Australian quarry opts for Sandvik crusher

Use of a new mobile crushing system is making extraction of the final reserves from a hard rock quarry more economically viable

Mountain View Quarry has been successfully worked by the 1787 Barro Group to create aggregates for the concrete market from the high quality basalt deposits near Drysdale in Victoria, Australia for 25 years. But reserves are starting to run low and extracting the rock in the final phase of the quarrying called for an alternative approach.

The company estimated that the basalt would run out in two to three years and wanted a proven mobile crushing solution to cost effectively extract from the base of the deep quarry. The critical issue was the ability to easily move the crushing unit in line with the blasting and extraction operations and then remove it at the end of the quarry's life.

The basalt extracted at the Mountain View site has a density of 2.9 g/cm³ and is primarily used in Barro's own premium ready mixed concrete production.

Barro approached 460 Sandvik's local distributor 3792 Precisionscreen to help them with the new equipment need and the solution was a Sandvik QJ330 jaw crusher. According to Sandvik, the high crushing speed of the crusher, together with its large feed opening, provides impressive rates of production and superb reduction ratios.

Mountain View on-site manager Rob Micallef said, "It produces 140tonnes per hour which is impressive given the density of the local basalt." Sandvik has said that the tracked QJ330 crusher is specifically constructed for high mobility. The feed hopper has hydraulically foldable sides for easy transport and quick set up on site. In fact, Rob was quick to point out that it took just one hour to set the unit up on its current site in the quarry and that its mobility was also advantageous for maintenance and general house-keeping at this site.

The company claims that the chassis facilitates easy inspection and access to maintenance points. Platforms around the diesel power pack provide access for inspection and service. A rotating warning beacon and siren provide visual and audible warnings of movement.

Micallef has said that he has been impressed with the performance of the new crusher and cited the easy start up, easy to use hydraulic settings and reverse crushing to remove blockages as some of the benefits.