interview with S&P Global Market Intelligence.
The country shut down the mining sector in late March in response to covid-19 and started to allow restarts in mid-May after it declared mining an essential service.
Operations have started to ramp up at Newmont’s Penasquito gold mine and Alamos Gold’s Mulatos gold mine.
On Monday, Excellon Resources (TSX:EXN) announced the restart of its operations in the country, including Platosa, Mexico’s highest-grade silver mine.
Avino Silver & Gold (TSX: ASM, NYSE:ASM) also reported on Monday it is starting a phased ramp-up of operational activities at its Avino mine near Durango, Mexico.
Exploration and development company Bacanora Lithium (LON:BCN) announced it expects to reopen the Hermosillo pilot plant at its flagship Sonora lithium project this month.
Endeavour Silver (TSX: EDR) (NYSE: EXK) has also resumed operations at its three underground silver-gold mines in Mexico. Meanwhile, Fortuna Silver Mines (NYSE: FSM) (TSX: FVI) has resumed operations at its San José mine, in Mexico’s southern state of Oaxaca.
Mexico is responsible for nearly 23% of world production of silver, churning out more than 200 million ounces last year, up from 196.6 million ounces in 2018.
The country also has major copper and zinc mines, operated by Grupo Mexico and Southern Copper, and produces a significant amount of gold, making the mining sector responsible for about 4% of the nation’s gross domestic product.
“Sanitary authorities have repeatedly called the mining sector the best equipped and best prepared to go back to operations,” Quiroga said in the S&P Global Market Intelligence interview.
Quiroga said Mexico’s Department of Labor would have coronavirus-specific health inspections by officials who could visit mine sites without announcing their arrival first.
“They will not have a punitive focus,” Quiroga said. “If there’s something wrong, we will invite companies to fix it.”
Ball Mill Liner Material Selection
Different crushed material, different working conditions need different material liners to suit. Also, the coarse grinding compartment and fine grinding compartment need different material liners.
H&G Machinery supplies the following material to cast your ball mill liner:
Manganese Steel
The manganese content of the high manganese steel ball mill lining plate is generally 11-14%, and the carbon content is generally 0.90-1.50%, most of which are above 1.0%. At low impact loads, the hardness can reach HB300-400. At high impact loads, the hardness can reach HB500-800. Depending on the impact load, the depth of the hardened layer can reach 10-20mm. The hardened layer with high hardness can resist impact and reduce abrasive wear. High manganese steel has excellent anti-wear performance under the condition of strong impact abrasive wear, so it is often used in wear-resistant parts of mining, construction materials, thermal power, and other mechanical equipment. Under the conditions of low impact conditions, high manganese steel cannot exert the characteristics of the material because the work hardening effect is not obvious.
Chemical Composition
| Name | Chemical Composition（%） | |||||||
| C | Si | Mn | Cr | Mo | Cu | P | S | |
| Mn14 Mill Liner | 0.9-1.5 | 0.3-1.0 | 11-14 | 0-2.5 | 0-0.5 | ≤0.05 | ≤0.06 | ≤0.06 |
| Mn18 Mill Liner | 1.0-1.5 | 0.3-1.0 | 16-19 | 0-2.5 | 0-0.5 | ≤0.05 | ≤0.06 | ≤0.06 |
Mechanical properties and metallographic structure
| Name | Surface Hardness（HB） | Impact value Ak（J/cm2） | Microstructure |
| Mn14 Mill Liner | ≤240 | ≥100 | A+C |
| Mn18 Mill Liner | ≤260 | ≥150 | A+C |
| C -Carbide | Carbide A-Retained austenite | Austenite | |||
Product specification
| Size | Hole Dia.（mm） | Liner Length（mm） | ||
| ≤40 | ≥40 | ≤250 | ≥250 | |
| Tolerance | +20 | +30 | +2 | +3 |
Chrome Alloy Steel
Chromium alloy cast iron is divided into high chromium alloy cast iron (chromium content 8-26% carbon content 2.0-3.6%), medium chromium alloy cast iron (chromium content 4-6%, carbon content 2.0-3.2%), low chromium Three types of alloy cast iron (chromium content 1-3%, carbon content 2.1-3.6%). Its remarkable feature is that the microhardness of M7C3 eutectic carbide is HV1300-1800, which is distributed in the form of a broken network and isolated on the martensite (the hardest structure in the metal matrix) matrix, reducing the cleavage effect on the matrix. Therefore, the high-chromium alloy liner has high strength, ball mill toughness, and high wear resistance, and its performance represents the highest level of current metal wear-resistant materials.
