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SAG and AG mills

Increase efficiency with proven and cost-effective AG and SAG Mills

FLS AG and SAG mills deliver high throughput ore grinding with impressive energy efficiency, helping you maximise mineral recovery and reduce TCO. Even better, our advanced process control system, digital tools and specially engineered mill liners enable greater uptime and increased productivity.

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Key benefits of AG and SAG mills

  • Proven technology supported by lifecycle services

    We have been designing and manufacturing Semi Autogenous Mill (SAG Mill) and Autogenous Mill (AG Mill) under the Fuller-Traylor brand since the early 1980s. Semi-autogenous grinding uses a minimal ball charge in the range of 6-15% while autogenous grinding uses ore only. Throughout that time, we’ve also been supporting our customers with lifecycle services. From installation and commissioning to process optimisation and regular maintenance, our services have evolved to include smart mill liner packages, load optimisation and advanced process control.

  • Range of sizes enables flexible use

    Our AG and SAG mills can be operated in open circuit, feeding downstream secondary grinding, or operated in closed circuit as single stage mills generating a finer product size. Fuller-Traylor SAG/AG Mills range in size from 4.3 m through 12.2 m in diameter with powers as high as 28 000 kW. At discharge, there is also a high degree of flexibility. AG and SAG mills can be configured to operate with a discharge trommel screen or vibrating screen. FLS has supplied AG/SAG mill trommel screens up to 6.0m in diameter for high throughput applications.

  • Digital tools enhance performance

    For the best possible results, we recommend our LoadIQ smart sensor technology in combination with our ECS/ProcessExpert Advanced Process Control system. These solutions will provide your business with greater flexibility as together they will automate the response to mill conditions, freeing up your operators for other roles. ECS/ProcessExpert adjusts mill conditions to improve ore reduction and energy efficiency to help lift your productivity.

Our AG and SAG mills

SAG Mill

Our Semi-Autogenous Grinding (SAG) mills use grinding balls and the ore itself to break ore down to the desired particle size. Our SAG mills are suitable for hard, abrasive ores such as gold, copper and iron ore and are typically used for primary or intermediate grinding in mineral processing plants.

Ideal for large-scale mining operations, our SAG mills are known for their large throughput and robust performance. The combination of low power consumption per tonne of ore processed and our impressive mill liners keeps your operating costs low, while the mill’s versatility and power means you don’t need multiple mills to get the job done.

Compare SAG and AG mills – Design aspects

SAG and AG mills can be configured to suit the project demands with design features as follows:

  • Support Method:  Trunnion-supported or shell-supported
  • Drive Train: High speed with reducer, low speed direct coupled, or gearless (wrap-around motor). Geared solutions can be single or dual pinion with references up to 10,000 kW per pinion.
  • Main Bearings: Hydrostatic or hydrodynamic. Sleeve or multi-pad (self aligning).

 

Add-ons for SAG and AG mills

  • Mill liners - Armour™ mill liners increase uptime and improve grinding efficiency
  • LoadIQ™ – A smart tool to optimise AG and SAG mill loading to increase throughput by 3 – 6%
  • Smart liner package – Extend liner life and reduce power consumption with a specialist package of lifecycle services
  • ECS™/ProcessExpert – Optimise mill performance with our advanced process control system

Maintenance & Service of AG and SAG mills

As a lifecycle partner, we don’t just sell you a mill and wish you luck. We’re in it for the long haul. Our comprehensive suite of services runs from installation and commissioning to process optimisation, regular maintenance and shutdown support. For AG and SAG mills, we have also developed tailored mill liner services that not only increase uptime but actively improve grinding performance. Our advanced liner profiling and scanning services use cutting-edge technology to give you the most accurate and actionable information about the condition of your mill liners. We also let you know the steps that can be taken to optimise liner wear life – empowering you to extend the life of your equipment and better plan maintenance shutdowns. Using a combination of experience and expertise, plus advanced 3D scanning, liner profiling, and wear prediction technologies, we make wear measurement simpler and faster – while keeping it comprehensive – to provide you with the most appropriate solutions to reduce the total cost of ownership of your mill.

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Frequently asked questions

FAQs for AG and SAG mills

The Semi-Autogenous Grinding (SAG) mill is used to grind ore to the required particle size. It is typically used in copper, iron ore and gold mining.

SAG mills are typically used for coarse grinding as a primary or intermediate grinding solution. They use a combination of grinding media (usually steel balls) and the ore itself to achieve particle size reduction. Ball mills are generally used for fine grinding applications as a secondary or tertiary solution after the SAG mill has broken the ore down into a reasonable size. Ball mills use steel balls as the primary grinding media.

SAG mills are flexible, able to cope with a variety of ore types at a range of throughputs, with some of the biggest capacities of any grinding mill. One of the main advantages of SAG mills is the low power consumption per tonne of ore processed.

An AG mill is an Autogenous Grinding mill, which means grinding is achieved by the ore itself, through the tumbling motion of rock against rock.