Innovative Design Boosting Mining Productivity

[Original article published in the Engineering & Mining Journal, December 2019 edition]

For the last 40 years,  CR (formerly CQMS Razer) has earned a reputation for delivering innovative engineering design and proven productivity results for mining operations across Australia, North and South America.

CR is strategically placed with dual headquarters in the USA and Australia, with a market presence across 15 countries.

CR products and technicians can be found across a variety of commodities, including iron ore, copper, gold, diamonds, lithium, coal, and oil sands mining operations. CR is committed to supply chain excellence and timely delivery of products, with reliable, state-of-the-art foundry and manufacturing facilities ensuring customers have their products digging in the field sooner.

The long-term partnerships established with mining suppliers and owners across the globe reflect CR’s reputation for trusted, high-quality products and a common goal to deliver safe and innovative mining productivity solutions.

US acquisitions

In September 2019, CR announced a new agreement with Californian-based Berkeley Forge & Tool (BFT) acquiring their mining products and associated IP, including patents and new product development pipeline. The acquisition was a strategic move by CR to continue expansion of their global market presence and complemented their existing cast lip and GET product range.

The combined business enhances CR’s capabilities to effectively supply and support the global mining sector especially in the North and South American markets where BFT has provided the industry with innovative products for more than 50 years.

CR Mining product range

The CR mining product range includes hydraulic excavator cast lip systems, load haul optimization software systems, dragline buckets, GET, dragline rigging, conveyor systems, and fixed plant wear products.

CR cast lips including rope shovel dipper lips offer superior production hours and performance outcomes having built a reputation as the lightest and strongest available in the market.

In 2019 CR expanded its cast lip solutions with the addition of the new RazerEdge™ RE1522 cast lip for 100t plus class machines, the smallest cast lip ever designed by CR and already a popular choice with early deliveries to Australian and Canadian mine sites.

Shaping digital mining

CR is also looking beyond traditional applications and works with some of the world’s largest mining operations to collect and translate real-time field data to enable real-time, ground-up decision making.

In March 2019, CR reached more than one billion tonnes of resources mined by their clients using their CR Digital flagship Titan 3330™ technology. The Titan 3330 Load Haul Optimization System accurately calculates and displays real-time bucket payload data to the machine operator and to site supervisors and maintenance crews, dramatically improving loading accuracy and efficiency. Titan 3330™ is proven to help increase average payloads, improve productivity, and reduce safety risk overloads across load haul fleets.

2020 and beyond

In 2020 CR will continue the expansion of offices, staff, and service technicians across the United States, Canada, Colombia, China, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Mexico, and Australia, a direct response to growing product demand from new clients, improved supply chain capacity and repeat orders from a long-term client base.

CR will also be announcing several new products and major collaborations, all leading up to an exciting suite of activities, displays, and major announcements at MINExpo 2020, the world’s largest mining tradeshow.