Stone crushers are used extensively in mining applications. The type of crusher used will depend on a variety of factors including the type of mine in terms of what ore is being mined, the size of the required finished product to be produced by the mine, the industrial applications of the mine ore, and the type of mine in terms of how the ore is mined. Iron ore that is to be used for high-quality applications will need to be refined more than iron ore that is to be blended with other metals, for example. In some coal mines, the finished product resembles small boulders whereas other mines have outputs that are fist-sized or smaller.

  In the mining process, there will typically be more than one type of crusher. This is because the ore does not come out of the ground in a uniform size and quality. The size of the ore will also depend largely on how the rock is mined from the ground. The use of explosives and drilling produces ore that varies greatly in size. This is where different types of crushers come into play. Initially, when the ore is brought to the processing plant, it will enter a primary crusher. This crusher will be the largest on-site and have the greatest payload as it has to crush large non-uniform sections of stone. From the primary crusher, the ore will go through a washing and separating process and enter a secondary and tertiary crusher. The more crushers in the work process, the smaller and more refined the ore becomes. The order of the process is usually defined by the industrial applications of the ore being mined.
 （！）Jaw Crusher
  A jaw crusher is one of the simplest forms of stone crushers. In it, the mined ore is broken down by the movement of swinging plates. One plate is generally fixed and a driving belt will periodically swing the eccentric plate towards the fixed plate so that a crushing motion is achieved. The eccentric plate is then lifted again by a pulling rod and spring. Jaw crushers are often primary crushers, able to crush extremely hard rock. They vary in size according to the required application and can be part of a mobile crushing unit or installed as a stationary machine in a process plant. Another benefit is that they can be used underground as well as on the surface and are considered one of the more reliable crushing machines because of their simple design structure.