Transformation of grains of technological raw materials in the process of obtaining fine powders

Crushing and grinding of materials are the most common processes of sample preparation for subsequent analysis and industrial application. Recently, grinding has become one of the most popular methods for producing nano-sized powders. This study investigates certain features of grain transformation in the process of grinding ores with finely dispersed valuable components in order to liberate them, as well as specifics of grinding metallurgical raw materials, metals and their mixtures for using them as initial components in metallurgical and other technological processes. We identified and examined structural and morphological changes of various powders after ultrafine grinding using the methods of scanning electron microscopy and X-ray microanalysis. It was proved that in order to take into account sample preparation artifacts during analytic studies of solid samples and development of technological processes, fine grinding of heterogeneous materials, especially if they contain metals, requires monitoring of the ground product by methods of scanning electron microscopy and X-ray microanalysis.