NMS Supports First-Time Successful Commissioning of Hubei Pumped-Storage Aggregate Plant

A major milestone has been achieved at a pumped-storage hydropower project in Hubei Province, where the entire aggregate processing system supplied by Nanchang Mineral Systems Co., Ltd. (NMS) and implemented by its subsidiary, NMS Engineering Co., Ltd., has successfully completed its initial commissioning in a single attempt. During the trial run, the system operated smoothly, and all finished aggregate products met the required specifications. The project has now entered the preparation stage for production, ensuring a stable supply of aggregates for the subsequent construction of the power station’s main works.

The project uses granite as its raw material, with a designed processing capacity of 250 t/h. The system is equipped with jaw crushers, cone crushers, double-roll sand-making machines, vertical shaft impact crushers, vibrating screens, feeders, fine sand recovery systems, filter presses, and a complete wastewater treatment system. Together, these facilities enable continuous operations covering crushing, screening, sand making, and environmental treatment. The finished products include medium-sized aggregates (20–40 mm), small aggregates (5–20 mm), pea gravel (5–15 mm), and manufactured sand (0–5 mm) with a fineness modulus of 2.4–2.8. The project is designed to produce a total of 758,000 tonnes of aggregates to meet the concrete aggregate requirements of the hydropower station’s construction.

To address the characteristics of the granite feed material and the required finished aggregate specifications, the project team evaluated several process options before selecting a multi-stage crushing and shaping process: jaw crushers for primary crushing, cone crushers for secondary and tertiary crushing, double roll crushers for sand production, and vertical shaft impactors (VSI) for final shaping. This process ensures sufficient capacity in the primary crushing stage while using multi-stage crushing and shaping to control particle shape, gradation, and stone powder content. As a result, the finished aggregates meet the stringent quality requirements for concrete used in pumped-storage hydropower projects. The system is also equipped with filter presses and wastewater treatment facilities for process water treatment and sludge dewatering.

The electrical control equipment was supplied by NMS Automation Technology Co., Ltd., another subsidiary of NMS.

NMS Engineering Co., Ltd. was responsible for the project’s overall implementation, covering design, procurement, installation, and commissioning, as well as the supply and construction of primary and auxiliary equipment and steel structures. After mobilization, the project team faced several challenges, including a tight schedule, high temperatures, overlapping civil construction and equipment installation activities, limited site space, and difficult road transportation. To keep the project on track, the team coordinated equipment installation with the progress of civil works and ensured close coordination between each stage. Within a relatively short period, the team completed the entire process, from equipment installation and individual machine commissioning to integrated system commissioning and operation with material feed. The successful first-time commissioning of the entire system demonstrates the team’s capabilities in project coordination and engineering execution under demanding schedule constraints.

NMS has accumulated extensive project experience in the pumped-storage hydropower sector. Its equipment and services have been applied in the construction of pumped-storage power stations across Hebei, Qinghai, Zhejiang, Shandong, Anhui, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Xinjiang, and Xizang. The complete aggregate processing system and end-to-end project services supplied for this Hubei project provide essential equipment and process support for a stable aggregate supply. The project further demonstrates NMS’s capabilities in the integrated supply of equipment and engineering implementation for aggregate processing systems serving pumped-storage hydropower stations. Building on its experience across multiple pumped-storage projects, NMS will continue to provide complete equipment solutions and engineering services to support the high-quality development of China’s pumped-storage hydropower sector.