In July 2026, the CMS2750 vertical stirred mill, the largest of its kind in China and destined for export to Europe, manufactured by CITIC Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "CITIC Heavy Industries"), was assembled at the company's headquarters workshop in Luoyang, Henan Province. This marks a critical leap for China from "following" to "leading" in the field of high-end ultra-fine grinding equipment, officially introducing China's independently developed large-scale vertical stirred mill into the high-end European mining market.

Large Vertical Stirred Mills Long Relied on Imports

The vertical stirred mill is core equipment widely used for ultra-fine grinding of metal ores such as gold, silver, molybdenum, lead-zinc, manganese, iron, and nickel. In the beneficiation process, ore must be ground to micron-sized particles finer than flour to achieve efficient liberation of valuable minerals from gangue, creating conditions for subsequent processes like flotation and magnetic separation.

However, for a long time, China's vertical stirred mill market faced the dilemma of "large-scale models relying on imports"—the maximum installed power of domestically produced vertical stirred mills was only 1500kW. The independent research and development of high-end ultra-fine grinding equipment was long constrained by foreign technology, becoming a "bottleneck" hindering the high-quality development of China's mining industry.

From 2250kW to 2750kW, Continuously Breaking Domestic Records

As a leading enterprise in China's heavy equipment manufacturing sector, CITIC Heavy Industries has been deeply involved in the R&D and manufacturing of mining equipment for decades. In early 2023, the development of ultra-large vertical stirred mills was officially listed as one of CITIC Heavy Industries' "Top Ten Core Equipment Capability Enhancement Plans," quickly achieving technological breakthroughs and the implementation of innovative results.

2250kW Vertical Stirred Mill: Laying the Technological Foundation

As a milestone bridging the past and future, the 2250kW vertical stirred mill independently developed by CITIC Heavy Industries achieved several industry firsts:

First adoption of a "wound-rotor motor + liquid resistance starter" soft start method, effectively solving the grid impact problem caused by direct starting of high-power motors;

Innovative development of an intelligent mill door opening and closing device, enabling automatic operation, reducing maintenance time, and significantly improving equipment intelligence;

Addition of a spiral agitator shaft end protection device to prevent wear on the lowest end of the spiral shaft and rubber lining, significantly improving equipment uptime;

Innovative use of a steel plate pressing process to manufacture spiral support plates, replacing traditional cast steel processing, substantially reducing manufacturing costs and lead times.

Since its commissioning in 2022 at the Sishanling Iron Mine of Benxi Longxin Mining, the equipment has operated stably, with all indicators reaching international advanced levels: achieving a throughput of 97 tons per hour, exceeding design capacity; saving 30% energy compared to traditional grinding equipment; increasing concentrate grade by over 3%; and improving metal recovery rate by over 1%.

CMS2750: China's Largest, Exported to Europe

Building on the successful mass production of the 2250kW model, CITIC Heavy Industries proceeded to break through the R&D and design of the 2750kW vertical stirred mill. The CMS2750 vertical stirred mill is currently the largest specification of its kind in China and represents CITIC Heavy Industries' first supply of a large-scale vertical stirred mill product to the European market.

This vertical stirred mill is primarily used for ultra-fine grinding of metal ores including gold, silver, molybdenum, lead-zinc, manganese, iron, and nickel. Leveraging differentiated structural design and high-efficiency energy-saving advantages, CITIC Heavy Industries' CSM series vertical stirred mills achieve 30%–35% energy savings compared to traditional equipment, enabling fine grinding to 10–50 microns. Previously, CSM series products were successfully exported to South America, providing professional equipment support to Codelco, the world's largest copper producer.

From "Single Unit Breakthrough" to "Serialization and Intelligence"

The successful rollout of the CMS2750 is underpinned by a complete technological system developed by CITIC Heavy Industries in the field of vertical stirred mills:

Serialized Product Matrix: CITIC Heavy Industries has formed a series of vertical stirred mills covering 22 specifications with power ranging from 30kW to 3360kW. To date, a total of 112 large-scale vertical stirred mills have been deployed, including 59 units with power above 1120kW, achieving the highest domestic market share.

Core Technology Patents: The vertical stirred mill holds over 20 core patents, with the performance of the CSM-2750 model reaching international advanced levels.

Full-Process Intelligence: Leveraging its smart factory construction, CITIC Heavy Industries has introduced information management platforms and intelligent production equipment, achieving full-process intelligent control from R&D and design, through component processing, to complete machine assembly. Additionally, the company can provide customized full-process intelligent integrated solutions for various industry segments, including smart mines, intelligent coal mines, smart cement plants, and smart aggregate plants. The mining equipment segment can integrate specialized robots for unmanned inspection and maintenance.

Customized Service Capability: CITIC Heavy Industries offers customized "equipment + process + service" full-process solutions tailored to the mineral resource characteristics and construction scenario needs of different countries and regions. The company has established China's largest crushing and grinding process database, providing data support for equipment selection and process optimization.

From the European Market to Global Expansion

Breaking into the High-End European Market: The export of the CMS2750 to Europe marks the first entry of China's large-scale vertical stirred mill into the European market, which has the highest entry barriers for mining equipment globally. Prior to this, CITIC Heavy Industries achieved first-time supply or key specification breakthroughs for products like large vertical stirred mills and high-pressure grinding rolls in markets such as Australia, Europe, and North America. To date, CITIC Heavy Industries' products have been exported to 68 countries and regions worldwide.

Domestic Substitution and Import Replacement: The continuous breakthroughs of large vertical stirred mills from 1500kW to 2250kW and then to 2750kW have completely changed the situation where China's large-scale vertical stirred mills were long dependent on imports. High-pressure grinding rolls have also successfully achieved import substitution.

Technology Spillover and Industrial Upgrading: Core technologies accumulated by CITIC Heavy Industries in the field of vertical stirred mills, including differentiated structural design, high-efficiency energy-saving technology, and intelligent control, can be transferred to emerging business areas such as new energy equipment and new materials. The company has subsequently broken through the R&D and design of 3360kW and 5300kW vertical stirred mills, continuously setting new domestic records.