The cost of crushing one tonne of raw material in the mining industry depends on the equipment, the raw material and the operating conditions; it includes energy costs, depreciation and wages, and can be optimised through appropriate operating procedures, maintenance and modernisation of the equipment.
The cost of crushing one tonne of raw material is a composite indicator comprising operating, labour and material costs at the crushing stage; its value directly determines the profitability of the entire production cycle in the mining or processing sector, and depends on the type of equipment, the characteristics of the raw material and the plant’s operating regime.
The largest share of production costs is accounted for by the cost of electricity consumed by the drives for crushers, feeders and conveyor lines; in second place are depreciation charges for the wear and tear of working parts — jaws, cones and hammers, which wear down significantly on contact with hard raw materials; costs for lubricants and consumable parts are also included.
The strength, abrasiveness and size of the raw material feed are key factors that affect production costs: hard rock requires more energy to crush, accelerates wear on the equipment’s working parts, and excessively large pieces increase the duration of the crushing cycle, leading to higher processing costs per tonne of finished product.
Continuous operation with an optimal feed rate for crushers helps to reduce unit costs through the even consumption of resources and the elimination of downtime, whilst modernising equipment by replacing it with energy-efficient models reduces electricity costs by 15–25%, depending on the crusher class, which has a direct impact on the final production cost per tonne of crushed product.
The cost price also includes the wages of crushing plant operators and maintenance staff, costs for routine and scheduled maintenance of equipment, as well as a share of the company’s general production costs; where production lines are automated, labour costs are reduced, which further lowers the total cost of processing each tonne of raw material.
A reduction in unit costs is achieved by selecting the optimum crushing regime for a specific type of raw material, the timely replacement of worn working parts, regular maintenance of the equipment and the elimination of production line downtime, which makes it possible to consistently keep production costs at a minimum without compromising the quality of the finished product.
