A detailed analysis of the specific breakage rate and mill power data on dry ball milling of three individual minerals and their binary mixtures has been carried out. The energy split model of Kapur and Fuerstenau has been examined and shown to be incorrect. A new model has been proposed. The basic postulates are: (i) only a small fraction lambda of the net energy input to the mill is absorbed by the particulate material (ii) value of lambda is mainly determined by the hardness and specific gravity of the materials) being ground, volume proportion of the components of the mixture, particle size, and mill operating conditions, and (iii) in the mixture, same size particles of different components receive the same amount of energy per unit volume. An important feature of the model is the use of volume-specific mill power. It has been shown that the effect of the operating variables such as the mill speed, particle load, and mill diameter on energy absorption is significantly different for different materials. These findings have been discussed in light of our current state of understanding of the mechanics of the ball milling operation. It has been concluded that the concept of energy absorption factor can be quite useful in the analysis of grinding systems, and mill scale-up design work. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.