Zimpapers Logo

The ball mill manufactured by ABJ Engineering

Dosman Mangisi Mining Correspondent
A BULAWAYO engineering company has unveiled new machine for gold ore milling with a recovery of 80-90 percent of free gold. The new equipment is set to enhance operations of small scale miners, who for a long time have been facing challenges in sourcing machinery locally.

ABJ Engineering and Founders Company director, Mike Querl, said the new gold milling equipment would assist in increasing gold volumes in the country because of its high recovery rate and affordability when compared to other traditional milling plants that are expensive and have low recovery rates.

“We’ve manufactured a three-quarter ball mill for gold crushing and milling mainly suitable for small scale miners of gold in the country. The ball mill can mill at least one tonne per hour. It’s cheap and affordable,” said Querl.

“It costs far less than the half price of a stamp mill. When this new equipment reaches all small gold producers, the mineral volumes will definitely rise.”

The new three-quarter ball mill, the first to be made in Zimbabwe, comes as a complete package with a crusher and a separator for gold recovery.

It uses a 10 horse power motor, which uses less electricity compared to a stamp mill that uses a 25 horse power motor.

Querl said the ball mill is efficient and less labour intensive as it can be moved from one point to another.

The new machine costs $15,000 compared to a stamp mill which costs about $40,000.

Mining engineers in the country have since condemned stamp mills due to their limited gold recovery rate of below 30 percent, according to surveys.

“We noticed that from other big mining equipment we’ve in stock including stamp mills, very few small scale miners afford to buy them. The ball mill crushes and mills gold at the same rate as a stamp mill,” said Querl.

Zimbabwe Miners Federation national technical advisor Marufu Sithole commended ABJ engineers and Founders for their innovation towards supporting small scale miners.

“The new ball mill will definitely make small scale gold producers grow. Its high recovery of the mineral will give value for money to miners because it’s more than two times the stamp mill, it’s affordable and uses less power.

“Operating costs are low and we expect many small scale producers to embrace the new technology in mining,” said Sithole.

Querl said his company, with 46 years of experience in engineering, has done some test runs to ensure the equipment is working well. He said the equipment was tested in South Africa where it was certified.

The company said it was also seeking to expand its influence to the regional mining market.