In this study, an analytical perspective is used to develop a fundamental model of a jaw crusher. Previously, jaw crushers were modelled in regard to certain aspects, for example, energy consumption (Legendre and Zevenhoven, 2014) or kinematics (Oduori et al., 2015). Approaches to date have been mainly property specific. In this work a physical modelling approach has been used to derive the modules, which are based on established facts of comminution machines, from the literature. A modelling methodology mainly inspired by Evertsson has been applied (Evertsson, 2000). The modules are divided into kinematics, flow, breakage, capacity, pressure and power. Each module has been derived and tested decoupled from the other modules to provide increased transparency of the module and its behaviour. The results of the modelling are presented for a baseline case of one industrial-scale jaw crusher and compared to manufacturer data. Future work will include validation and DEM simulations.