What is the smallest grain size achievable (both theoretical and practical) using mechanical methods to crush a fracturable mineral composed primarily of a single molecular species? Example minerals include: calcium carbonate minerals such as limestone or chalk; silicon dioxide minerals (quartz, sand); diamond (carbon); sapphire (aluminum oxide).
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Do you mean *average* grain size? – Jonathan R Swift May 29 '19 at 05:47
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@JonathanRSwift: Yes and no. For the 'practical' part, average grain size is what I would expect to see, but for the 'theoretical' part, it seems to me that would imply finding a 'lower limit' in grain size, and that would not be an average. – OneMug May 29 '19 at 05:56
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The minerals at the [McArthur River mine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McArthur_River_zinc_mine), in Australia are generally 6 microns in size. The requirement for such fine grinding delayed project development for nearly 50 years. The initial developing company needed to utilize grinding techniques used by the cosmetics industry. – Fred May 29 '19 at 10:36