COMMINUTION & CRUSHING
At Magotteaux, sustainability is far more than a corporate pledge – it is a hands-on commitment reflected in how it operates every day, the company says. One of its flagship initiatives, started several years ago, leading this transformation is the Scrap Buy Back( SBB) program.
SBB is, Magotteaux says, a powerful circular-economy model that increases the lifecycle of the company’ s products by recycling end-of-life wear parts into new, high-performance solutions for mining and other industrial sectors.
Through the SBB program, Magotteaux buys back used products, liners, high-chrome castings, high and low chrome grinding media and forged balls from mining operations and other industrial sites around the world. It also welcomes products from other manufacturers, wherever they are located, to increase circularity and foster a sustainable industrial ecosystem. These materials are then re-processed, becoming the raw material for new Magotteaux products. The result: a fully circular loop that delivers quality, value and reduced environmental impact.
Since its launch in 2021, the program has recycled more than 120,000 t of material, significantly decreasing the need for virgin raw materials and contributing to meaningful reductions in CO₂
The Scrap Buy Back program is, Magotteaux says, a powerful circular-economy model that increases the lifecycle of the company’ s products by recycling end-of-life wear parts into new, high-performance solutions for mining and other industrial sectors emissions. This milestone reinforces Magotteaux’ s commitment to reduce environmental impact, improve energy efficiency and contributing to responsible manufacturing, the company says.
The company continues:“ One of Magotteaux’ s greatest strengths is its global industrial footprint, with production facilities strategically located close to our main market / clients across different continents. This network enables us to not only provide local supply, minimise transport-related emissions and secure reliable service, but also to adapt solutions to the needs of each region.”
The SBB program continues to expand through long-term agreements with important mining and industrial players, according to the company. Those partners rely on Magotteaux to manage, recycle and repurpose end-of-life products as well as other iron and steel metal scrap generated at their sites.“ These partnerships free up storage space, reduce environmental burden as well as operational costs and ensure access to high-quality products with a lower environmental footprint,” it says.
Beyond environmental benefits, the SBB program also strengthens customer relationships by offering financial incentives, such as credits or discounts for returned Magotteaux products. This creates a double-win dynamic in which customers save money, the industry embraces circularity and the planet benefits from reduced waste and emissions, Magotteaux says.
A good example of the SBB program leading to circular innovation is Magotteaux’ s collaboration with Codelco, one of the largest copper producers in the world, in Chile. In early 2024, Magotteaux signed a five-year agreement with Codelco’ s El Teniente Division to supply grinding balls manufactured entirely from recycled materials under a closed-loop circular model. According to Codelco’ s own calculations, this agreement permits the El Teniente division to lower its carbon footprint by nearly 40,000 t of CO₂ annually. It is congruent with El Teniente’ s sustainability goals around lowering Scope 3 emissions. Magotteaux added:“ By reprocessing worn grinding balls and metal scrap into new products, this project demonstrates how industrial partnerships in Chile, or elsewhere in the world, perfectly align both operational performance as well as environmental responsibility, establishing a benchmark for sustainable mining worldwide.”
“ DeckMapp enhances data quality and formalises maintenance processes, thereby eliminating information inconsistencies that can adversely affect production and profitability due to rework and extended task durations. DeckMapp delivers realtime updates to ensure all team members are aligned, further reducing the risk of miscommunication and operational inefficiencies.”
A key feature of DeckMapp is the optional add-on WearApp™, a wear assessment system powered by artificial intelligence. With WearApp, users capture images of worn screening media panels with a smartphone or a tablet, with AI algorithms automatically assessing each aperture to calculate the amount of wear, panel efficiency and remaining wear life. Cutbush says this revolutionary application not only saves substantial time but also delivers far greater accuracy over traditional manual wear assessment methods.
Application-focused crushing tech
Astec Industries is also urging mining companies to examine the front end of the processing circuit to help address one of the most energy-intensive and operationally critical stages in mining, looking to align crushing technology with material characteristics and process objectives.
The expanded comminution portfolio within Astec enables mining operations to take a more systematic, application-driven approach to size reduction, according to the company.
At one mining site processing friable limestone and coal with intermittent hard inclusions, legacy crushing equipment struggled with inconsistent product sizing, excessive fines and unplanned downtime. Rather than replacing machines on a one-for-one basis, the operation reassessed its comminution strategy using four foundational criteria: material type, desired output size and
A roll-based crusher from Astec’ s Gundlach Crushers portfolio
42 International Mining | MARCH 2026