Get real pricing for a mobile crushing and screening plant. Learn what affects the cost—feed material, output, configuration—and how to request an accurate
A reliable price for a mobile crushing and screening plant cannot be stated as a single figure because the total cost depends on your material, required output tonnage, and the specific equipment configuration. The price of a track-mounted jaw crusher, for instance, until the manufacturer matches the unit to your feed conditions and capacity target. You have three practical options: request a formal quotation with your site data, lease equipment to convert capital expenditure into operating costs, or buy a pre-owned plant with an inspection report. Each path presents different price limits and risk profiles for a quarry owner.
The market for mobile crushing and screening equipment is project-driven, not catalogue-driven. A price is always quoted relative to a work scope. The same crusher model will differ in its final invoice depending on the wear liners selected for your rock type, the options for magnetic separation, the desired closed-circuit screening arrangement, and the logistics for delivery to your site. In addition, local conditions such as customs duties, inland transport distances, and the need for cold-weather packages can shift the final sum from the manufacturer’s list price.
For a quarry owner, the more useful number to request is the cost per tonne of produced aggregate, because it includes the capital recovery, fuel, wear parts, and maintenance. The machine price becomes secondary to your site’s productivity. However, a site-specific figure requires your input.
To receive a valid number, you must supply the following data (these are editorial data gaps, not facts I can invent):
Because the direct price is not yet determined, the table below is a decision checklist rather than a specification comparison. Each line corresponds to a cost driver that must be confirmed with an equipment supplier to create a final quotation. Use this table to align your internal stakeholders before you contact a manufacturer.
| Cost component | What must be confirmed | Why it changes the price |
|---|---|---|
| Crusher type and size | Track-mounted jaw, cone, or impactor model and its inlet dimensions | Inlet size matches your feed; capacity limits the plant’s maximum throughput |
| Screening configuration | Is screening needed on the main unit or as a separate tracked screen? | A two-deck or three-deck screen adds capital cost but reduces the need for auxiliary equipment |
| Electric or diesel-hydraulic drive | Diesel-hydraulic for remote sites; electric for fixed pits with grid power | Electric drive cuts fuel costs but demands three-phase power access |
| Mobility requirement | How frequently the plant will relocate between faces or projects | A tracked unit costs more than a semi-mobile skid but reduces reinstallation labour |
| Wear package specification | Liners for abrasive rock versus recycled concrete | Abrasive material requires high-chrome or manganese wear parts and increases operating cost |
| Climate adaptation | Cold-start package for sub-zero regions, winter-grade hydraulics, or dust suppression | Without the package, productivity falls in winter |
| Spare parts availability | Supplier’s stock location and delivery lead times in your region | A delay in a wear part may halt production longer than expected downtime |
| Residual value | Expected resale or trade-in term after several years | Mobile plants hold value only with documented service history; the resale assumption affects net cost |
The total cost of ownership is not only the invoice. Because the real value depends on the engine load factor, altitude, and blended operating modes. Budgeting only the purchase price without computing fuel and wear can mislead you in the payback period calculation.
When reading any proposal, separate measured facts from engineering estimates.
A proposal will present its capacity as a calculated estimate. The estimates assume a specific closed-side setting, a bulk density of approximately 1.6 tonnes per cubic meter, and a continuous feed without blockages. If your material is harder, wetter, or contains more fines, the real production rate will be lower than the estimate.
Before comparing offers, ask the manufacturer to state their assumed feed gradation and moisture content. Without that, you are comparing estimates on different bases. No web-based calculation can replace a test crushing session with your sample, so plan for a practical demonstration whenever the supplier offers one.
A mobile tracked crusher is a strong choice if you have multiple extraction faces or temporary projects with short relocation cycles. It also works well when you need to become operational quickly and cannot erect civil foundations. However, the recommendation does not apply in three common cases:
The price question also depends on how you plan to pay for the equipment. Quarry owners typically choose among three financial models:
The final selection requires a commitment from the buyer: provide a representative feed sample for test crushing, nominate the target production rate in tonnes per hour, and state whether you will operate one shift or multiple shifts per day. Then the manufacturer can provide a valid commercial proposal.
What should I prepare before asking for a price on a mobile crusher?
Prepare your material specifications: maximum feed size, rock hardness (from core samples or compressive strength tests), moisture content, and impurity level. State the required output in tonnes per hour and the desired final aggregate sizes. A less obvious item is the permitted load from the road or the quarry site floor; if the machine is too heavy for the existing terrain, the quote will include additional groundwork for stabilization. Without these inputs, the price you receive may be corrected afterward and lose its usefulness for comparison.
Is it better to buy a jaw crusher or an impact crusher for my rock type?
The correct choice depends on your material and final product shape. Jaw crushers are designed for primary reduction of hard and abrasive rock, and they tolerate large feed sizes; their product is usually further processed by a cone or an impact crusher to reach the final cubic shape. Impact crushers are better suited to softer stone and recycled concrete, where you want a higher reduction ratio and a more cubic end shape in one step. The price of the two technologies is not comparable by the machine price alone, because the operating costs, particularly wear part consumption, change in opposite directions depending on rock abrasiveness.
What operating costs should I count besides the equipment price?
Count fuel, wear liners, maintenance labour, screen media replacements, and transport between sites. Wear costs vary directly with the silica content and abrasiveness of your feed, so an affordable machine that is mismatched to hard rock can generate high maintenance bills. To estimate the cost per tonne, ask the supplier for the recommended wear part service life under conditions similar to yours and then check that life against the actual test crushing results.
Do mobile units operate effectively during sub-zero winter conditions?
Cold-weather operation is possible only where the machine is equipped with a cold-start package and low-temperature hydraulic oils. Battery capacity and engine block heating affect your first start of the morning, and the discharge conveyors may require upgrades to handle frozen aggregates. The practical impact on price is the additional specification, not a change to the base machine. If your site is in an area with sustained frost for several months, ask the supplier for their standard recommendation for winter modifications.
Can I expect the quoted production capacity to match the real output immediately?
No. The capacity is generally quoted at the machine’s optimal closed-side setting, with a continuous and correctly sized feed and with regular maintenance. Your actual production rate will be lower until you adjust jaw settings and screen media to suit the real material. Run a commissioning period at least a few weeks in length and log the hourly throughput daily. Only after this trial should you make a final decision on purchasing a second unit or moving the plant to another site.
The missing inputs for a definitive proposal are not commercial secrets; they are engineering and site data. Provide the following to the equipment supplier or to the SUHMAN technical editor before any final selection is made:
This guidance applies only to the evaluation of a mobile crushing and screening plant as a primary, secondary, or independent unit for an owner-operator quarry. It is not applicable to contractors who need a rental machine for a single municipal project and prefer to buy a turnkey hourly rate without capital ownership. Nor does it apply to underground mining operations where machine width, and not price, is the deciding factor. In those situations, change the decision logic first, and the price question will naturally move to the background.
For a structured price discussion with the manufacturer’s specialists, see the SUHMAN contact page to submit your equipment and site data for a formal calculation: https://www.suhmanme.com/contact. The product catalogue and technical descriptions for tracked crushing and screening units are available here: https://www.suhmanme.com/product. Company and operational background details are available at https://www.suhmanme.com/about, while general technical articles for quarries are published at https://www.suhmanme.com/blog.
