Evidence-first editorial standard
This guide separates observed facts, engineering assumptions and data that still require confirmation. It does not promise a universal service life or replace the exact product data and project specification.
A launder wears where its flow changes, not where it runs straight
Open channels carry slurry by gravity from mill discharge, cyclone overflow and underflow, flotation cells and thickeners. On a straight run at a steady slope, the flow is calm and the wear is low. At drops, bends, junctions, the outlet of a box and wherever the stream strikes a wall, turbulence and impact concentrate the wear. That is where lining effort belongs; the mining context is in mining wear protection by circuit.
Map the launder and relate the wear to the hydraulics
Record the wear along the floor and walls, at each change of direction and level, and compare it with the slope, the flow and the solids. A launder that is too flat lets solids settle and form a sliding bed on the floor; one that is too steep raises velocity and wears drops and bends. If a hydraulic cause is found — a missing drop box, a too-sharp bend, a junction at the wrong angle — correcting it can matter more than any lining.
Choose elastomer or ceramic zone by zone
Fine slurry on gentle slopes is often handled well by rubber or polyurethane, which absorb the energy of fine particles. Coarse, sharp solids, high velocity and impact at drops favour alumina tiles in IC TILE; rubber-ceramic panels in IC FLEX suit zones where impact and abrasion combine. The comparison is in rubber, polyurethane or ceramic. Many launders end up with elastomer on the straight runs and ceramic at the hotspots.
The lining must not change how the launder flows
A lining adds roughness and thickness: it narrows the section, can raise the water level and, at joints facing the flow, creates steps where wear starts. Lay tiles with joints along the flow, flush at changes of material, and check the freeboard after lining. Drop boxes that create a pool of slurry to absorb the fall often protect better than any liner on the floor below, the same logic as a dead box in a chute.
Bends, junctions and boxes need shaped parts
Curved walls, junction noses and the outlets of distribution boxes are hard to line with flat tiles without many cut pieces and joints. Shaped segments in IC CUSTOM made to the bend radius and section reduce joints at the points that wear fastest. The same parts can protect the feed and discharge boxes of cyclones, linked to the ceramic-lined hydrocyclone guide.
What to send for a launder lining quote
Send the launder layout with sections, slopes, bends, drops and junctions, the flow and its range, solids concentration, particle size and specific gravity, the temperature and pH, the measured wear map and the current lining. Induscoat then proposes the lining by zone; the slurry approach is on our page on wear lining for slurry pipes and elbows, and the closed-pipe equivalent is in tailings pipeline wear protection.