Metso is delivering three Lokotrack crushing and screening plants retrofitted for extreme cold for the reconstruction of the U.S. National Science Foundation’s (NSF) McMurdo research station in Antarctica. The equipment enables crushing in temperatures as low as -40 °C.
McMurdo Station, located on an island in the Ross Sea, is the U.S. Antarctic program’s logistics hub and the largest of the three stations that the U.S. operates in Antarctica. McMurdo is being rebuilt under the Antarctic Infrastructure and Modernization for Science (AIMS) project, a long-range initiative to upgrade the station to make it logistically and energy efficient.
Metso’ equipment will be used for three years in crushing the ground materials for the new buildings. All in all, this will amount to more than 126 000 cubic metres of aggregates.
In the extreme conditions of Antarctica, the equipment can only be used during the Southern Hemisphere summer, which lasts from October to April. The hard basalt to be crushed will come from an area near the station.
The equipment to be delivered to Antarctica, the Lokotrack LT106 jaw crusher plant, the LT200HP cone crusher and the ST3.8 mobile screen are all retrofitted for extreme cold. “Every part sensitive to cold has been fitted with immersion heaters and extra insulation. The selected oils and other fluids are suitable for the Antarctic climate and the specially manufactured conveyor belts run even in extremely cold weather,” says Marko Salonen, Project Manager at Metso’s aggregates equipment business area.
Metso
Marko Salonen
Tel. +358 40-515-9853
Email: marko.salonen@metso.com
www.metso.com
