Abstract <p>At the sinter production facilities of Alchevsk Steel Mill OOO South Mining and Metallurgical Integrated Works (AMK OOO YUGMK), the addition of freshly calcined lime, made at roasting conveyor machine KM-14, to the sinter burden flow increases the efficiency of sinter caking. Practice shows, however, that it is not always possible to fill the design capacity of this unit in full measure. This has to do with a lack of crushed sinter flux of required size, made using DMRiE 14.5 × 13 hammer breakers the actuating elements of which get worn in operation, which coarsens the crushed product returns used as basic materials. It has been found out that the coarseness of crushed sinter flux significantly affects the placement of the basic material on the conveyor belt feeding the material to the separation guide assembly. When the hammer breaker wear rises, a stabler fractional makeup and average content of the required sub-13 mm fraction are observed on the left side of the returns conveyor belt and amount to 92.1 vs. 74.5% in the right sections of the conveyor belt. It has been found out that it is more sustainable to use raw materials on the left side relative to the conveyor belt direction. However, the discharge hopper of the distributive assembly does not allow sampling the material from this section in full measure. Therefore, the discharge hopper design has been upgraded, which has allowed redirecting the material flow from the left side to the returns screen and increased by 16.5% the average amount of freshly calcined lime made at roasting machine KM-14 and added to the sinter burden.</p>