The motor's been running on load for a while now on ramp up with...

The motor's been running on load for a while now on ramp up with the reduced ore feed, keep in mind that it (ball mill) has only been running on full load since the last couple of weeks.

For the motor windings to get 'hot' it could be a couple of reasons such as a breakdown in the coil windings (manufacturing fault/mechanical failure), insufficient copper content within the coil windings (design issue).

I'm hoping that the motor's thermostatic cut-out kept tripping from the over-current and therefore no damage was done to the motor to the point that it would completely burn out.

The COY should still be able to achieve 2000 oz's/month even at the reduced load speed which will still give a reasonable cash flow.

I think the replacement of the motor is the final hiccup for the operation IMO since it emerged as a problem with the entire circuit running near to full capacity.