TiC-Reinforced Jaw Liners Deliver 100% Increase in Wear Life at Underground Gold Mine
Case Summary
| Location | Underground gold mine |
| Ore Type | Gold ore |
| Equipment Models | Sandvik primary jaw crusher |
| Part Supplied | Jaw liners |
| Material | Mn18Cr2 austenitic manganese steel (Grade D) with TiC reinforcement |
| Wear Mechanism | High-stress abrasive and impact wear (primary crushing) |
| OEM Baseline | 15 days |
| Wear Life Achieved | 30 days (+100% increase) |
Challenge.
An underground gold mining operation was running a primary Sandvik jaw crusher as part of its primary crushing circuit, replacing its OEM jaw liners every 15 days. The customer approached Element to address the frequent linter replacement, high maintenance downtime, and operational inefficiencies associated with them.
Our solution.
Element supplied jaw liners manufactured from Mn18Cr2 austenitic manganese steel (Grade D), reinforced with Element TiC – our special titanium carbide-reinforced crusher liner material. The manganese steel base work-hardens under the repeated impact of primary crushing, while the TiC reinforcement provides exceptional hardness in the areas exposed to the highest abrasion.
Results
- Achieved 30 days of wear life, doubling the previous 15-day OEM baseline.
- Reduced changeouts and maintenance frequency
- Minimized downtime in an underground application where every maintenance event is both difficult and costly.
Despite the advanced TiC technology, the solution remained highly cost-competitive with the OEM alternative while delivering clearly superior field performance. Based on these results, the customer approved Element as the supplier under a one-year contract.
What It Means for Our Customers
Element delivered a wear solution that directly addressed the customer’s core operational challenges: frequent replacements, unnecessary downtime, and maintenance constraints of an underground operation. By doubling wear life without sacrificing cost competitiveness, Element helped the customer reduce the total cost of ownership and improve production stability, reinforcing Element’s position as a long-term technical partner, not just a parts supplier.