One million tonnes with McCloskey

First published in the August 2021 issue of Quarry Management 

Fifteen McCloskey machines behind milestone achievement for Brookland Sand & Aggregates

Brookland Sand & Aggregates Ltd have, for the first time in their trading history, delivered more than one million tonnes of product in a 12-month period. Behind the milestone achievement are more than a dozen McCloskey machines, which are integral to the delivery of more than 40 separate products.

Operating out of Littlejohns pit, the largest china clay pit in the world, the St Austell-based company takes large quantities of granite and other rock and sand by-products, derived from the process of extracting kaolin, from the quarry’s operators. The material is highly abrasive and varies greatly in size, ranging from fine sands to 25-tonne boulders.

Processing this material are 15 McCloskey machines, including three jaw crushers, with a fourth joining the fleet imminently, a cone crusher and 10 screeners.

Brookland Sand & Aggregates’ primary crusher fleet currently consists of three McCloskey J50H jaw crushers. Featuring the widest jaw in its class, the J50 is said to provides class-leading throughput and capacity with the largest stockpile height, essential for Brookland’s operation. Once McCloskey Equipment have delivered a fourth J50H this summer, Brookland Sand and Aggregates will be able to increase their overall productivity by a further 50%, with a target of 1.5 million tonnes of product delivered per annum in 2021/2022.

However, throughput and capacity are only part of the story for Brookland Sand & Aggregates; the J50’s aggressive pre-screen also sets the machine apart from its rivals. By separating the huge amounts of sands and fines ahead of the jaw, the company can extract fines for processing with a single machine. This process also increases the longevity of the jaw by removing abrasives and producing a cleaner product from the main conveyor.

From here, material can be further processed by either a C2 cone crusher, which was one of the first of the new-generation McCloskey cone crushers to be delivered in the UK by McCloskey Equipment, or into one of 10 screeners on site, depending on the final product(s) required.

Two R155 high-energy screeners, which are among the most versatile in the McCloskey R-Series range, are used to produce clean gabion stone or to feed into the C2 cone crusher to produce 803 or similar, single-size aggregate.

Brookland’s two S190s screeners work daily to deliver coarse concrete sands – one of the company’s biggest selling products. The S190 has proven to be one of Brookland Sand & Aggregates’ best performing machines; until recently, the company was still using one of its original S190s which had provided 11 years of service and processed more than 2 million tonnes of sand and gravel.

The main ‘classifier’ on site is a McCloskey S250, one of the world’s largest tracked mobile screeners. The large screening area is essential to Brookland Sand & Aggregates’ throughput, with the high-energy screening action delivering clean 10mm and 20mm aggregate products.

Completing the fleet are five McCloskey S130 screeners, each with an individual role in the operation. Two machines support the S190s in the production of concrete sand, whilst the other three machines are used to create single-size aggregate, add lime to product or reclaim stone from scalping operations.

Marshall Cleave, director of Brookland Sand & Aggregates, commented: ‘To reach one million tonnes of product in 12 months is an achievement, but to do it during a pandemic is incredible. At the heart of it are our McCloskey machines; they have consistently out-performed rivals producing clean, ready-to-use end products.

‘We have worked with McCloskey Equipment since 2010 and they have always been a fantastic partner for us; from the provision of new machines to providing technical support and supplying service and wear parts, they have always delivered.

‘Being down in Cornwall, we are a long way from anybody, but whenever we’ve needed something, they have been there. Put simply, without these McCloskey machines and the support of McCloskey Equipment, we wouldn’t have been able to deliver this amount of quality product or grow as we have.’

Tim Watson, marketing manager for McCloskey Equipment, added: ‘We are delighted to hear of Brookland Sand & Aggregates’ milestone achievement and proud to have been an integral part of their success.

‘When we delivered the first McCloskey machine in 2010, an S190, the business was operating at 250,000 tonnes per annum. That S190 was still in service until recently, supporting Brooklands Sand & Aggregates’ growth for more than a decade.

‘With their new J50 jaw crusher, they can continue this trend, turning what would otherwise be waste material into consistent, clean, shaped, saleable product that meets every standard and is utilized across the UK.’

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