Hamilton Aggregates Bonds quarry is equipped with Sandvik equipment
Established by former quarry planner Edward Hamilton and his wife, Genia, Hamilton Aggregates in the US state of Arkansas has grown from a single 0.202 hectare quarry to a three quarry operation in just seven years.
The firm’s Bonds quarry in Clinton had an initial plant consisting of an Extec (nowShowing sound business sense, Edward developed a 20-year plan from the very outset, which included the acquisition of more equipment to meet varying and growing demand. As mobile units can be moved to the source of material, and be quickly set up to process it on site, Edward chose to utilise their capabilities in order to make his operation more productive. The advantage of plant mobility alone would allow the quarry operation to save the time and money of having an operator transport the blasted material to a stationary crusher. Furthermore, the different models in the mobile range could be put to work in different combinations in order to suit differing customers’ material requirements. This mobility and flexibility suited Edward’s lean processing approach and with the guidance of Brian Costello, Edward decided to purchase his first complete set of mobiles.
The full initial set up, consisting of an Extec (now Sandvik) C12+ jaw crusher, an E7 scalper, an S5 doublescreen and an X44 cone crusher, allowed the site to produce 326,586tonnes in 2007. During 2008 an extra jaw and scalper were added to the operation, which expanded an extra 2.02 hectares, and produced 362,873tonnes. In 2009, a challenging one for aggregates producers throughout America, saw the production decline to 272,155tonnes. However, Edward and Genia’s focus on efficient production processes resulted in commercial prospects positive enough to open up an extra 4.04 hectares in the quarry. Nowadays, its set-up consists of a Sandvik mobile QJ341 jaw crusher, a QE440 scalper, a QA450 triple deck screener and an Extec X44 cone crusher.
“These mobiles are quality machines. They provide us with lower operating costs and high production for their size,” said Edward, who, like other quarry bosses, is said to have benefited from the variety of final material sizes produced at Bonds. These include 2.54cm (concrete rock), 1.27cm (asphalt chip), 3.81cm (road base), and 10.16cm-30.48cm (erosion control).
