C200™ jaw crusher operating in Pyhäsalmi for nearly 20 years

The C200 was installed in Pyhäsalmi in 2001

At the turn of the millennium, a whole new underground line for processing and lifting ore was built in Pyhäsalmi. In July 2001, Finland’s first Nordberg® C series C200™, was installed as the primary crusher in the ore processing line. The C200 is Metso’s largest jaw crusher in its size class.

Thanks to the bolted frame structure of the C Series jaw crushers, it was possible to transport the jaw crusher to the installation site on a trailer truck in challenging conditions through a low, narrow tunnel more than 11 kilometers long. The C200 was installed and commissioned in its final location underground. It took approximately six weeks to get the crusher installed and ready, including the electrical wiring and lubrication units.

So far, the C200 has crushed nearly 25 million tonnes of rock, and over the past 20 years it has been running for approximately 100,000 hours. The crusher has been processing massive sulfide ore, and the other properties of the feed material are as follows:

• Distribution: 0–400 mm
• Crushability: 45%
• Abrasiveness: 1,166 g/t
• Solid density: 96 t/m³

Durable wear parts

The wear parts of the C200 jaw crusher – that is, the jaw dies – affect maintenance costs greatly. The staff at Pyhäsalmi have been particularly happy with the durability of the jaw crusher’s wear parts. The moving jaw was the first to be replaced, after 545,000 tonnes, with the stationary jaw following after 980,000 tonnes. The moving jaw of the primary crusher has crushed 600,000 tonnes on average, and the stationary jaw 800,000 tonnes, varying a little based on the copper, sulfur and zinc content of the feed materials.

Janne Mykkänen, maintenance technician at Pyhäsalmi Mine, has been involved in the mine’s operations for 20 years since the installation of the Nordberg C Series C200 jaw crusher. He has been very happy with the jaw crusher in Pyhäsalmi.

In addition, Pyhäsalmi Mine has been collaborating closely on maintenance with Metso for several years, because Metso has been carrying out extensive operational inspections of the mine every two years. The inspection reports have made it easy for the staff at the mine to plan and carry out their daily servicing and maintenance tasks. "The C200 jaw crusher has been serving us loyally since its installation,” says Mykkänen.

“It has been easier for us to perform our own servicing and maintenance tasks with the help of the report. We have a ready template, and we know which points we need to pay attention to. The whole thing has been working really well. Metso’s service has also functioned very well: we’ve always got help when we need it,” Mykkänen says, thanking Metso.

Pyhäsalmi Mine will continue operations for another year, after which the C200 jaw crusher will probably be left in the mine, with only the electrical wiring and lubrication units being removed.