QMS install 250 tonnes/h aggregate plant in Ghana
UK manufacturer to provide aftermarket support for bespoke hard rock plant near Accra
QUARRY Manufacturing & Supplies (QMS) have installed a bespoke 250 tonnes/h hard rock aggregate plant in Ghana. Located just outside the capital city Accra, the equipment for the granite quarry has been designed and installed by QMS experts to produce a variety of material sizes for use on infrastructure projects throughout the country.
Located in the heart of England, QMS have since their formation in the 1980s grown to be one of the UK’s leading manufacturers, suppliers, and providers of aftermarket support of crushing, screening and stockpiling equipment. The company was tasked with designing, installing and supporting the new plant, which is the latest QMS installation in Africa.
‘The plant for the Ghanaian granite quarry has been designed and built to produce a variety of aggregate sizes at a production rate of 250 tonnes/h. Our equipment has to not only be able to meet the quarry owner’s production targets, but also consistently produce the sizes required to make the quarry a profitable ongoing concern,’ explained QMS managing director Jonathan Beck. ‘Moreover, although we will be supporting the quarry throughout its operational lifetime, the plant has to be hard wearing and easily maintained by quarry staff.’
The plant has been designed and installed to produce six product sizes: 0–5mm, 6–8mm, 9–12mm, 13–16mm, 17–22mm and 23–28mm from an initial feed size of 650mm. The feed material initially goes to the primary jaw crusher station which consists of a QMS 1,200mm x 750mm JB-1275 jaw crusher with hydraulic clamping and adjustment, a GF 1043 grizzly feeder, a feed hopper, and support structure. A primary surge tunnel with vibrating feeder feeds the material to the secondary crushing station which consists of a B3-XC secondary cone crusher with corresponding support structure, including walkways.
Following secondary crushing, the material is fed to the first screening station where an SVI-C02M 1.83m x 6m double-deck inclined screen produces the first three products. Any oversize is fed to the tertiary feed hopper, which features a vibratory feeder, before being fed to the tertiary crushing stage, which is undertaken by a QMS B4 cone crusher.
As perhaps the most crucial part of the process, the choice of cone crusher was vital. The rugged yet precise and productive QMS B-Series cone crushers feature a unique hydraulic system which provides automatic overload protection by allowing the head assembly to drop, permitting the passage of tramp iron and other non-crushable material. The system then automatically returns the head assembly to its original position. According to QMS, the unique design of the hydraulic system means the crusher operates at a definite setting with less setting drift and greater stability throughout the circuit. The crusher setting is instantaneously maintained even after passing a piece of uncrushable material.
‘A blend of high motor power, large eccentric throw, and increased speed give the B-Series greater capacity than other crushers of comparable size, whilst the truly modern design creates excellent product shape and can be configured to maximize production of premium single-sized aggregates,’ explained Mr Beck.
Following the tertiary crushing stage, the material is fed along the QMS supplied and installed conveyors to the second screening stage which consists of an SVI-C03M 1.83m x 6m triple-deck screen to produce the final material sizes. As well as providing all support structure, including walkways, QMS designed and installed all the conveyors and provided an electrical package which includes all electrical panels, cabling, container, as well as QMS’s own in-house full plant automation and sequencing system.
Given the importance of the granite quarry in the supply material for Ghana’s urgently needed infrastructure developments, equipment choice was essential. Explaining why the Ghanaian’s chose QMS, Mr Beck said: ‘We believe we offer a range of crushers and screens that are the match of anyone else in the market with regards to the cost-to-performance ratio. As we are able to support our equipment with our own engineers in Africa and have the industry knowledge to adapt any plant to suit the quarry, mine, or aggregate plant’s unique requirements, we believe that our products and service provide the ideal solution whatever the size of operation.’
With the Ghanaian quarry now approaching full operational efficiency, and the country in need of the aggregates that the QMS equipment will help produce, the installation is only the first of many such plants QMS are set to deliver in Ghana and Africa.
‘QMS have a reputation for equipment and plant design excellence. Our crushers, screens, feeders, conveyors, process control systems and other associated equipment are now used throughout the world in some of the most demanding of applications,’ explained Mr Beck.
He added that the installation of a quarry plant is just a first step, as QMS pride themselves on supporting their equipment wherever it is found in the world. ‘We don’t just make and install the equipment; we also support and upgrade all our plants, as well as provide aftermarket care on equipment made by other manufacturers,’ he said.
‘It’s our belief that when a QMS plant becomes operational that is only the start of the story. We provide the expertise, know-how and drive to keep customers’ operations working at full efficiency as well as carrying a full parts inventory for maximized uptime, even in countries many miles from the UK, such as Ghana.
‘All at QMS take pride in making sure that our customers are able to be as efficient and productive as possible for as long as there is a requirement to do so.’