Chemical Composition
| Name | Chemical Composition（%） | |||||||
| C | Si | Mn | Cr | Mo | Cu | P | S | |
| High Chrome Alloy Liner | 2.0-3.6 | 0-1.0 | 0-2.0 | 8-26 | ≤3.0 | ≤1.2 | ≤0.06 | ≤0.06 |
| Middle Chrome Alloy Liner | 2.0-3.3 | 0-1.2 | 0-2.0 | 4-8 | ≤3.0 | ≤1.2 | ≤0.06 | ≤0.06 |
| Low Chrome Alloy Liner | 2.1-3.6 | 0-1.5 | 0-2.0 | 1-3 | 0-1.0 | ≤1.2 | ≤0.06 | ≤0.06 |
Mechanical properties and metallographic structure
| Name | Surface（HRC） Ak（J/cm2） | Microstructure | ||||
| High Chrome Alloy Liner | ≥58 | ≥3.5 | M+C+A | |||
| Middle Chrome Alloy Liner | ≥48 | ≥10 | M+C | |||
| Low Chrome Alloy Liner | ≥45 | ≥15 | M+C+P | |||
| M- Martensite | C – Carbide | A-Austenite | P-Pearlite | |||
Product specification
| Size | Hole Dia.（mm） Liner Length（mm） | |||
| ≤40 | ≥40 | ≤250 | ≥250 | |
| Tolerance | +20 | +30 | +2 | +3 |
Cr-Mo Alloy Steel
H&G Machinery uses Cr-Mo alloy steel to cast ball mill liner. This material based on Australia standard, (AS2074 Standard L2B, and AS2074 Standard L2C）it’s provides superior impact and wear resistance in all semi-autogenous milling applications.
Chemical Composition
| Code | Chemical Elements（%） | |||||||
| C | Si | Mn | Cr | Mo | Cu | P | S | |
| L2B | 0.6-0.9 | 0.4-0.7 | 0.6-1.0 | 1.8-2.1 | 0.2-0.4 | 0.3-0.5 | ≤0.04 | ≤0.06 |
| L2C | 0.3-0.45 | 0.4-0.7 | 1.3-1.6 | 2.5-3.2 | 0.6-0.8 | 0.3-0.5 | ≤0.04 | ≤0.06 |
Physical Property & Microstructure
| Code | Hardness（HB） | Ak（J/cm2） | Microstructure |
| L2B | 325-375 | ≥50 | P |
| L2C | 350-400 | ≥75 | M |
| M-Martensite, C-Carbide, A-Austenite, P-Pearlite | |||
Ni-hard Steel
Ni-Hard is a white cast iron, alloyed with nickel and chromium suitable for low impact, sliding abrasion for both wet and dry applications. Ni-Hard is an extremely wear-resistant material, cast in forms and shapes which are ideal for use in abrasive and wear environments and applications.
Chemical Composition
| Name | C | Si | Mn | Ni | Cr | S | P | Mo | Hardness |
| Ni-Hard AS2027 Gr Ni Cr 1-550 | 3.2-3.6 | 0.3-0.8 | 0.2-0.8 | 3.0-5.0 | 1.5-3.0 | ≤0.12 | ≤0.15 | ≤0.5 | 550-600HBN |
| Ni-Hard AS2027 Gr Ni Cr 2-550 | 2.8-3.2 | 0.3-0.8 | 0.2-0.8 | 3.0-5.0 | 1.5-3.0 | ≤0.12 | ≤0.15 | ≤0.5 | 500-550HBN |
| Ni-Hard AS2027 Gr Ni Cr 2-550 | 3.2-3.6 | 1.5-2.2 | 0.2-0.8 | 4.0-5.5 | 8.0-10.0 | ≤0.12 | ≤0.15 | ≤0.5 | 630-670HBN |
White Iron Steel
Chemical Composition
| Name | Chemical Composition(%) | |||||||
| C | Si | Mn | Cr | Mo | Cu | P | S | |
| White Iron Steel Liner | 2.0-3.3 | 0-0.8 | ≤2.0 | 12-26 | ≤3.0 | ≤1.2 | ≤0.06 | ≤0.06 |
Physical Property & Microstructure
| Name | HRC | Ak(J/cm2) | Microstructure |
| White Iron Steel Liner | ≥58 | ≥3.5 | M+C+A |
| M-Martensite C- Carbide A-Austenite | |||
If you have a special material inquiry, please contact our engineer to service you!
Nick Sun NICK@XZHUAGANG.COM
Post time: Jun-19-2020