Spotlight Feature Articles ME Elecmetal Comminution March 16 | Page 2

COMMINUTION

Daily grind

John Chadwick reviews
recent news from the
comminution community ,
from HPGRs to mill liners

R

ecent months have seen a significant
number of new crushers coming onto the
market. For instance, Metso’s new
Nordberg® NP13 impact crusher is “designed for
increased safety and performance, [and] is the
perfect choice for secondary and tertiary
applications.” The new Nordberg NP13 uses the
same design as the NP15 but for smaller
capacity requirements. “Performance, profitability
and maintenance of crushing plants are at the
heart of this new crusher,” says Vincent Schmitt,
Product Manager for NP Series impact crushers.
To improve crushing efficiency and produce more
end products with less recirculation load, the
NP13 features a steeper feed angle. This increases
material penetration into the rotor and makes the
discharge curve less sensitive to blow bar wear,
enabling more consistent end products over time
without having to change blow bars.
The NP13 accepts feed material up to 350 mm
and can be equipped with a 315 kW motor on a
single drive. Its maximum throughput capacity is
up to +20% more than that of the existing
NP1213, and it can be installed on a lighter steel
structure. The number of different side liners
has been cut by nearly half compared with the
NP1213. The NP13 only requires seven different
liners. “This clever wear part arrangement
means more flexibility in the use of the side
liners and less need for parts in stock.”
To make maintenance safer and easier, NP13
has a new two-part rear frame that combines
safety with easy, wide access. The operator can
International Mining | MARCH 2016

choose which way to open the frame, depending
on where access is required. The removable
breaker plate cassette on the NP13 ensures the
safe replacement of breaker plate liners. This
patented innovation consists of a removable
assembly so that the breaker plate liners can be
changed in a safe place outside the crusher. An
additional spare cassette can be prepared in
advance to further ease and speed up liner
changes.
The patented Self-Rotation Rotor (SRR)
system is the centralised point for the setting
adjustment and blow bar change, and further
increases safety during maintenance operations.

The NP13 maintenance bridge is an innovative
and professional solution that provides safe
and easy access to both the highest side liners
and the rotor. This means that the operator
performing the maintenance is always working
under safe conditions

The Metso HRC3000 HPGR started operating at
Freeport-McMoRan’s Morenci copper mine in
May 2014. The installed unit is the largest of its
kind in the world, allowing for fewer lines of
equipment which reduces the amount of
ancillary equipment. Metso's solution has
provided the Morenci mine with several
benefits, including an estimated 13.5%
increase in energy efficiency over traditional
HPGRs based on pilot scale testing
Thanks to its automated turning, the rotor
provides a safe environment for changing the
blow bars without any risk of injury for the
operator.
McLanahan’s line of Universal Jaw Crushers
has undergone a series of design updates.
Based on customer feedback and years of
applications expertise, these improvements
have been engineered “to make everything from
installation to maintenance a safer, simpler and
smarter process.” Significant improvements
have been made to the stationary jaw die. The
new die design has a bevel that rests in a
matched groove on the lower clamp plate and is
secured by upper clamp plates with a groove to
match the die bevel. Dies are also reversible to
utilise more wear metal, improving their life.
Clamp plates match both upper and lower die
bevels.
For larger units, such as the 64”, stationary
wear plates are made of two dies with peaks in
the middle and valleys on the outside. These
dies can be used on the movable side if the right
side die moves to the left side to put the valley