Fresh raw material is delivered to a crushing zone for crushing. Beforehand, fine particles are separated from the raw material by means of an airstream and directed into the housing of the crusher where they are entrained by an independent gas stream that conveys crushed fines upwardly to a separator also located within the housing. The separator removes fine particles from the system and returns the remaining, relatively course tailings material to the crushing zone through a tailings return chute. At least a portion of the material exiting the tailings return chute is subjected to a secondary separation treatment to capture additional quantities of fine particles before entering the crushing zone. The captured tailings material may be mixed with the fresh raw material else reintroduced into the top of the separator to receive the secondary separation treatment.