Capital Equipment News September 2018

CRUSHING – PART 2

successful business. He says that a close cooperation between supplier and customer is critical for long-term success as operating conditions are continuously changing. “Nature did not mass produce rocks to the same specifications; the deeper you quarry the more competent and hard the rock is. Crushing conditions can also change drastically in some areas due to the rainy season. Having close coopera- tion means that many of these challenges can be pre-emptively addressed, by ensur- ing that the correct spares or screening media is in stock before the rains come, for example,” says Scherf. Scherf says when site conditions or the contract specification change, the first person the customer should call is their trusted advisor from the supplier to ensure that fine-tuning of the plant can be done timeously to maximise productivity. “It is very hard to drop costs without compro- mising on quality, so improving the plant’s performance by 1% has a hugely positive financial impact over the course of a year. A simple example is a 1% improvement in production on a 100 tph plant; over a year it would make up to 2 000 t difference, and that equates to 100 additional tipper trucks delivering to end-users for the same fixed operating costs,” concludes Scherf. b

The final product requirement is the cornerstone of equipment selection and plant design.

is obtained, there are many different simulation programmes available to help determine the correct plant specifica- tions needed to achieve the desired end product specifications. Bell and Finlay’s application specialists work closely with our customers with the initial product se-

lection and thereafter with ongoing plant efficiencies and product support because our core belief is if we help our customers succeed so will we,” he says. Scherf is of the view that selecting the best crushing solution is only the first step to achieving targets and ensuring a

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