Crushing and screen company Athos Crushing & Screening has launched a new range of Athos PowerTrack mobile jaw and cone crushers, and screens, which are electric and reduce operating expenses for fuel by 40% to 50%, says Athos sales and marketing director Francois Marais.

The electric range of mobile crushers and screens, built by China-based manufacturer SRH, comprises a mobile jaw crusher, a mobile cone crusher, a mobile triple-deck screen and a mobile scalping screen.

All three pieces of mobile equipment, namely the crushers and the screen, could be run together on a single generator set, or using grid power. They used diesel-powered engines only to power the tracks on which the machines ran and to power the hydraulics that extended the conveyor segments, he said at the launch on July 24.

“We believe the equipment has a lot of merit and a compelling argument can be made for the benefits of a full electric solution compared with a diesel-hydraulic system,” he said.

Many customers were unfamiliar with fully electric equipment – and customers were advised to have an electrician to deal with maintenance – but Athos viewed a fully electric solution as an efficient way to run a crushing and screening operation, he said.

Running crushing and screening equipment using grid electricity was a growing global trend, but the company had also seen that customers operating the machines saved about 40% to 50% on power costs compared with the fuel costs of diesel-hydraulic systems, he noted.

“This is a significant operational advantage, if users can tap into the grid. Maintenance is also simple and electricians will be familiar with the layout and components of the equipment.”

Athos was established some five years ago with the mandate to provide mobile and static crushing and screening solutions and has been testing the PowerTrack equipment locally since 2019.

It has found the solutions a good fit for use in high-volume, medium- to high-hardness applications, such as quarrying, and certain mining and contract work, particularly at sites where there is access to grid power or renewable energy sources.

The SRH equipment range was suited for aggregates, mining and recycling, said Marais.

SRH was well known in its local market of China, having established itself over the past 20 years, and was debuting the e-Power Powertrack range in Southern Africa, he added.

Specifically, the company introduced the Powertrack PT Pro J-11E jaw crusher, the Powertrack PT Pro C-20E cone crusher, the Powertrack PT Pro ST-08E mobile triple-deck screen and the Powertrack PT Pro SP-08E scalping screen to local customers.

The machines had the capacity to process between 150 t and 250 t an hour, and up to 500 t an hour for certain applications. They were appropriate for aggregates producers, junior miners, and low-cost operations, and addressed gap in the market, noted Marais.

Additionally, some customers had a preference for modular plants and mobile plants, with small miners and contractors showing a good appetite for these solutions, he said.

In terms of demand, Marais said that, of the three machines Athos had imported so far, two had been sold already.