Metso celebrates Copper Mine’s 100 million tons of crushed ore
Metso and Freeport-McMoRan celebrated an impressive milestone as the new HRC™3000, the world’s largest operating high-pressure grinding roll, at the Metcalf Concentrator crushed its 100,000,000th short ton of ore.
Reaching one hundred million short tons of crushed ore is a significant milestone for the world’s largest operating high-pressure grinding roll.
Due to its capacity, the HRC™3000 reached this milestone in less than three years. The HRC™3000 began operating in May 2014 at the Metcalf Concentrator at Freeport-McMoRan’s copper mine in Morenci, Arizona, USA.
Morenci is an open-pit copper mining complex that has been in continuous operation since 1939.
The HRC™3000 is the largest unit of its kind in the world, allowing for fewer lines of equipment which reduces the amount of ancillary equipment. The HRC™3000 is the first full scale high-pressure grinding roll to incorporate revolutionary design features such as the flanged tire design and the patented Arch-frame. Metso’s solution has provided the Morenci mine with several benefits, including an estimated 13.5% increase in energy efficiency over traditional high-pressure grinding rolls based on pilot scale testing.
Metso is a world leading industrial company serving the mining, aggregates, recycling, oil, gas, pulp, paper and process industries. We help our customers improve their operational efficiency, reduce risks and increase profitability by using our unique knowledge, experienced people and innovative solutions to build new, sustainable ways of growing together.
