HEAVY ENGINEERING AND WEAR PARTS integrity, it became critical to reduce stress on the feed end without compromising operational efficiency.
The existing configuration consisted of four Cr-Mo steel liner rings( inner, mid-inner, mid-outer and outer), totaling 92,576 kg and 64 components. The mid-outer liner( FEMO) was the critical wear section, limiting the liner’ s lifespan to approximately 7.77 Mt of throughput in prior campaigns.
ME Elecmetal proposed a three-ring composite liner system using ME PolyFIT, combining abrasion-resistant steel and rubber to strategically distribute weight and wear protection. Key features of the solution included:
• Elimination of the joint between the inner and mid-inner liners to reduce stress concentrations;
• Higher rubber content in low-wear areas for aggressive weight reduction;
• Use of abrasion-resistant steel( Hardox ®) for improved sliding wear resistance in high-wear zones; and
• Reduction of lifter height by 30 mm to reduce liner mass.
The resulting configuration reduced the total number of pieces from 64 to 48 and the weight from 92,576 kg to 61,408 kg – a 33 % reduction.
The ME PolyFIT liners were installed on December 7, 2023, without issue, according to the company, maintaining the same footprint, bolt pattern and installation procedures as the previous steel liners.
On top of the weight reduction, the solution also provided a 7 % decrease in feed end bearing pressure, reducing mechanical stress and removing a historical constraint in the first 2-3 weeks, post-reline. The operation also observed a 6.2 % reduction in specific energy consumption – despite a slight( 0.7 %) increase in average power draw – plus a 7.8 % increase in fresh feed throughput.
Alongside this, reduced noise levels were measured, suggesting higher mill fill levels and more stable operation, the company noted.
The ME PolyFIT liners ran a complete campaign, processing 8.63 Mt of ore: an 11 % increase over the best-performing steel liner campaign. ME Elecmetal said:“ The outer bolt hole region of the mid-outer liner remained the critical wear zone, but the enhanced liner design maintained structural integrity throughout the campaign.”
3D wear scans confirmed that the liners approached end-of-life condition with minimal residual wear margin, validating ME Elecmetal’ s wear prediction and design choices.
Based on wear-tracking data, the feed end inner liner was redesigned to further extend service life and is currently in operation. A second installation in July 2024 combined cast steel and composite liners to use existing inventory, demonstrating compatibility and modular application potential.
The success of the trial prompted plans to extend the ME PolyFIT solution to the second SAG mill and explore further applications, including discharge liner replacements, the company concluded.
‘ High-performing, reliable media solution’
In September 2024, Molycop began supplying HiCr grinding media to a gold mine in Western Australia, replacing the incumbent HiCr media in the process, with the aim of providing grinding media consumption benefits to the mine in question.
Used in a ball mill, the high chrome balls’ performance was evaluated using plant data collected before, during and after the supplier transition.
The incumbent balls were analysed over a period from November 2023 through to August 2024, followed by a five-month purge period. The Molycop HiCr media was then put to the test from February 2025 to December 2025.