Continuous mixer in use in Europe’s largest gold mine
The special challenge of this process: The mixture of mill tailings, water and cement hardens very quickly. However, many continuous mixers are full of areas in which materials can accumulate. Before now, removing these deposits was extremely time-consuming. For this reason, Agnico Eagle Finland Oy started to look for an efficient, long-lived solution for mixing mill tailings, which also had to be particularly easy to clean without any remaining residue.
Ploughshare mixer with application-specific design
Well-established mixing principle
A high mixing unit speed is what makes these rates possible. This speed is permitted by the special arrangement of shovels, the basic form of which was patented by Lödige in 1949. Other methods introduced to mixing technology by Lödige are the centrifugal and fluidisation process, which the intensive mixer KM 4200 DW also uses: In a horizontal, cylindrical drum, the ploughshare shovels rotate close to the walls. The circumference speed and geometric shape of these mixing tools is designed so that they throw the mixing components from the product bed into the free mixing compartment and lift them off the drum wall against the centrifugal force. This generates a mechanical fluidised bed, in which the entire product mixture is constantly gripped, resulting in extremely thorough mixing, even with high mixture throughput and short dwell times. The mixing elements are shaped to ensure continuous product transport. The solution developed for Agnico Eagle Finland Oy is not just low-maintenance and efficient; the intensive mixer is also characterised by its highly sturdy design.
Conclusion
Agnico Eagle Finland Oy requires an easily cleaned, low-maintenance mixer with a high throughput rate for its mines. Lödige‘s continuous ploughshare mixer KM 4200 DW is a sturdy solution that is perfectly adapted to the requirements of the company‘s Finnish location. The machine‘s automated, folding mixing drum top section, which permits easy and thorough cleaning, and its high throughput rates of approx. 86 m³/h make it an excellent choice.
Autor/Author:Bastian Tigges, Gebr. Lödige Maschinenbau GmbH