Tag Archives: Crushing

Superior Industries opens new manufacturing facility for jaw, cone crushers

Comminution of minerals, Mining equipment, , , , , ,

Superior Industries, Inc, a US-based manufacturer and global supplier of bulk material processing and handling systems, has announced the grand opening of a new crushing manufacturing facility in Morris, Minnesota, its headquarters and hometown since the company was founded in 1972.

A symbolic ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the occasion, highlighting, the company says, Superior’s commitment to growth and innovation in the crushing market.

The new facility, dedicated to producing jaw and cone crushers, will increase Minnesota’s crusher production capacity by 50%. This expansion enhances support for dealers and producers across North America’s aggregates and mining industries, delivering greater efficiency and product availability, Superior says.

Superior’s impact crushers, including VSIs and HSIs, will continue to be produced at the company’s other crusher facility in Belen, New Mexico. Additionally, Superior’s global network includes crusher manufacturing sites in South America and Asia, broadening its reach to serve international markets.

“This new facility means more opportunities for everyone connected to Superior — from our dealers and producers to our team members and local communities,” Jason Adams, President of Superior Industries, said. “With more capacity and smoother operations, we’re able to stay true to our purpose of serving others by providing products that help our partners succeed!”

The facility features an integrated hydraulics assembly area, an inline test zone and expanded parts warehousing to support the growing need for reliable, on-demand, critical components, the company says.

Sandvik Digital Assistant finetuning crusher, screen operating and maintenance strategies

Comminution of minerals, Equipment maintenance, IoT, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , ,

Among the attractions of the Sandvik Digital Assistant (SAM) is that it delivers value to everyone in the crushing and screening value chain, raising the game for forward-looking mines, the OEM says.

Recently launched into Africa at the Electra Mining Africa exhibition in Johannesburg, SAM’s reception among large and small players on the continent has been overwhelmingly positive, according to Ali Jumaa, Digital Product Manager for Sandvik Rock Processing.

“There is no doubt that the local market is ready for SAM, judging from the enthusiastic response we have had from customers,” Jumaa says. “Mines are looking to work smarter, and SAM provides this ability to operators, technicians, purchasing departments and managers alike.”

He notes that Sandvik Rock Processing has developed SAM in line with the concept of a proactive user journey, so it provides instant and valuable support for various steps in this customer-OEM relationship. SAM combines a wide range of tools, information and guidance in one place, acting as an always-on digital assistant for daily operations.

“For instance, maintenance and site managers can track their equipment’s performance in real-time from the convenience of a laptop, tablet or mobile phone,” Jumaa explains. “At the same time, the mine’s purchasing department can access the SAM web shop to find the correct part numbers, create shopping lists and submit orders.”

Service technicians use SAM to find up-to-date documentation and manuals on their equipment, while operators can find ways to increase operational uptime and availability. Extensive operating data from the crusher is collected by sensors and transmitted through a gateway into cloud storage, where it can be analysed in depth and utilised in a range of calculations, algorithms and models.

“The data and analysis allow customers to finetune their performance, while developing more effective predictive maintenance and ensuring no unplanned stoppages,” Jumaa says. “SAM provides customers with real-time insight into their operations supported by fact-based recommended actions that inform the most appropriate operating and maintenance strategies.”

A key benefit of the SAM system is the visual way that it represents data to the user, he explains. Customers can quickly visualise exactly how long the crusher has been operational or has been idling, for instance. The platform’s interface is also intuitive and user-friendly, he adds, so that customers do not need extensive training to learn how to use it. The platform even has features to guide customers on how to use it.

Metso LT300HP mobile cone crusher hits new milestone for Danoher Group

Comminution of minerals, Mining equipment, , , , , , ,

A Metso LT300HP mobile cone crusher owned and operated by Danoher Group, a leading mining contractor in southern Africa, has clocked more than 30,000 hours and counting.

Acquired in 2012, the Metso LT300HP mobile cone crusher is currently deployed at a job in Mbombela, Mpumalanga, where Danoher Group is contracted to produce 350,000 tonnes of road stone.

Previously, the machine has been deployed on some flagship projects in South Africa and Botswana. In the past 12 years, the machine has been in Botswana on four occasions, where it executed some major projects at flagship mines such as Debswana’s Orapa diamond mine and Khoemacau, a long-life copper-silver mine located on the Kalahari Copper Belt. In addition, it has also been deployed at Danoher’s own Kgale Quarry in Gaborone.

With just over 30,000 hours on the clock, the machine is one of the several Metso units in Danoher’s crushing and screening fleet with such a long lifespan. In fact, says CEO Scott Danoher, the company has neither retired nor scrapped a single unit in the past 15 years, shining the spotlight on its drive to achieve extended operational lifecycles out of its capital assets and a testament to the quality of the Metso products.

