HIGH PROFILE
settings and conditions and gathered some very valid information that guided our final design. With that design, we have done bench tests and validated many concepts around the crushing shafts, rings and teeth. Right now we are looking for the first opportunities for these machines. On the Optirok, we have built a first unit, serial number one, and that machine is currently installed and operating in a large quarry in Brazil. It’ s been running for about nine months and getting very good results that have matched very well with our expectations, even exceeding them. With Primarok, as you know, Metso has been making gyratories for more than a century, so it was not necessary for us to make a prototype, we are just building on already vast experience. We are actively working on the first opportunities for those and are already engaging in advanced conversations with some customers and are looking forward to having the first one commissioned soon. We have actually already started manufacturing the first machine.
Q Coming back to the design fundamentals – in particular how do the Primarok and Optirok designs differ from the current Superior gyratory and Nordberg jaw?
With the Primarok, there were three main pillars that were guiding our design decisions. One of course was keeping the same level of performance that we had in the Superior and improving it slightly by tweaking the already very proven design where was still possible. So that means keeping the same high speed we had, but we put a lot of effort in developing better chamber design – this also what allowed us to further increase capacity, even on similar models. The second pillar was to have higher availability and safer maintenance. We have basically eliminated all hot work inside the machine – all the welding and flame cutting- through very innovative solutions, for example, on the concave removal. We have now a new concave design that we call the wedge concave that, through a hydraulic embedded device in the machine, you can remove the first concave in each row and then subsequently the next ones. So, that makes the operation much safer during maintenance interventions. We also have a new spider design that will make the changeouts faster. It’ s a more compact design, but giving the same stability that you used to have with the previous one. And third we wanted also to reduce the complexity of the installation of the crusher in the station. So using more advanced simulation tools and a little bit of thinking outside of the box, we have also been able to reduce the weight of the crusher; and also reduce the dimensions of some of the main components in a way that the crushing
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The top end 61131 Primarok is the largest gyratory crusher in the world with a capacity of up to 20,000 t / h
station can be shorter, as the machine has less dynamic forces, and also the directional sequence of installation is better facilitated. On the maintenance aspect, it is also worth mentioning that with Primarok, you can remove all components from the top, so it is a true top service gyratory.
Q What about the Optirok design? Is the compact nature of the Optirok partly to address the needs of underground mines with limited space?
Yes, underground certainly is one of the drivers for this product because the space constraints are very real there. But more broadly, what we’ re seeing is an increase in demand for this medium capacity range of crushers – primary solutions that can operate within a more compact footprint, with demand a combination of space constraints and capital pressure. With the Optirok, we can exceed the capacity of our largest jaw crushers, the Nordberg ® C160 and C200, for example. But with a simpler station design when you compare it to a gyratory. For example, the Optirok, depending on the application, can be fed directly with an apron feeder without having to use a grizzly feeder – that makes the station design very compact. Even with a small gyratory, your primary station height is about 20 metres. With an Optirok setup, you can bring that down to roughly 12 metres. This has a very significant impact in some applications, such as underground, because it translates directly into lower civil works, installation complexity, and a lower total cost of the station itself. In terms of the Optirok design, it is a quite different machine. The crushing principle is still a compression crusher. You have a static surface and a moving surface with an eccentric movement compressing the rock against it. But the chamber is completely new, so the new fixed jaw has a concave shape, and the moving part is no longer the jaw, but an eccentric roll. The rock is being compressed by the eccentric roll against the concave fixed jaw. On the feed section, you have a static grizzly that can let some fines bypass. So, as I mentioned, depending on the application
and the amount of fines, you don’ t need to have an external vibrating grizzly, but you can rely only on the machine’ s static grizzly. Also, because of this new chamber design, we can achieve lower closed side settings, with tighter adjustments, to control much better the top size, especially when you go to larger capacities. So with Optirok, you are able to go much tighter on particle size while maintaining the benefits of a very high capacity and large feed acceptance. Plus, all the adjustments are hydraulic tramp relief, and the machine itself is also fully automated.
Q Crushers are a fundamental part of your IPCC solutions, including the Foresight™ mining crushing stations, as well as your flexible and fast install FIT™ stations – what role do you see the three new primary crushers playing in these?
Our approach has been to make the three new crushers available across our IPCC solutions in a way that reflects how each technology is used in practice. So for Foresight specifically, Primarok is the natural fit because it aligns well with the very high capacity and high variability applications that Foresight stations are typically designed for. When it comes to FIT stations, the focus is slightly different. These solutions are often driven by the need of customers for quicker development, lower CAPEX, and more compact layouts. So, that’ s where Optirok and Durarok come in. In addition to that, we are also looking to integrate both Optirok and Durarok into our mobile configurations, including the Lokotrack platform. While these are mostly used in quarrying applications, there are some larger models like the LT200E we have supplied which have a capacity of 3,000 t / h and has a jaw crusher. These have applicability in smaller mines, satellite pits and specific parts of orebodies such as high grade areas.
Q Finally, you mentioned that the new crushers involve new design elements and components. Metso already produces crushers and parts in different parts of the world depending on the model and what makes sense logistically and strategically – will anything change with these launches and has it required new investment?
We will be using the same supply chain and manufacturing network we use today, including our main crusher factories in Sorocaba, Brazil; Tianjin, China; Tampere, Finland; and Macon, France. So depending on where the project is going to be installed and what makes more sense, then we will plan our manufacturing accordingly. It will vary a little between the three products, but as we will be using our existing setup we don’ t foresee any substantial new investments being required, as we already have the capacity and knowledge there.
International Mining | JULY 2026