How It’s Made / PART 3: Milling, Sizing, and Bagging
Welcome to the grand finale of our How It’s Made series: Milling, Sizing, and Bagging!
Let’s take a moment to recap:
In Part 1, we introduced the origins of our industrial-grade kyanite, sourced from the world-class Willis Mountain and East Ridge ore bodies in Dillwyn, Virginia. If you missed it, catch up on PART 1 here.
Next, in Part 2, we highlighted our 20+ step beneficiation process. We explored how the kyanite ore undergoes wet separation at “the float”, dry separation at “the dryer”, and then makes its way to the “magnet house” for iron removal, all the while, undergoing intensive quality controls. Visit PART 2 here.
And now, we arrive at the final stages of our process: milling, sizing, and bagging Virginia Kyanite for distribution.
After the final impurities are removed at the magnet house, the industrial-grade 35 mesh kyanite is loaded into articulating haul trucks where it takes one of two routes: to our calcination plant (for conversion into mullite) or to the Upper Gieseke slot storage. Kyanite from the slot can be sold as 35 mesh kyanite or can be used for milling (grinding), sizing, and bagging of finer sized products.
Kiln at Dillwyn Plant
Calcination
A portion of the kyanite is transported to one of our calcination plants, where it is converted into Virginia Mullite in one of our three rotary kilns. Inside the rotary kilns, the kyanite is heated to over 2700°F (1480°C), triggering a phase conversion. Discover more about this fascinating process in our dedicated blog post on Virginia Mullite.
Slot Bin Storage
The bulk of our kyanite concentrate is delivered to the mass storage bin at Upper Gieseke called the Upper Gieseke Slot. Fun fact: The Gieske plants (Upper and Lower) are named in honor of former employee/mining engineer Jake Gieseke, who played a pivotal role in developing our processes. This storage facility boasts a capacity of 40,000 tons, ensuring ample storage for our 35 mesh kyanite. This material can be withdrawn to sell as is or can be sent to the mills for grinding into finer products.
Lower Gieseke Mill
Grinding and Sizing
Kyanite is available in granular and powder forms and can be shipped in a variety of grain sizes, ranging from 35 mesh (425 microns) material to our micronized material (d50=10-16 microns). While 35 mesh is our standard, we also grind 48 mesh, 100 mesh, 200 mesh, 325 mesh, and other mesh sizes using specialized ball mills that operate 3 shifts per day five days a week. A quick note: If you’re looking for a particular mesh size, reach out as we can offer sizes that aren’t listed on our spec sheet.
Ground materials are sized by passing through an air classifier. Any large particles are sent back to the mill for further grinding. From here, final products go into one of eight storage silos that can hold 350 tons each.
Bagging, Precision, and Quality Control
Bagging is the final step in our process. Automatic bagging machines fill and seal bags of various weights and sizes, with rigorous quality control measures in place to ensure accuracy and precision. Oversized or undersized bags are identified and reprocessed.
As we bag our final product, we label, extract, and test samples—yet another safeguard and testament to our commitment to quality assurance. The samples our customers receive originate directly from these bags, guaranteeing the same exceptional quality found in our final products.
“The Kyanite Way”
At Kyanite Mining Corporation, we pride ourselves on our commitment to exceptional quality and client service. We maintain a healthy reserve of tested and vetted product readily available in our warehouse to ensure that we can consistently and efficiently meet customer demand. Maintaining pre-qualified and tested material enables us to offer short lead times, with most orders fulfilled within three days.
Thank you for joining us on this remarkable journey from sourcing our kyanite to preparing it for distribution. If you have questions or want to talk about any and all things kyanite, get in touch!
