Smaller independent quarries and concrete recycling operations in Africa and the Middle East are quickly responding to an insatiable need for construction materials by using Trio® crushing and screening equipment.

JD Singleton, general manager responsible for Trio® products at Weir Minerals Africa, says these markets need equipment that can be deployed rapidly to take full advantage of infrastructure and private property developments underway in their immediate surroundings.

“All the crushers and screens in the Trio® range can be mounted on skids doing away with the need for large civil related infrastructure to support these plants,” Singleton says.  Furthermore, all the common models of jaw crushers, cone crushers, grizzly and belt feeders, vertical shaft impact
crushers, horizontal shaft impact crushers, conveyor sections and hoppers are kept in stock in
Johannesburg. This allows us to service the market with very short lead times, if not same day
delivery.

The company’s products are also cost competitive and easy to maintain on site, two more traits that are driving an increasing installed base of Trio® crushers and screens operating throughout Africa and the Middle East. All the products are serviced by a specialist roaming product support team with extensive experience in the crushing and screening field. 

However, it is also Weir Minerals Africa’s strong presence in the mining regions on the continent and the Middle East that is driving the growth of these solutions. Singleton says the company is investing significantly into augmenting technical after-sales support and infrastructure in these growth areas.

“These operations are very aware of the prominent role that we have played in the formal mining industry for many years, and understand the value we are able to bring to their operations,” he says.

Weir Minerals Africa is currently commissioning a 300 tph sand and aggregate production plant in Zambia. The project was undertaken from Weir Minerals Africa’s branch in Kitwe which supports the many mines operating in the country’s Copperbelt. Specialist product support staff for Trio®
machines are strategically based at the company's Akitas branch to service the area. Increased
demand for cobalt is further driving growth opportunities.

While the demand for aggregate and sand production continues to grow, Rasheel Sukdhoe, product manager for Trio® crushers at Weir Minerals Africa, says Trio® solutions are also being used in
concrete recycling and slag processing operations.

Trio® products can easily be commissioned on building and landfill sites, as well as on mine waste rock dumps where their robust designs are leveraged to produce quality building material in these notoriously arduous applications.

Sukdhoe says that since acquiring the Trio® group of companies in 2014, Weir Minerals has been investing significantly into enhancing the offering.

This is reflected by the launch of the Trio® TP range of cone crushers which incorporates a higher pivot point thus providing more crushing action and increasing the percentage product passing the closed side setting (CSS). “The design features a steep crushing chamber angle, a large crushing stroke and optimum speed to deliver a finer product through increased inter-particle comminution,” Sukdhoe says.

This is complemented by conveyor belts that offer increased flexibility and are quicker to assemble, as well as air classifiers that are being used in operations in Middle East countries to clean sand without water.

The rapid rate of urbanisation places new demands on large listed building materials producers and their smaller counterparts alike. Weir Minerals Africa has a proven solution for the unique operating environments in Africa and further afield in the Middle East.