Shields knew the cone crusher well,
welcomed its reliability and serviceability, and knew the plant didn’t have time
to start over with another machine.
Ames worked with Compass Equipment on trading the old HP400 for a
new one. (The original HP400 was repaired, returned to its original factory
specifications and resold.)
“You can call anybody at Compass
and they will bust their back. They’ve
even driven parts to me in the middle of
the night,” Shields said. “That’s one of
the contributing factors in buying the
cone. Where we are, we’re a day away
from anybody. You have to get relationships with people and make it work.”
Take note
Ames Construction’s first HP400
cone crusher produced about 25
million tons of material from 1996-
2007 with little non-scheduled
maintenance and few breakdowns.
Making strides
A lifelong heavy equipment and automotive mechanic, Shields has spent
seven years as Ames’ crushing supervisor. He got his start with the company
as a mechanic before working his way
up. He credits Scott Nelson, Ames’ production manager, for giving him the
flexibility to make changes at the plant
focused on improving production and
safety.
“We’ve built some of our own conveyors, and we’ve made changes with
equipment – trying new things, different belts, belt drives,” said Shields,
whose daughter drives a truck for Ames.
“My guys who work for me, without
them it wouldn’t happen.
“In the seven years I’ve been with
Ames, we’ve never let [Barrick] run out
of rock – not one time,” Shields added.
“We go above and beyond the call of
duty.”
In addition to crushing rock for
backfill, Ames will crush ore when
Barrick’s processing plant is shut down
for scheduled maintenance. Shields
said the company aims for versatility
by also handling special projects at the
gold mine.
Ames’ operation at Barrick Goldstrike hasn’t been slowed by the down
economy. In fact, economic struggles
often lead to higher gold prices – they
were around $1,000 an ounce in mid-October – and steady work for everyone
involved, Shields said.
Complementing the HP400 cone
crusher, the Ames plant consists of a 60
ft. x 30 ft. vibrating grizzly feeder, 42 x
48 jaw crusher, 7 x 20 triple-deck screen
and a series of conveyors. ;
