Seewen, in Switzerland’s north-west, is a municipality in the district of Dorneck, about 247km from the capital Geneva.
The town is infamous for a cold case that remains unsolved to this day – the Pentecost killings of June 1976, when five people of varying ages from 52 to 80 were slaughtered in a weekend house by gunfire.
{{image2-a:r-w:250}}This small village, as of December 2013, had a population of just 1003 – 509 men and 526 women. The population is mostly fluent in German, followed by Italian and French.
Despite its size, the village makes a significant contribution to the local and national economies. According to 2008 statistics from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, there were 73 people and 31 local businesses involved in the primary industries sector, comprising agriculture, forestry, fishing and mining (including quarrying). More than 50 people and 14 businesses were involved in manufacturing and there were 67 workers and 20 businesses in the services sector.
Kibag AG is one of Switzerland’s leaders in building and construction materials and has operated since 1926, following a merger of two gravel and excavation companies. Today, Kibag AG operates 13 gravel and sandpits, 22 concrete plants, 14 construction companies and four recycling and disposal companies. In total, the company has 1500 employees.
Kibag’s Zingel limestone quarry is located on Baslerweiher, an artificial pond near Seewen. The quarry has undergone a recent expansion of activities, which involved the installation of Metso’s Nordberg C120 stationary primary crusher, successfully delivered by Metso’s Swiss dealer Drossard Sales & Service GmbH.
After civil engineering company ASE-Technik AG, based in Lucerne-Horw, proposed two possible solutions, Kibag AG Seewen chose the option with a new relief trough below the crusher, a feeder silo and a conveyor trough with scalping, promising less idle time and lower steel construction costs.
The crusher was delivered in parts, assembled and commissioned in the cavern as a collaborative effort between ASE-Technik and Metso.
After Kibag’s old primary crusher was shut down, the existing 25m³ feeder silo was updated with new wear protection lining. The overhead crane was selected based on a payload capacity of 12.5 tonnes, since the frame alone – as the heaviest component of the new crusher – weighed 12 tonnes. This crane was used to install the entire unit. The anchoring of the wall consoles was planned and carried out by Amberg Engineering. ASE-Technik also delivered an electrical container including supporting elements and various installations. Overall, about 30 tonnes of steel and metal structures were manufactured, delivered and installed.
{{image3-a:r-w:250}}In December 2013 Drossard Sales & Service GmbH replaced the stationary jaw crusher, including a new base frame. The Nordberg C120 jaw crusher is one of Metso’s latest models and represents a solid combination of crushing zone, kinematic and operational parameters.
Before the final start-up, the unit was enhanced with Metso’s new hydraulic hammer, including controls and a hydraulic pump of its own. The crusher is equipped with an IC1000 automation system to ensure smooth operation: automatic regulation of feeding, vibro-trough and gap adjustment.
The Nordberg C120, being the core component of the unit, serves the Zingel quarry as an extremely efficient hard rock crusher with highly durable crushing tools.
The cast and solid-bolted construction is extremely robust and withstands the highest breaking pressures. For the Zingel project, Drossard customised the crusher delivery using Metso’s extensive product portfolio. Selected features included a pressure plate sensor, crushing zone monitoring by means of a filling level sensor, a deflector plate under the crushing zone for secondary crushing of flat material, temperature monitoring of bearings and frequency control of motors.
The crusher gap can be set hydraulically by means of the IC1000 automation system. The system also accumulates an extensive set of data that can be retrieved at any time. Via remote control, the Metso hydraulic hammer easily crushes oversized boulders that could cause arching in the feeder or crushing zone.
The C120 is predominantly employed as a primary jaw crusher, marking the first step in size reduction of the hardest rocks and ores, and preparing the feed for the secondary crusher in the crushing and screening process. In some instances, the C120 can also be employed to produce the end product, including the crushing of less demanding applications such as soft rock, recycling and slag.
The Nordberg C120 is available to order through Metso Australia.
Source: Metso