First Sandvik QE440 screen in North America
High up in the Smoky Mountains, in Topton, North Carolina, set in a scenic location, lies the Nantahala talc and limestone quarry, the home of the first Sandvik QE440 scalping screen in North America.
The word ‘Nantahala’ comes from the Cherokee language meaning ‘land of the noon-day sun’; which describes the remoteness of the location of the steep river gorge where the quarry is located. Bill McNeely has owned the site since 2006, continuing with operations which date back well before the Civil War.
Mr McNeely was in need of a heavy-duty scalper that could initially screen the heavy volume of material blasted off the face of the quarry every two weeks. After having extensively researched the market he chose the Sandvik QE440.
Despite the Sandvik QE440’s sturdy weight and length, the scalper was easily transported the 3,000ft up the side of the mountains into the quarry. The hydraulic folding tail and side conveyors and the fully tracked chassis facilitated a quick and easy set up. The screen was set to work and fed 0/600mm of blasted limestone by a 330 Hitachi excavator, with a 980 Cat wheel loader occasionally moving the piles. By the end of two hours, both the excavator and wheel loader were working full time feeding the scalper, which was running empty on every load. Even at 410 tonnes/h the QE440 was still not working at its full capacity of up to 900 tonnes/h.
Bill McNeely commented: ‘The QE440 is a magnificent machine, well designed and will become a market leader in the North American market. This machine lives up to everything we have asked for and have long anticipated what it would be. It has all features that will make the Sandvik QE440 stand out and will position it as a leader, not only in North America, but in the world.’
