HEAVY ENGINEERING AND WEAR PARTS
conical mantle design significantly improved crusher stability and downstream mill performance. Wear life was extended by 17 %, reducing total cost of ownership and eliminating unscheduled shutdowns.”
The new design was adopted as standard for future orders, the company reports.
Phase Two chamber redesign is underway to drive additional gains in wear life and grind control, it added.
Left: Old profile( bell shape) mantle, end of campaign. Right: New profile( conical) mantle ø108”, end of campaign
stable closed-side setting( CSS) as the lower mantles approached end-of-life. The existing bell-shaped design led to localised wear and inconsistent crusher performance, resulting in coarser product size, reduced SAG mill efficiency and unplanned shutdowns, ME Elecmetal says.
To address these issues, the operation partnered with ME Elecmetal to trial this new conical mantle design.
The bell-shaped lower mantles of this crusher were wearing unevenly, resulting in:
• Unstable CSS and product size drift – Toward end‐of‐life, instantaneous crusher rate( ICR) climbed from circa-8,000 t / h to 20,000 t / h, driving a 20 % rise in + 6” material and a 20 % drop in −½” fraction to the SAG circuit;
• Localised bell‐shape wear – Scans showed excessive wear concentrated at the liner’ s base, limiting hydraulic cylinder travel and CSS control;
• Frequent change‐outs – Lower mantles were replaced every six months; concaves annually, with each swap cutting into mill availability; and
• Difficulty maintaining throughput targets – The customer was unable to meet the throughput targets set by their concentrator’ s optimisation program.
The program that ME Elecmetal and the client devised sought to improve CSS stability to ensure optimal and consistent crusher performance and feed size to downstream milling; extend mantle wear life and reduce unplanned downtime; and reduce localised wear that trigger power spikes and CSS drift through improved profile geometry.
ME Elecmetal proposed a two‐step implementation of machined conical mantles cast in manganese steel.
Phase 1 consisted of a mantle profile upgrade where ME Elecmetal introduced two conical lower mantle profiles( Ø108” and Ø109”) to eliminate pinch points and create a smoother crushing zone. Both mantles were cast in ME Elecmetal’ s manganese alloy and finished to precise specifications, with each installed with an initial CSS of 152 mm.
Key design elements included a uniform conical wear surface and matched initial CSS of 152 mm throughout the hydraulic travel range, ensuring seamless transition between the two mantles.
This saw a Ø110” mantle already on site re‐machined to the new conical profile with Ø108”, allowing installation within weeks. After the first mantle’ s full life, the larger‐diameter Ø109” version was installed to validate repeatability.
ME Elecmetal also conducted on‐site 3D scans and tracked hydraulic cylinder travel, confirming uniform wear and controlled CSS throughout both campaigns. Each mantle processed around 23.5 Mt with no unplanned maintenance, matching or exceeding previous campaigns while delivering a finer, more consistent P80. The plant also realised higher, steadier SAG throughput and avoided mill grind excursions tied to crusher performance.
The company explained:“ The optimised
CMS Cepcor’ s global pursuit
CMS Cepcor closed a banner year by opening a facility in Perth, Western Australia, but this was just one of several major milestones it achieved in 2024.
In January 2024, after several years of serving the region, the supplier launched CMS Chile SPA.
“ We have a small, dedicated team working from Santiago,” Group CEO, Matthew Weare, said. The subsidiary was viewed as the next progression of the business, to have its own operating location so it could better serve the mining market with a Chile-based group company and local staff, he added.
Offering sales and engineering support, as well as parts, the subsidiary gives the group“ a more substantial base to support the Chilean and surrounding South American markets”, CMS Cepcor said.“ The business has been well received by many customers and is showing very promising early growth.”
Subsequently, in May, CMS Cepcor won the Kings Award for Enterprise for achievements in international trade. Previously, the supplier won the Queens Award in the same category in 2012 and 2019.
“ The award was very much based on our growth in the export market,” Weare said. He attributed the win to“ the service value the business offers”, specifically the“ engineering support and dedicated teams of field-based employees”. The development“ reinforces our status as an exporter in global markets”, he added.
Soon thereafter, in July, the supplier announced CMS Cepcor Australia Pty.
The development was strategic and a top goal of the group.“ Australia was probably the last large export market that we hadn’ t entered,” Weare said.“ We knew the Western Australian mining market has awesome potential. It is also occupied by all the major OEMs. Entering that market, we knew we
International Mining | JUNE 2025