to all end dump haulers...

Just out of curiosity...what are the grinding balls used for?

 

From what I understand they use it as a pulverizer. The gentleman that received them explained it to me as they put “x” amount of molybdenum in a glorified cement mixer barrel, add “y” amount of grinding balls and the grinding balls tumble and crush the product to the desired consistency. What molybdenum is and what it’s used for remains on this Tuesdays list of questions. I had a lot of em because stuff like that fascinates me, and they grew tired of answering all them and pretty much told me to beat it. Haha so I plan on getting to the bottom of it. I THINK it’s some sort of lead product from the limited research I did. We bring them 2.5” and 5.5” grinding balls. The 5.5” are 20 lbs a ball, and apparently when they are thru using them we pick them back up and drivers said they’re about the size of a quarter. So I can’t wait to get that dispatch. The miners will be happy to see me again I’m sure.

 

Great write up. Thank you.

 

Back when I hauled molybdenum on a van, they told me it was used somehow in the metal hardening process. I used to haul it from the climax mine to a place in fort Madison iowa. I don't remember the name of the place. It was on 61 I think south of town.

 

Well now it’s funny you say that because a door swinger was watching the safety video with me when I was there and he was picking up for Climax Molybdenum in Ft. Madison IA. When we came out of the safety room they handed me his paperwork erroneously and the BOL said Freeport-McMoran.

 

At lime and cement plants, that piece of equipment is called "the ball mill," but it may have a different name at other plants. When I saw it in operation it reminded me of a really big rock tumbler.

 

Yep that’s the phrase I was searching for, thank you. I have brought klinkers to cement plants before and I could not think of what that piece of equipment was called for the life of me.

 

Yea I was thinking it was all part of the same company. I used to do that run for sharkey a lot.

 

Well @REO6205 i did some asking around and still came up empty handed. I asked what molybdenum was used for and all I got was “oh man everything”. Lol he did say it’s a hardener for gold and copper and they even put it in safety vests for the strip that makes it reflect light. So who knows. It didn’t help they stop receiving at 15:00 and I came skidding in at 14:50.

 

Oh the joy of feed mills in the afternoon, this place is busy in the AM, but afternoons here lately require a special kind of patience!!! The maybe hour to two hour wait here makes me know I could never swing doors, I don’t wait well.