The research work is centered on the failure analysis of the as-received locally produced grinding plates, development of high wear resistant grinding plates capable of grinding gold-bearing mineral deposit in Bagega village of Zamfara State. The work was carried out by evaluating the chemical compositions of the as-received grinding plate samples, the compositions of the gold-bearing mineral samples, the microstructures of the as- received and developed grinding plate samples, mechanical properties (impact strength, hardness values) and wear rate of the as-received and developed grinding plates using Optical Emission spectroscopy (OES), Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluoresce (ED-XRF), Metallurgical microscope, impact and hardness testing machine, and the grinding machine. The analysis showed that the as-received locally produced grinding plate samples were grey cast iron with pearlite structure as the major matrix together with few cementite structures, generally characterized by poor mechanical properties. This explained the wear resistance of the samples in supporting grinding of the charged mineral for a longer period thereby prompting the samples to wear and fracture quickly in service. The two locally developed white iron base grinding plate samples showed a remarkable improvement in mechanical properties and wear resistant ability with increase in grinding duration from thirty two to seventy five minutes due to the presence of alloying elements that are capable of promoting abrasive wear resistant in comparism with the as-received failed grinding plates.

Machine components may fail either as a result of the environmental conditions they are exposed to or the kind of stresses they experience. Often a combination of both environmental and stress condition can cause failure. In essence, these components are designed to withstand both the environmental condition and the stress they will be subjected to in service so that they can serve optimally in life. The designing of a metallic component involves not only a specific elemental compositions, it involves also specific aspect of materials selection processes such as, machining process, heat treatment, experience and skills of the producers. The huge arrays of different metals that exist have unique physical and chemical properties; specific properties are incorporated into metallic components to make them more robust to environmental conditions (Thomas, et al 1999).....