Thirty-three tons of conveyor was being lifted at the Copper Mountain Mine last Wednesday. Not only is this the biggest single lift for the mine site, but this 33 tonne conveyor will feed rock to the largest cone crusher in western Canada.
Operating the crane lifting the conveyor, inch by inch, slowly and with the utmost care was Grant Davies of Princeton, accompanied by a crew of two in motorized lifts and four on the ground.
“This crusher will replace three portable crushers,” said Jim Mountford. He explained that the cone crusher, once completely hooked up would have the capability to crush six inch rock from the primary crusher down to approximately two inches.
A 100 foot high building houses the crusher. All pieces have been delivered to the mine site and both the lower bowl assembly weighing over 100 tonnes and the upper main frame have been installed.
Modifications to the existing conveyor that transfers ore from the primary crusher to the mill feed stockpile are successful in accommodating the tie-in to the new crusher. A transfer chute has been installed and is working well, allowing production to continue, uninterrupted.
The cost of constructing the crusher facility is estimated at $40 million and is planned for completion this summer.
Once it is completed, all mill feed will be sized to the two inch range and will allow the mill to operate consistently at or above capacity rates of 35,000 tpd. (Tonnes per day)