Ball, rod and tube mills
Rotating-drum mills with free grinding media for medium-hard and soft ores. Tube mills for continuous throughput, flow mills for high tonnage, and small cyclic mills for batch grinding below a few tonnes per hour.
Manufacturer: VACAT sp. z o.o., Poland · Supplied and serviced by Starlight Minerals as representative

Illustration based on the manufacturer’s drawings and photographs. Catalogue photographs and drawings on request.
Where it fits
- Grinding of hard-rock gold ore ahead of gravity concentration, flotation or leaching
- Regrinding of concentrates
- Batch grinding for pilot plants and small hard-rock operations
Key figures
- Principle
- Gravity mill: media and ore are lifted by drum rotation and fall or cascade, grinding the material
- Grinding media
- Balls, rods or cylpebs of various diameters
- Operation
- Wet or dry, open or closed circuit, continuous or batch
- Drum diameter
- 0.7 to 5.2 m
- Drum length
- 0.2 to 26 m
- Drive power
- 0.8 kW to 4500 kW
- Delivery
- Single machine or complete grinding circuit; other sizes on request
Representative tube and flow mills
| TYPE | Ø × L | DRIVE | MEDIA CHARGE | NOMINAL CAPACITY | TOTAL WEIGHT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tube mill | 1.3 × 5.5 m | 75–110 kW | 7.3–11 t | 2.8 t/h | 26 t |
| Tube mill | 1.5 × 5.7 m | 90–160 kW | 10–14 t | 4.1 t/h | 40 t |
| Tube mill | 2.0 × 8.8 m | 320–450 kW | 28–40 t | 12.3 t/h | 94 t |
| Tube mill | 2.6 × 13.0 m | 800–1120 kW | 84–119 t | 32.3 t/h | 259 t |
| Tube mill | 3.0 × 13.5 m | 1120–1600 kW | 125–167 t | 45.7 t/h | 378 t |
| Tube mill | 4.6 × 14.0 m | 3000–4500 kW | 206–367 t | 117 t/h | 520 t |
| Flow mill | 1.7 × 3.0 m | 75–110 kW | 7.6–10.5 t | 3.2 t/h | 46 t |
| Flow mill | 3.4 × 5.0 m | 630–900 kW | 55–76 t | 23.1 t/h | 156 t |
| Flow mill | 5.2 × 5.5 m | 2500–3000 kW | 149–201 t | 61.1 t/h | 370 t |
Nominal capacity as stated by the manufacturer for reference material; actual throughput depends on ore hardness and target grind.
Small cyclic (batch) mills
| Ø × L | DRIVE | MEDIA CHARGE | NOMINAL CAPACITY | TOTAL WEIGHT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.9 × 0.3 m | 1.5 kW | 0.3 t | 0.2 t/h | 1 t |
| 1.1 × 1.2 m | 5.5 kW | 1.0 t | 0.7 t/h | 5 t |
| 1.7 × 2.5 m | 15 kW | 1.8 t | 1.4 t/h | 9 t |
| 1.9 × 4.0 m | 15 kW | 2.9 t | 2.2 t/h | 9 t |
| 2.6 × 8.0 m | 30 kW | 5.9 t | 4.4 t/h | 22 t |
Our view
For a first hard-rock gold plant in the 5 to 15 t/h range, a 1.5 × 5.7 m tube mill in closed circuit with a classifier is the usual starting point. Smaller batch mills suit pilot plants and cooperatives moving from alluvial to primary ore.
Mills are supplied with drive, lining and media specification matched to the ore. We size the mill from grindability test work, not from a catalogue row.
Who supplies what
| SCOPE | MANUFACTURER | STARLIGHT MINERALS |
|---|---|---|
| Machine and documentation | Design, manufacture, factory test, manuals, CE and ATEX documentation | Specification from your material data, quotation, contract |
| Delivery | Ex works Poland, export packing | Shipping, customs clearance and inland transport to site in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mali, DR Congo or Madagascar |
| Installation and commissioning | Remote support; supervisor on site for large plants | Foundations, assembly, connection, first run, operator training |
| Warranty | Manufacturer’s warranty on the machine | Diagnosis and approved warranty repairs on site |
| Maintenance and spares | OEM parts, rebuild kits | Service contracts, field repairs, wear parts fabricated in Freetown, OEM parts stocked as agreed |
Quotations are per project and include the delivery scope above. Lead times depend on manufacturing slot and shipping route.
Other machinery
CRUSHING & GRINDING
Jaw crushers VT.KS 500–1000
SCREENING & PROCESSING
Vibrating screens and classifiers
SCREENING & PROCESSING
Flotation machines IZ-5 to IZ-16
SCREENING & PROCESSING
Thickeners, filter presses and dewatering
CONVEYING & HAULAGE
Belt conveyors VT 800–1400
CONVEYING & HAULAGE
Mine winches 24 to 225 kN
UNDERGROUND
Roadheaders VT-100, VT-160, VT-200
HYDRAULICS & AUXILIARIES
Hydraulic power units HAZV
HYDRAULICS & AUXILIARIES
Wet dust collector OMV-1000
CONTACT
Enquire about Ball, rod and tube mills
Tell us your ore, tonnage and site. We come back with a configuration, lead time and price.