Replacing the heart of a quarry

Quarry learns how and why Duggans Quarry in Tasmania replaced one of the most vital pieces of equipment on site.

Harry Duggan started up the Duggan business in 1927 when he purchased his first truck and built a road. The business grew along with his family when he formed a partnership with five of his seven sons, diversifying into farming, transport, and concreting.

In the late 1970s, concrete aggregates needed to be purchased from quarries in Hobart and shipped over to Cradoc over the narrow and windy Huon Road. To overcome this, it extended its existing quarry to include the production of concrete aggregates.

Steve Duggan, managing director and third-generation family member, told Quarry that the site is the southernmost hard rock quarry in Australia.

“Our quarry plays an important role and supports our three other divisions – premix concrete, precast concrete manufacturing, and civil earthworks,” he said.

“Many major road projects, built by both state government departments, local governments, and private contractors, depend on the materials supplied from the quarry.

“We also export our precast all over Tasmania and even into Antarctica for construction projects there.”

The Terex Cedarapids Model TGS220 Cone Module is ideal for large feed secondary applications. Image: Terex MPS

The site’s secondary cone crusher is an integral part of the business. Almost everything in the quarry business flows through it, whether it ends up as concrete, road base or sold to the public.

The company had established a five-year program to upgrade its fixed crushing plant, replacing technology that had been serving since the 90s.

Duggan wanted to see the new crusher increase the site’s crushing capacity and efficacy, modernise the plant, and renew it for the next step of the quarry’s operations.

He said the family business had a long history of using Terex Jaques equipment, so they installed a Terex Cedarapids Model TGS220 Cone Module.

The TGS cone crusher is ideal for large feed secondary applications and can accept a 65 to 80 per cent larger feed in size compared with other cones in the same power rating. The steep-angled head design accounts for an increased throughput capacity and the ability to sustain an on/off feed.

Its consistent feed-in opening, through the full wear life of the liners, results in no reduction in maximum feed size and limited fluctuation in output gradings. Duggan said Terex Jaques’ vast range of equipment means the company could pick the right fit for the job, and it benefits from ongoing technical support.

“The crusher was able to be upsized to fit the current demand and capacity of our plant,” he said.

“Terex Jaques supplied the crusher and support structure in containerized modular form so that we could install it ourselves. We built a new feed bin, screen mount, and conveyor system around it while the existing plant was working.

“It was a simple swap between the old crusher and the new one, with minimal downtime.”

The TGS Series cones come with advanced automation cone controls as standard. This provides the Duggan team with all the information they need to know, including wear rate and crushing settings.

The quarry can then use this information to plan shutdowns for maintenance, all the while being supported by Terex’s Victorian-based team.

Duggan said the crusher is simple to maintain, and its serviceability has been exceptional.

“We support our business with our own maintenance department. They’ve changed out some of the wear parts and found it very easy to do,” he said.

“We’re planning to grow for the quarry’s crushing capabilities, and Terex has been great to work with.” •

For more information, visit terexmps.com

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