COMMINUTION AND CRUSHING
FLSmidth , late last year , launched the TSUV Mark 5 Top Service Gyratory Crusher , heralding it as the world ’ s most efficient gyratory crusher from an operating and capital expense perspective
This is not to say Metso Outotec is resting on its laurels with its primary gyratory offering .
The company is continuing to look at how it can adjust the upfront capital expenditure associated with these crushers in line with market expectations and the total cost of ownership metric miners are more readily using for purchasing decisions .
“ Capital expenditure is a constraint , and we foresee interest in new technologies able to significantly reduce the infrastructure cost , while still offering a good compromise in operating expenditure and availability ,” Lambert said .
One such option may come in the form of retrofit solutions where miners are able to get the benefits of new versions of equipment for a fraction of the price of new equipment , as Rafael Yanata , Product Manager , Mining Crusher Solutions at Metso Outotec , explained .
“ For existing brownfield plants on both the small and large scale , it is possible to apply portions of Metso Outotec ’ s current gyratory technology in the form of upgrades to existing gyratories ,” he said . “ This can provide a more sustainable operation through improving current assets or provide for secondary means if capital expenditure is not available for complete machine replacement .”
This is also an area of interest for FLSmidth and its customers with the ongoing development of its top service primary gyratory units .
The company , late last year , launched the TSUV Mark 5 Top Service Gyratory Crusher , heralding it as the world ’ s most efficient gyratory crusher from an operating and capital expense perspective .
The top-service design prioritises safety , maintenance and efficient crushing performance , FLSmidth says , allowing service and maintenance to be carried out from above . Additionally , the 100-plus-t , fully-dressed main shaft no longer needs to be guided into the eccentric assembly by hand , with the shaft aligning automatically – another dramatic safety improvement .
All TS gyratory crushers are built for strength , durability and the ability to adapt to the various requirements of mine operators , but the TSUV design adds even more power , capacity and flexibility to give mine operators a low total cost of ownership , according to FLSmidth .
With the first TSUV unit currently being installed in Australia , many existing FLSmidth primary gyratory customers will be wondering how many of these benefits could come into play on existing crushers in line for an upgrade .
Malone and Hoerschkes explained : “ There is a great deal of interest in retrofitting the topservice capabilities to older machines , but in designing the top service range of crushers , all components in the lower half of the crushers were re-designed to cope with higher power handling capabilities ,” they said . “ As a result , whilst most of the upgrades can be accommodated , power and capacity cannot be increased .”
Still , some models in the TSU Mark IV range have already been modified to accept these available upgrades and most of the company ’ s machines , both bottom service and top service , can incorporate the current control and asset management systems developed for the latest unit .
Malone and Hoerschkes were keen to talk up these systems .
“ With the introduction of the Mark V range of gyratory crushers , it was evident that we needed a modern control system that could work in harmony with these machines and optimise their performance and capabilities ,” they said .
The key areas of control measurement the company now features on these new crushers include real-time measurement of truck load feed size and capacity , the capacity for sensors
( both camera and laser ) to react and report in real time , the ability of sensors to identify blockages and bridges in the crusher feed chamber , the real-time measurement – both inhouse and remote ( via a cloud-based system ) – of key crusher outputs , and the ability of sensors to adjust crusher settings in order to achieve the desired optimum results .
“ With respect to longer-term asset management , the new sensors added include vibration monitors , temperature and oil flow sensors and oil condition monitoring , amongst others ,” Malone and Hoerschkes added .
“ Not all customers need this level of sophistication and our control system allows for these additional features to be added later . This means the crusher can accommodate all these features and they can be added and activated at a later date , if and when they are needed .”
They added : “ Currently we are finishing a field trial program where this system is being proven on a current mining operation .”
Results so far have been encouraging , hence the reason why the new asset control and management system will become a standard offering on all Mark V crushers .
Crushing the data
Most of the other mining OEMs IM consulted with saw digital tools assisting miners with getting more out of their primary gyratory crushers .
Metso Outotec ’ s current digital offering for crushers is a combination of advanced automation systems and remote monitoring capabilities under the Connected Analytics platform , based on the former Metso ’ s Metrics remote monitoring solution and Asset Analytics from the former Outotec , Lambert explained .
“ Our focus today is to develop smarter crushers , reducing significantly the dependence on operators and maximising performance ,” he said .
Yanata said Metrics data is allowing crushing chamber experts to read how the crushing cavity performs over its life , which is proving to be a key advantage for the customer when looking for improved production or crushing performance .
Ahead of time , the company ’ s in-house developed software can simulate the crushing performance of customised chambers as well as follow up and report the wear ratio of the cavity in a crusher mapper platform , Yanata added .
These simulation capabilities can help both new and existing operations with their primary gyratory crushing options .
Weir Minerals might not have a primary gyratory crusher to its name – its Trio ® range of products for crushing , screening , washing and material handling provide different options – but it is constantly improving the performance of its
International Mining | APRIL 2021