Test Feb 2021

AT THE QUARRY FACE WITH ELB EQUIPMENT

alongside his father, Johann Snr. “Today we are proud of our mobile crushing and screening plants together with a large fleet of earthmoving equipment that dig, load and haul materials, making it possi- ble for us to deliver quality product to our customers.” The delivery fleet consists of over 40 tipper trucks that run on a six-day/week basis through the greater Johannesburg area, managed in house by efficient trans- port managers. Lion Park Quarries is now breaking new ground with the commissioning of a first-of-its-kind in Africa Terex WJ1175 electric wheeled jaw crushing plant. As a fully electric drive-operated crushing plant, the new Terex is a sig- nificant departure from diesel-guzzling predecessors with a smaller price tag and requiring significantly less support and maintenance on site. Its powerful elec- tric-driven jaws and materials handling components have thus far slashed run- ning costs by nearly half of its predeces- sor’s energy costs. Supplied locally by ELB Equipment, the Terex WJ1175 is a game-changer for mines and quarries with access to the national electricity grid or other similarly reliable sources. With fewer moving parts and no hydraulics, it is a simpler machine which is less expensive to buy and main- tain. Operationally the impressive electric drive-operated crusher provides powerful and precise crushing operations. It is con- siderably quieter with enhanced operator safety. “Diesel bi l ls for the predecessor Pegson XF jaw crusher were mounting up and added a considerable margin to the cost of our sand and stone products,” Meintjes confirms. “The new machine’s electricity bills are about 40% less by comparison. With its bigger, more efficient crushing cham- ber, it adds considerably to our sand and stone production. By contrast to the mechanically-operated plant which required servicing every 200 hours at a cost of over R20 000 each time and a five- hour shutdown, the new Terex requires a daily brush-off and check-up in order to run flawlessly for years to come. Being mobile, it can also be hitched to a truck or loader and taken to any crush- ing site. Once in place, the wheels serve

the right equipment needed to turn the operation into a fully-fledged quarry with multiple streams of high-quality saleable products. “Since those early days, we have gone on to buy more than 30 pieces of equip- ment from them, ranging from crushers and washing plants to wheel loaders, excavators and everything we need to run a slick operation,” Lewis says. “The fact that the relationship has lasted over three decades is, in many ways, testament to the quality of equipment provided by ELB Equipment and the quality of service it provides to its customers. Trust is import- ant and they have earned ours.” In the heart of the Northern Suburbs of Johannesburg, in the midst of some of the most fiercely-contested markets in the country, the acquisition of a new crush- ing plant has put Lion Park Quarries in a favourable position, with better product availability at sustainably lower prices. Lion Park Quarries is situated some 28 km east of Krugersdorp just off the N14/ R28 and in close proximity to Fourways, New crushing plant sets benchmark

on site and prolongs intervals between excavating or relocation of the ponds. Considering the fact that the entire operation is located on Lewis’ genera- tions-old family farm, which still produces crops and livestock, the environmentally friendlier operation is an important con- sideration. With everything in its place and the lands well cared for, the Kilo Sand operation is responsibly managed to cohabit with the thriving and beautiful farm. “In many ways, we uphold most of the traditional values of bygone gener- ations on the farm,” Lewis says, “and still value honest, sincere relationships. Just as it is important for us not to pollute our neighbours’ drinking water, it is similarly important that we do business with rep- utable and reliable suppliers. “ELB Equipment has been one of the most important parts of our business from the early 1980s, when we needed more water and decided to excavate our farm dams; to the realisation that the sand excavated was of a saleable quality and valuable in its own right. The company’s experts have given us sound technical advice and financial assistance to procure

Sandton andMidrand. The business is an operational sand and aggregate mining concern, operating under a new order conver ted mining right in Nietgedacht, Lanseria. “We had a mod- e s t s t a r t back i n 1989 , where sand wa s wa s hed and loaded by hand. At that stage, our entire del ivery f leet con- sisted of a single own- er-driver truck,” says Johan Meintjes, who co-owns the quarry

Since commissioning the new Terex FM120 washing plant, Kilo Sand has boosted washed river sand production by over 35%.

13

MODERN QUARRYING

Quarter 2 / 2018