Industries
Twelve minerals, one grinding circuit.
A micronizer plant is set up for a mineral by its liners, its media charge and its classifier speed — not by being a different machine. These are the minerals AEW plants are built to grind.
Minerals served
What goes into the mill.
Calcium Carbonate
CaCO₃
The dominant application. Ground and often stearic-acid coated for PVC, paint, rubber, paper and adhesives.
Talc
Mg₃Si₄O₁₀(OH)₂
Soft, platy and low hardness — grinds readily to fine sizes for plastics, paint and cosmetics.
Dolomite
CaMg(CO₃)₂
Harder than calcite; used as a filler and in glass, ceramics and agriculture.
Calcite
CaCO₃
The crystalline form of calcium carbonate, ground for fillers and extenders.
Barite
BaSO₄
High specific gravity. Drilling fluids, radiation shielding, and high-density fillers.
Kaolin
Al₂Si₂O₅(OH)₄
China clay — paper coating, ceramics, paint and rubber.
Silica
SiO₂
Abrasive and hard on liners; ground for glass, foundry and construction products.
Quartz
SiO₂
The crystalline form. Electronics, glass, and high-purity filler applications.
Feldspar
KAlSi₃O₈ and related
Fluxing agent in glass and ceramics.
Bentonite
Smectite clay
Swelling clay for drilling, foundry sand binding and civil works.
Gypsum
CaSO₄·2H₂O
Plaster, cement retarder and wallboard.
Speciality powders
—
Other industrial minerals ground to specification.
What the powder is for
Where a ground mineral ends up.
Fillers and extenders
The largest use by volume. Ground calcium carbonate replaces resin in PVC, rubber, paint and adhesives, which is why the price of the powder and the energy that made it matter so directly to the buyer's margin.
Why fineness is specified as D97
A filler is judged by its coarse tail, not its average. One oversize particle in a paint film or a PVC profile is a defect, so the specification is written as the size 97 per cent of the product passes. It is also why a sharp classifier cut is worth more than a fine average.
Coated grades
Untreated carbonate is polar and hydrophilic: loaded into a polymer it absorbs plasticiser and agglomerates. Treated with stearic acid it turns hydrophobic and disperses instead. The coating plant →
Feed and product sizes, in microns
The plant takes 30/80 mesh feed — roughly 595 to 177 microns — and delivers 200 mesh to 8 microns, roughly 74 microns down. That is a reduction ratio of about twenty to one across the grinding circuit.
Grinding something not on this list?
Hardness, moisture and abrasiveness all change the answer. Tell us the mineral and we will tell you what it means for liners, media and throughput.