BRITISH COLUMBIA – The biggest of four major parts of the permanent secondary crusher has arrived at Copper Mountain mine from its multi-day transport from Kamloops. The lower main frame is the largest and heaviest piece of the Raptor 2000 crusher, weighing in at just over 100 tonnes. The rest of the unit and a building will now be constructed around the lower main frame over the next few months with completion projected for summer. The lower main frame part was transported at night overnight between March 17 and 21 under a special permit required from the provincial government due to the size of the specialized truck required.
Copper Mountain's new high performance Raptor 2000 crusher is the centerpiece of its $40 million secondary crusher program. One of only four in the world, the Raptor 2000 ships in pieces and must be re-assembled at the copper mine site in Princeton. The main frame which weighs 100 tonnes and measures 5.75 x 5.25 x 2.3 metres is the heaviest of the pieces. Three other main components (the upper main frame, the bowl short head and the adjustment ring) each weigh just over 50 tonnes.
The Raptor 2000 is the largest model on the market and is fit for the most demanding high tonnage applications. It is so large it had to be shipped from Italy to the Port of Halifax by sea. From Halifax the pieces were transported by rail to Kamloops where they were loaded onto special trucks and driven south to the mine site near Princeton. The Raptor 2000 will be assembled there and becomes operational in mid-2014. It will be used by Copper Mountain (CuMtn.com) to pre-crush rock and increases the mine’s daily processing rate from around 32,000 t/d in December 2013, to reach or exceed the planned nameplate 35,000 t/d that was projected when the mine first opened in August 2011.
Management at Copper Mountain is confident that the crusher will improve mill throughput to nearly 40,000 t/d, which would improve mine profitability and provide a better margin to ensure operation during times of lower metal prices, thereby sustaining employment and stability for the town of Princeton.
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