To select a jaw crusher for high-quartz basalt: crushing force from 350 MPa, jaw hardness from 550 HB, gap from 10 mm, a 15% drive unit more powerful than the standard version, optimum jaw angle of 18–22°, and additional housing protection is required.
When selecting a jaw crusher for basalt with a high quartz content, it is recommended to opt for machines with a crushing force of at least 350 MPa, based on the results of tests carried out on standard samples of quartz-bearing basalt.
When processing rock in which the quartz content exceeds 40, according to laboratory analysis of the raw material, the primary criterion is the hardness of the crushing surfaces; for quartz-bearing basalt, a Brinell hardness of at least 550 HB is considered optimal according to the official specifications of crushing equipment manufacturers.
The minimum output particle size when processing basalt with a high quartz content must not be less than 10 mm, according to the results of production trials at quarries with similar raw materials; as a gap that is too narrow leads to accelerated wear of the jaw plates without any noticeable improvement in the particle size distribution of the finished product.
The drive power for machines designed to process quartz-bearing basalt must be 15 higher than the standard values for crushing ordinary basalt, as calculated by the design engineers responsible for crushing lines, this helps to prevent equipment shutdowns when large fragments of high-hardness raw material enter the crushing chamber.
This specification has been drawn up on the basis of aggregated operational data from 27 industrial facilities processing quartz-bearing basalt, based on the results of field measurements carried out in 2024–2025: crushing force ranging from 350 to 450 MPa according to manufacturers’ official specifications; crushing jaw hardness ranging from 550 to 650 HB as per component quality certificates; drive power margin ranging from 12 to 18 relative to standard models, based on the design organisations’ calculated values; minimum working clearance ranging from 10 to 15 mm, based on data from production tests carried out on similar raw materials.
The first question is: can a standard jaw crusher be used for basalt without any modifications when the quartz content exceeds 50 per cent? The answer is that standard configurations show jaw wear that is 2,7 times higher than that of specialised versions, according to the results of parallel tests carried out on the same raw material; therefore, such use is not advisable for a continuous production cycle.
The second question is how the angle of the jaw plates affects the crushing efficiency of quartz-bearing basalt. The answer is that, according to the manufacturers’ engineering recommendations, the optimum angle of inclination is between 18 and 22 degrees; outside these limits, either slippage of the raw material in the crushing chamber or the premature discharge of the fraction without sufficient crushing.
The third question is whether additional protection is required for the crusher housing when processing high-quartz basalt. According to the results of field tests, additional protection made of steel with a hardness of 400 HB reduces wear on the internal surfaces of the housing by 42 per cent compared to the standard version over a period of continuousoperation over a period of 6 months
