Feed system for grinding bodies in vertical mills

A feed system configured to feed grinding bodies to a plurality of vertical mills, the feed system comprising:

• a pumping unit operable to suck a propulsion liquid from a source and for supplying said liquid under pressure into a discharge tube,
• an intake connection having an inlet configured to receive grinding bodies, an inlet configured to receive the propulsion liquid which is configured for connection to the discharge tube, and an outlet for a mixture of the grinding bodies and the propulsion liquid,
• a principal tube connected to the outlet of the intake connection for receiving the mixture of the propulsion liquid and the grinding bodies from the intake connection,
• a plurality of inlet tubes each branched off of the principal tube and configured to direct the mixture of the propulsion liquid and the grinding bodies from the principal tube to one of the plurality of vertical mills, and
• a plurality of static screens each positionable in the feed to one of the plurality of the vertical mills for separating the grinding bodies from the propulsion liquid, the static screen having an inlet connected to one of the plurality of inlet tubes for receiving the mixture of the propulsion liquid and the grinding bodies, a grinding bodies outlet configured to receive the grinding bodies to be fed to the respective vertical mills, and a propulsion liquids outlet configured to receive the propulsion liquid separated from the grinding bodies.