Weir Extends Mine Equipment Life in Africa
Weir is supplying ESCO crusher liners and ENDURON screen panels to African mines to improve plant availability and control operating costs.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Africa
Weir applies premium ESCO crusher liners and ENDURON screen panels for African mining operations. The company is also expanding its South African ENDURON screen media plant from 150 m² to 3,500 m².
Why it matters
African mines are focusing on improving plant availability while controlling operating costs, and longer-lasting wear components reduce how often equipment must be replaced. The expanded South African plant is set to double production capacity and reduce lead times across the continent.
A 25% manganese ESCO liner at Thabazimbi doubled wear life from two to four weeks, while ENDURON Elite screens generate up to 1.28 mega-newtons of exciter force and cut maintenance requirements by approximately 30%.
The players
Weir Group
Weir Group is a British engineering company that supplies equipment and wear components to the mining and minerals processing industries worldwide.
ESCO
ESCO is an American manufacturer of wear parts for mining and construction, and its engineering teams collaborated on the Thabazimbi liner design.
The details
Weir works with each operation to understand its ore characteristics and wear patterns before supplying components. At a Thabazimbi iron ore reprocessing site, the company spent six months with customer and ESCO engineering teams in the United States analysing wear patterns and optimising liner design.
Timeline
Over a six-month period, Weir analysed wear patterns and optimised the Thabazimbi liner design.
Market Landscape
African mines are prioritising plant availability and cost control, a pressure that drives demand for longer-lasting wear parts. Weir's South African screen media expansion aims to meet that demand by doubling regional production capacity.
Mine operators planning maintenance schedules can expect crusher liner changeouts every four to six weeks in abrasive applications and every four to six months in gentler ones. Longer screen life means fewer unplanned stoppages when site logistics are involved.
The takeaway
Matching wear-component design to a specific ore body can double component life, as the Thabazimbi project showed. Operators facing similar abrasion problems should share wear data with suppliers early in the process.
Further reading
Explore more mining and industrial equipment coverage in our Africa section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Botswana Mining Review.
