Mineral Resources Ltd’s CSI Mining Services team has reached a major milestone with the NextGen II modular crushing plant having now crushed its first ore at the BHP-owned Mt Whaleback iron ore mine in the Pilbara of Western Australia.

The relocatable plant, developed by CSI and Metso Outotec, has been painted in Lifeline WA’s trademark blue and displays the 13 11 14 crisis support number.

The crusher has been on a monumental journey to get to its final home in the Pilbara, transported by a sea vessel from its manufacturing site in Turkey to CSI’s Kwinana workshop.

“The CSI team at Kwinana worked around the clock to assemble the revolutionary relocatable modular design last year, which allows for sustained reliable performance over time with the flexibility required to meet our clients’ changing and challenging production demands,” the company said.

CSI was awarded the contract to design, construct and operate the 12 Mt/y crushing plant back in June. It was due to replace the existing CSI crushing plant at the iron ore operation.

The crushing and screening plant is expected to come with low capital and operating costs, in addition to significant flexibility with its portability. It is assembled in modules and, compared with fixed crushing plants, provides for sustained reliable performance over time with the flexibility required to meet clients’ changing and challenging production demands, according to CSI.