COMMINUTION & CRUSHING
The new ENDURON jaw crushers now come standard with ESCO Production Master II jaws, which have significantly more wear material
that facilitate smarter, data-driven decision making and deliver more efficient, optimised solutions.”
Once the feed enters the crushing circuit, there is the opportunity to optimise the process, which is what Weir is doing with its NEXT intelligent solutions, according to Skorvald. This is about developing integrated systems, in which, say, the screens, crushers and conveyors, etc don’ t operate independently as they always have, but, rather, are optimised to deliver better outcomes across the entire process.
The new HPU also ensures consistent tensioning of the retraction springs, improving reliability and ease of use across the full wear range of jaw dies. The optimised motor power and oil tank capacity reduce the HPU’ s CO₂ footprint and reduce environmental impact, the company claims. To further improve performance and reduce downtime, the range of ENDURON jaw crushers now includes ESCO ® wear parts. These components have been rigorously tested and proven to extend wear life, which means fewer maintenance interventions and increased equipment utilisation – translating to lower operating costs and more efficient production. The upgraded ENDURON cone crushers also benefit from ESCO wear liners.
Skorvald said:“ During the development of the new ENDURON jaw and cone crushers, we did several field test and trials with our customers to measure the difference between the new ESCO wear liners that are now standard across both ranges and the old consumables. On the ENDURON jaw crushers, Weir changed both the tooth profile and the alloy. The jaw crushers now come standard with ESCO Production Master™ II jaws, which have
40 significantly more wear material, which means the crusher surface profile lasts longer than what we were previously using and what’ s still typically still being used by most OEMs.
“ Weir has also made improvements to the manganese alloy used for the consumables. The ESCO premium alloy 14R is now standard across the range and it was selected because Weir feels it’ s the ideal balance of carbon, manganese and chrome and consistently delivers superior wear resistance over conventional alloys.”
These two changes – the tooth profile and the choice of alloy – have consistently delivered at least 30 % longer wear life compared with the previous consumable, Weir says.
The ESCO team was recently approached by a Peruvian gold miner that wanted to improve the component wear life and reduce the maintenance requirements on a competitor’ s cone crusher. After evaluating the mine’ s material conditions, production requirements and maintenance targets, the team determined that an equivalent crushing chamber design with the ESCO 14R alloy would be the optimal solution to meet their goals. It was installed and, in a head-to-head comparison, the ESCO wear part lasted for 469 operating hours compared to the competitor’ s 367 operating hours – close to a 28 % improvement.
The upgraded ENDURON cone crushers also benefit from a newly designed Hydraulic and Lubrication Power Unit( H / LPU). This compact, plug-and-play system reduces the environmental footprint and simplifies installation, making it ideal for sites looking to streamline setup and minimise impact, Weir says.
Weir’ s new crusher range includes the
ENDURON ET jaw crushers, as well as both the EP fixed-shaft and EC live-shaft cone crushers. This flexibility ensures customers can select the ideal equipment for their unique operational requirements.
The ENDURON EC live-shaft cone crusher is designed for very arduous duties. It’ s commonly used for pebble crushing, which requires an extremely high level of force to crush what’ s essentially the hardest rock.
The ENDURON EP pedestal-style cone crusher delivers a higher reduction ratio because there is more inter-particle crushing given the fixed-shaft design. Moreover, the inter-particle crushing also means that there is less wear on the crushing chamber per tonne of crushed rock, which, in turn, means less downtime. This is beneficial in heap leaching operations because it allows the leaching chemicals to effectively diffuse through the particles and liberate the ore.
Skorvald concluded:“ One of the advantages of having both the ENDURON EC and EP series cone crushers is we have more flexibility when developing solutions, whereas other OEMs are often limited by the fact that they only have pedestal-style cone crushers in their portfolio. Weir, on the other hand, can offer both or a mixed solution.”
Reducing the grinding process load
Sandvik Rock Processing is also advocating for more efficient crushing to help reduce the energy intensity of the follow-on grinding stage in the average circuit, with its experts saying crushing is up to 10 times more energy efficient than conventional grinding.
The Sandvik 800i cone crusher series can help here, reflecting the company’ s commitment to the continuous evolution of design, materials and technology. The latest models, integrated with the new ACS-c 5 automation system, combine robust mechanical design with powerful, userfriendly automation, supporting diverse operational needs, the OEM says. These machines can be tuned to output a very fine product which can significantly reduce the load on the downstream grinding process.
Leading gold producer Gold Fields was able to take advantage of this in its new crushing and screening plant at the Agnew gold mine in Western Australia. According to Gold Fields senior management, the finer feed from its new crushing and screening circuit has improved downstream mill performance, increasing the maximum throughput rate from 155 t / h to 170 t / h. This was solidified in a comminution crushing and grinding survey that the mining company conducted, which indicates the new circuit is around 18 % more energy efficient than the previous one.
Like crushing, screening and feeding also play a critical role in mineral processing.
International Mining | MARCH 2026