Danoher Group places value on several factors when investing in capital equipment, such as standardisation of equipment and relationships with suppliers. However, one of the principle factors that informs the company’s buying decisions is equipment longevity. While there are various elements that influence longevity, Danoher stresses that the fundamental ‘raw material’ is the design of the machine, which is why the company trusts Metso for its comminution equipment needs.

“We do not necessarily buy a crusher or a screen, for example, for whatever amount, we buy the number of hours that the machine gives us,” Danoher says. “For us, it is also not about the price tag, it is more about the cost per tonne or cost per hour – ‘cradle to grave’, which is a totally different approach. We are prepared to pay a premium upfront in exchange for, say, 30,000 trouble-free hours out of our crushing equipment.”

By sticking to a trusted brand like Metso and Pilot Crushtec as well as implementing proactive maintenance strategies, Danoher Group not only extends the operational lifespan of its capital assets, but also optimises equipment performance, minimises downtime and reduces costs to ensure smooth and efficient operations, it says.

“Proper maintenance and care throughout the lifespan of equipment significantly contribute to its longevity,” Danoher says. “To get the best out of our maintenance efforts, we largely use Metso OEM parts and spares from Pilot Crushtec International.”

Over the years, Danoher Group and Pilot Crushtec, the Metso dealer in southern Africa, have built a strong working relationship.

“Relationships play a crucial role in what we buy. For us, Pilot Crushtec are more than just suppliers: they have become trusted business partners,” Danoher concludes.

PowerMaster’s Revolution tech to help remediate mine sites, recover tailings and crush materials

Comminution of minerals, Environmental, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Sustainable mining, , , , ,

Powermaster has announced the launch of its Revolution technology, which, it says, efficiently crushes materials, remediates mine sites and reprocesses valuable tailings.

The Revolution is an eco-friendly gyroscopic grinder designed to process various materials, from large rocks to fine tailings. The technology is billed as cutting the cost of processing by half and reducing the environmental impact of mining operations by reclaiming valuable minerals, cutting emissions and minimising waste. Powermaster says the technology is capable of processing up to 400 t/h with a precision of 45 µm.

“The world is running out of space for safe and sustainable waste disposal, while the mining industry faces significant challenges with tailings management and site remediation, all while aiming to keep costs and environmental impacts low,” Haiku York, President of PowerMaster, said. “With millions of tonnes of tailings produced daily, effective waste management is critical. At Powermaster, we’re committed to addressing these challenges with our Revolution technology, which efficiently crushes materials, turns waste into valuable resources and reduces environmental contamination.”

By eliminating excess moisture from tailings, the Revolution processes waste into dry material, minimising groundwater leaching. Additionally, the technology excels in primary, secondary and tertiary crushing, enabling sustainable ore processing from various materials optimising resource recovery, the company says. The Revolution can be custom programmed for all types of materials and is adjustable for any output size.

“There’s really no other machine like it,” added Lila York, Director of Special Projects of PowerMaster. “Our product is half the price of other machines, one-tenth the maintenance cost, has virtually no downtime and when something gets in it that shouldn’t be there, it doesn’t blow up like other machines do. In fact, the Revolution is the safest machine on the market today. Once people realise how much it reduces both waste and costs, we expect to see a huge market demand.”

York added: “Our technology not only crushes more effectively but also achieves at least a 20% cost reduction compared to traditional benchmark tech, backed by our money-back guarantee.

“We’re fully committed to leading the charge towards more efficient and sustainable mining practices worldwide.”

CSI Mining Services gets crushing gig at Atlas Iron’s McPhee Creek project

Mine operation news, Mineral project development, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , ,

CSI Mining Services, part of Mineral Resources Ltd, says it has been awarded a five-year crushing contract for Atlas Iron’s McPhee Creek project, in Western Australia.

The contract will see CSI supply and operate a 10 Mt/y primary crushing plant at the McPhee Creek iron ore mine site, fed by Atlas Iron via dump trucks or wheel loaders, with product to be stockpiled for reclaim and haulage by Atlas Iron.

Chief Executive Mining Services, Mike Grey, said the contract adds to the strong pipeline of upcoming work for CSI.

“It’s fantastic to strengthen our partnership with Atlas Iron, with CSI also currently providing crushing services for their Sanjiv Ridge mining operations and crushing and haulage operations for Roy Hill,” he said. “It’s an exciting period of growth for our business, with CSI recently awarded three new crushing contracts.

“The variety of projects we support ensures our people have opportunities to work on different mine sites with diverse clients, gaining experience across a range of crushing plants.”

CSI is scheduled to mobilise to site in late 2024 to commence construction activities, ahead of crushing commencing in the June quarter of 2025.

