Ore agitator mill mill series

mineralattritionvertical

Overview
Vertical fine grinding mills from FLS (VXPmill and Tower Mill / FTM) are compact, energy-efficient stirred mills for fine and ultra-fine grinding in mineral processing circuits. They are intended to increase recovery, reduce energy and water consumption and simplify installation and maintenance compared with equivalent horizontal mills.

Key benefits

• Reduced CAPEX and logistics: factory-tested, pre-assembled modules and containerised shipping shorten lead times and simplify site installation.
• Smaller footprint and simplified maintenance: vertical layout removes internal chamber seals/filters, reduces back-pressure and bearing-seal risk; slurry discharge via atmospheric overflow polyurethane screen eases inspection and downtime.
• Operational flexibility and support: high-torque and variable-speed drives accept varying media types and densities; designs avoid cavitation at high speeds; global service network provides spare parts and field support.

Models and product descriptions

• FLS Tower Mill (FTM): slow-speed vertical tower mill with a central agitator screw (the only component contacting slurry and media) and a vertical grinding chamber that minimises overgrinding. Typical features include bottom feed for efficient grinding, robust wear materials, modular components for rapid installation, and drive options (DOL, VSD, Liquid Resistor Starter). Uses attrition-based breakage and is suited to hard ores and low-to-medium fine regrinding with reduced energy and media consumption.
• VXPmill: vertically oriented stirred mill using inert ceramic media. Operates at power intensities between low- and high-speed mills and is configurable to produce product sizes typically below ~30 µm. Key elements include removable impeller discs and spacers, bottom slurry feed, media-retention overflow screen and rotating polyurethane discs that fluidise ceramic media to perform attrition grinding. Energy distribution is tuned by impeller configuration and media charge.

How it works
Feed enters the mill (bottom or top depending on model) and is ground by agitation of the media bed. The agitator (FTM) or high-speed impeller (VXPmill) fluidises and mobilises media, producing attrition and frictional breakage. Fine particles exit by overflow while coarse particles remain for further size reduction. The vertical arrangement improves space usage and energy transfer compared with horizontal mills.

Applications

• Secondary and tertiary regrinding in mining concentrator circuits
• Fine and ultra-fine grinding where high recovery and narrow product size distributions are required
• Operations seeking reduced water use and lower logistics footprint

Maintenance & Service
Digital tools (LoadIQ, Advanced Process Control, Asset Health & Insights) enable condition monitoring and predictive maintenance. VXPmill supports rapid flushing and draining of ceramic media into a holding tank for disc maintenance; FTM offers simple modular components and fewer wear parts to reduce downtime. Global spare parts and aftermarket support are available through the FLS service network.

Models comparison (summary)

• FTM: low-speed, lower throughput; energy-efficient for low-to-medium fine grinding; reduced energy and media use versus comparable horizontal ball mills; simple design with fewer seals and wear parts.
• VXPmill: higher-speed, higher throughput; higher intensity suitable for ultra-fine products (typically <~30 µm); modular impeller and ceramic media handling enable configurable energy distribution.

Downloads & documents
Datasheets and product information are available on the product page (datasheet for FLS Tower Mill and VXPmill referenced). Contact FLS for the latest technical documents and downloadable files.

Technical specifications

• Product family: Vertical fine grinding mills (VXPmill, FLS Tower Mill / FTM)
• Grinding media: ceramic (VXPmill) or steel (FTM)
• Grinding principle: attrition-dominant, minimised impact overgrinding
• Feed: bottom or top feed depending on model; slurry discharge via atmospheric overflow polyurethane screen
• Drive options: Direct-on-Line, Variable Speed Drive, Liquid Resistor Starter; high-torque drives available
• Design benefits: reduced footprint vs. horizontal mills; containerised shipping; factory-tested, pre-assembled components
• Typical product size capability: VXPmill suitable for products below ~30 µm; FTM suited to fine and ultra-fine duties with significant energy savings vs. horizontal ball mills
• Maintenance features: rapid media flushing/draining (VXPmill), modular components and fewer wear parts (FTM)