IM March 2026 | Page 41

COMMINUTION & CRUSHING

VRM technology, Gebr. Pfeiffer says, offers substantial benefits in terms of energy savings, improving liberation with higher recoveries at coarser grinding, delivering a uniform size reduction with a narrow PSD and having a high reduction size ratio of up to 1,000

be considered in the further downstream process to reduce water requirements and“ unload the flotation process”.

“ This is part of our flowsheet-focused approach for the mining sector,” he concluded.

Crushing the preconceptions

Crushing is sometimes overlooked as a potential area for energy savings, but there are opportunities to reduce energy consumption and increase throughput with modest capital expenditure, according to Magnus Skorvald, Global Product Manager – Crushers at Weir.

For instance, if a miner has a SAG or AG mill without a pebble crusher, then they are limiting their capacity and – because these mills are much more energy intensive than a cone crusher – increasing their power consumption unnecessarily, he argues.

Weir’ s new range of ENDURON ® jaw and cone crushers are part of the company’ s plan to build fully integrated flowsheets that reduce energy consumption and improve overall performance across a circuit.

Developed in close collaboration with customers to address their most pressing operational challenges, the new crushers enhance safety, boost productivity, simplify maintenance and support sustainability goals, it says.

The ENDURON jaw crushers now feature a redesigned Hydraulic Power Unit( HPU), which allows for push-button control of CSS adjustments. This innovation eliminates the need for manual intervention, significantly reducing safety risks for operators and maintenance teams.

Skorvald told IM that this is part of Weir’ s ongoing aim to leverage technologies that are more digitally integrated.“ This takes many different forms but, ultimately, it’ s about setting up systems and processes

ELGIN SEPARATION • GUNDLACH CRUSHERS • TABOR VIBRATORY SCREENS • BTI JEFFREY RADER • CMI SCREEN DRYERS • PENNSYLVANIA CRUSHER • TELESTACK