The McPhee mine site is located in the northeast Pilbara region of Western Australia, some 100 km north of Roy Hill Mine and 30 km north of Nullagine, with an expected production rate of approximately 9.5-9.7 Mt/y (wet). Primary crushed ore will be hauled via road train from McPhee to Roy Hill for processing, transport to the port and shipping.

Metso brings new Nordberg HPe crusher to offering

Comminution of minerals, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, , , , ,

Metso is introducing the latest unit, the Nordberg® HP350e™, to its Nordberg HPe crusher series launched in 2023, saying the crusher offers enhanced performance, higher uptime, easier and safer maintenance, and a series of other improvements.

The Nordberg HPe crushers are engineered to meet the evolving and constantly increasing performance needs of the aggregates and mining industries, according to Metso, with the new Nordberg HP350e being the perfect choice for diverse rock processing operations.

Ilkka Somero, Product Manager of HP Cones at Metso’s Aggregates business area, said: “The launch of the Nordberg HPe crusher series during CONEXPO-CON/AGG trade show last year was a success, and now we are proud to bring to the market our latest addition to the series, the Nordberg HP350e cone crusher. Compared to the first crusher on the series, HP200e, the new crusher, HP350e, belongs to a larger size class of crushers. We are excited to expand the Nordberg HPe series to bring to the market a wider offering of these high-performance crushers fit for different production purposes.”

The Nordberg HP350e cone crusher offers several unique benefits, according to the company, including:

  • Enhanced performance;
  • New enhanced kinematics and more efficient chambers;
  • Up to 10% performance in secondary and tertiary application (as compared with the HP300);
  • Improved uptime and serviceability;
  • No-backing liners for quick, easier and safer liner change;
  • Head anti-spin brake extends liner wear life;
  • Optional ring bounce monitoring feature for active overload protection;
  • New feed cone lifting tool, for safe lifting and handling;
  • Wider application coverage;
  • Three alternative kinematics to choose from;
  • Alternative speeds;
  • Exceptionally wide chamber offering: 10 innovative application specific no-backing chamber designs for secondary, tertiary and quaternary stages; and
  • Efficient parts lifetime economy.

Fully covered aftermarket support as most parts are common between the earlier HP300 design and HP350e and the rest remain either interchangeable or upgradable, Metso says. Current HP300 owners can purchase Metso’s HPe upgrade kits, enabling economical access to some of the new HPe features, including enhanced kinematics, head anti-spin brake and ring bounce monitoring, as well as monitor and no-backing liners via head and bowl upgrade. If need be, the new HP350e can also use older-generation HP300 backing liners features.

Nordberg HPe series crushers will be also available as US-compliant Nordplant™ Pre-designed Crushing Modules. These modules provide convenient all-in-one delivery with quick assembly for replacing crushing stations or in new applications, the company says.

Furthermore, Metso is also introducing the first HPe series crusher on tracks for improved mobility. The Lokotrack® LT200HPX™ is equipped with a Nordberg HP200e cone crusher and a two-deck pre-screen with up to 40% higher capacity than the LT200HP.

The new HP350e is being showcased at AGG1 2024 at Metso’s booth, being held this week in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

Metso reflects on ‘benchmark’ contract win in Chile copper space

Base metals, Comminution of minerals, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Metso has been awarded a major order worth some €55 million ($59 million) to deliver key concentrator equipment for a copper mining project in Chile.

The Metso delivery scope consists of high-capacity Nordberg® MP1250 secondary cone crushers, MF Series™ vibrating screens and energy-efficient Vertimill® VTM1500 regrinding mills.

For the flotation and separation circuit, Metso will supply multiple TankCell® and ColumnCell™ flotation cells featuring several of the largest available 630 cu.m TankCell units, as well as HCT™ High Compression tailing thickeners. In addition, Metso’s scope includes four MHC hydrocyclone clusters, of which two will be among the largest in the world.

Most of the products in the delivery scope are part of Metso’s Planet Positive offering.

Fernando Samanez, Vice President, Minerals Sales for South America at Metso, said: “Working together with the customer and the engineering company on an open collaborative model has been an extraordinary experience. The model enhanced the efficiency of the engineering process and contributed to the alignment of all parties on the targets set by the end customer. This will be a benchmark to be followed in similar projects all over the world.”

Metso to deliver Nordberg cone crushers to WCS’ Simandou iron ore project

Comminution of minerals, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , ,

Metso says it has received an order exceeding €10 million ($10.9 million) from Winning Consortium Simandou (WCS) for the supply of key crushing equipment for its concentrator plant at Simandou Iron Ore Blocks 1 and 2 in the Republic of Guinea.

