With six generations of experience, McLanahan has the solution for any crushing challenge.
Through 189 years of providing inspired industry solutions, McLanahan has seen every challenge mining has to offer.
The team at McLanahan knows the secret to success in any challenge lies with a commitment to the customer.
“We prioritise working with our customers to understand their specific needs,” McLanahan director of sales Lee Hillyer told Australian Mining.
“That’s why we aim to offer a full package of equipment from crushing through to tailings. We want to be able to make sure customers are getting the right equipment with the minimal expenditure right across their operations.”
McLanahan knows the importance of choosing the right equipment for the right job, with operational ramifications stemming from unsuitable machinery.
“You wouldn’t take a mini on a road trip across the outback,” Hillyer said. “It’s important to understand the material you’re working with and limiting factors like reduction ratios, as well as the overall needs of the operation.”
McLanahan offers a range of solutions to fit any application, from light-duty crushing to breaking the largest and hardest of rocks.
Heavy-duty applications: Jaw crushers
McLanahan jaw crushers are the go-to solution for materials requiring over 250 megapascals (MPa) in compressive strength, able to break down up to 1000 tonnes of hard rock an hour.
“Think hard, dry process applications,” Hillyer said. “Copper, gold, lithium – anything hard or abrasive when creating fines is not an issue.
“If you’ve got very hard, very abrasive material at a high capacity, a gyratory crusher is the way to go. If you’ve got a very hard, very abrasive material at a lower capacity, then a jaw crusher is the answer.”
Medium-heavy applications: Sizers
When faced with a wetter, stickier material, a sizer is best suited to maintain the continuity of production with minimal downtime. McLanahan offers a range of five sizer series with increasing crushing power and throughput capabilities to meet the needs of any application.
Image: McLanahan
“Sizers are ideal for clay-heavy material that may be below a water table,” Hillyer said. “Iron ore, nickel laterites, gold and copper oxides, and bauxite – when you want to keep fines and dust to a minimum and create a cubicle and uniformed sized product, a sizer is the answer.”
McLanahan’s sizers are ideal for a smaller footprint, offering low-profile designs as well as a powered wheel tramming configuration for ease of maintenance. They can also supply relocatable solutions for in-pit crushing operations.
Light-medium applications: Feeder breakers
Through horizontal, inclined or goosenecked in-feeding, feeder breakers can accept large feed lumps of friable materials like coal, salt and gypsum that require a more dynamic touch.
With a range of solutions on offer, from impact to roll crushers, Hillyer emphasised the feeder breaker’s success in the Australian mining industry.
“This is where our customers make significant capital expenditure savings,” Hillyer said. “Rather than requiring a large apron feeder, breakers can use a cost-effective gooseneck configuration which also lowers the overall height and footprint of the installation.”
Light applications: Rotary breakers
Best suited for breaking soft materials, a rotary breaker uses the material’s own force to break it apart, maintaining the desired lumps of coal while separating the hard rock from the product.
“Essentially a rotating drum, a rotary breaker is the most cost-effective solution for a softer material like coal,” Hillyer said. “The competent rock acts as a mill rotating with the coal, able to break it down before it passes through the rotary screen, with the harder material rejected from the process stream.”
“This way, we can minimise the fines created, remove the dilution material and maximise output.”
With a 24–7 customer service team, sites across New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia, and field service technicians available to offer on-the-spot assistance, McLanahan is primed to offer speedy solutions to any challenge.
No matter the on-site demands, McLanahan can lean on its extensive inventory of machinery parts and expansive product portfolio to ensure the Australian mining industry’s crushing and screening needs are always met.
This feature appeared in the February 2024 issue of Australian Mining.
