Gulf Construction Online - UAE quarry gears up for further expansion

Northern Emirates

Nordberg crushers in action in Fujairah.

UAE quarry gears up for further expansion

01 November 2003

Al Fahd crushers of Fujairah, UAE, is looking to double production in a bid to meet increased demand for its aggregates from neighbouring Gulf states.

The quarry produces high-quality aggregates for asphalt and concrete production from gabbro - considered to be the region's toughest rock.
Featuring a density of 2.93 cu m and an aggregate crushing value of 10, gabbro - found exclusively around Fujairah - is totally free of limestone, highly abrasive and with a 61 per cent silica (SiO2) content.

Established two and a half years ago, with a crushing operation equipped with machines from Metso Minerals, the quarry quickly reached its maximum capacity of up to 400 tonnes per hour (tph).
The quarry features a double line operation from a 400 tph primary crusher, a Nordberg C125B jaw crusher, accepting an 800 mm rock input and producing a 0 to 200 mm crushed output.

Prior to the C125B crusher, a Nordberg 'grizzly' BX13HLF retrieves up to 100 tph waste material for stockpiling and screening to provide natural 0 to 10 mm and 10 to 20 mm sand and gravel for domestic backfilling materials.

Waste material at 20 to 100 mm is fed through a 150 tph Nordberg impact crusher and screened to provide three sizes of Grade 2 material for domestic and export concrete aggregates; stockpiled at 0 to 5 mm; 5 to 10 mm and 10 to 20 mm.

'But it is the high-quality Grade 1 aggregate that Al Fahd has gained its reputation,' says a company spokesman.
Stockpiled following the primary operation, the 0 to 200 mm rock is fed into a Nordberg 1560SX Omni-crusher and split through twin lines. Comprising a Nordberg 120 tph NP1315SR impact crusher - the first in the UAE - and screen, each line produces four stockpiles of grade 1 aggregates at 0 to 5 mm, 5 to 10 mm, 10 to 20 mm and 20 to 32 mm.

In order to meet export demand for its products and local market consumption, Al Fahd must expand its quarry operation, says quarry manager Essam Abdul Salem.
The quarry has therefore ordered a second new 400 tph crushing line with Metso Minerals recently-appointed local distributor Dynatrade. It includes a Nordberg C140 primary jaw crusher, two Nordberg 1560SX secondary crushers, one VSI400 tertiary crusher and one HB300 cone.

'We have been very impressed with the performance of the Metso Minerals equipment and it seems an obvious choice to stay with the company and Dynatrade for a second line,' adds Salem.