Metso’s scope of delivery consists of 16 Nordberg® HP900™ secondary and tertiary cone crushers, a crusher series that has over 10,000 installations worldwide in the aggregate and mining industries.

Xun Fang, Head of Metso’s Minerals Sales in Greater China, said: “We are pleased to be chosen as the supplier of the state-of-the-art crushing equipment for the Simandou iron project by WCS. We will leverage our global knowledge and resources to support the success of this project.”

Winning Consortium Simandou has been set up by the founders of SMB Winning Consortium, namely Winning International Group from Singapore, China Hongqiao and UMS Guinea. WCS won the public tender to develop Simandou Iron Ore Blocks 1 and 2 in November 2019 and signed a Base Convention agreement with the Guinean Government in June 2020.

Simandou Blocks 3 and 4 are held by Simfer S.A., which is owned by the Guinean State (15%) and Simfer Jersey Limited (85%). Simfer Jersey Limited is a joint venture between the Rio Tinto Group (53%) and Chalco Iron Ore Holdings Ltd (CIOH) (47%), a Chinalco-led joint venture of leading Chinese SOEs (Chinalco (75%), Baowu (20%), China Rail Construction Corporation (2.5%) and China Harbour Engineering Company (2.5%)).

Metso to deliver four modular FIT Crushing Stations to Americas mines

Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, Precious metals, Sustainable mining, , , , , , ,

Metso continues to register demand for its modular mineral processing solutions, announcing that it intends to supply four FIT™ Crushing Stations in the Americas.

Three of these will be delivered to an iron ore mine in Brazil and one to a gold plant in Canada.

The combined value of the orders is approximately €20 million ($21.9 million).

The crushing and screening solution was launched in 2020. Since then, Metso has sold 24 FIT Stations around the world for applications including gold, iron ore, graphite, lithium, copper and slag.

The FIT Station is focused on flexibility and speed for quick installation with primary gyratory stations, jaw stations, cone crushers stations, screening stations and recrushing stations. Metso Product Manager, Daniel Nagano, says: “The capacities range from 200 to 4,000 t/h and all can be used in unique applications with multiple equipment configurations, and the combination of equipment modules can accommodate any kind of mining application.”

Modular FIT conveyors and ore sorting modules can also be added to the solution.

Erwin Huber, VP, Crushing and Conveying Systems at Metso, said the company is thrilled to see the customer interest in the modular FIT Station.

“The flexible solution enables us to deliver the plants with a short lead and installation time,” he said. “When comparing the FIT Station to similar crushing and screening plants in mining, we have seen a more than 30% reduction in implementation time.”

Sandvik launches new ‘fully electric’ crushing solution

Comminution of minerals, Mining equipment, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , , ,

Sandvik Mobile Crushers and Screens has built a new ‘fully electric’ crushing solution based off its CJ412 jaw crusher that, it says, continues to drive the sustainability shift in the crushing and screening industry.

The Sandvik UJ443E is built upon a new ‘fully electric’ track platform and features high quality, reputable componentry throughout, as well as the latest generation Sandvik CJ412 jaw crusher.

Its new modular feed station includes a larger hopper, two feeder options with larger grizzly cassettes and an optional under screen for greater natural fines extraction before crushing, allowing operators to optimise their process flow depending on feed conditions and material, the company says.

The UJ443E is designed for hard and abrasive rock applications, making it ideal for the quarry, mining and contractor segments, the company says.

Aligning with Sandvik’s “make the shift strategy”, the UJ443E has been designed with an increased focus on sustainability, productivity and durability, while retaining the look, feel and value proposition customers’ demand.

The fully electric UJ443E provides customers with up to 30% reduction in fuel consumption, the company says, and up to 30% increase in throughput versus previous generation products.

It features electric final drives and an onboard generator set, meaning it can be operated in a more sustainable way, being powered by either an external electricity supply, HVO or diesel from the onboard genset.

Operating while connected to the external electric source can bring several advantages, including lowering running costs, extending drive train service intervals, reducing time spent refuelling, reducing on-site emissions and lowering noise levels. The fully electric track drives also decrease the use of hydraulic oil on the plant by up to 91%, the company claims.

The UJ443E features a 125 Amp downstream connection which allows customers to operate a downstream plant such as a screener or scalper, providing up to 20% decrease in fuel consumption compared with running separate units.

The unit comes with improved access to maintenance, including new access platform under and a newly designed automatically locking folding hopper sides, that can be operated from ground level. The new automation system with Optik™ intuitive user experience, includes simplified operation controls and total integration with the Sandvik My Fleet telematics solution. Diagnostic support, pre-installed guides for troubleshooting and real-time information allows customers to know exactly how their equipment is being utilised, Sandvik added.