Posted by Daniel Gleeson on fifth September 2024
Two new Sandvik Leopard DI650i drills are decreasing the carbon footprint, and enhancing the well being and security of operators, on the Stockton mine in New Zealand, mine operator Bathurst Assets says.
The operation’s earlier drills used 90 litres of diesel per hour, however the Sandvik drills have reduce that down to simply 65 litres per hour, leading to a discount of over 67 kg of CO2 emissions each hour of operation.
After a yr of operation, Bathurst has seen the constructive air stress within the cabs of those new drills successfully scale back airborne mud, resulting in a more healthy work setting for operators, the corporate added.
Stockton is the biggest open-cast mine in New Zealand, delivering high-quality steelmaking coal for export. The operation is anticipated to produced 940,000 t in Bathurst’s 2025 monetary yr.
Sandvik launched the Leopard DI650i, designed for bigger gap sizes, in 2018, saying the DTH rig provided wonderful gas effectivity, improved security and better productiveness in difficult rock situations in contrast with competitor and predecessor merchandise.
Along with a robust engine and compressor, the Leopard DI650i incorporates a extremely ergonomic iCAB cabin, wonderful serviceability, mobility and gas economic system, together with scalable automation packages to supply wonderful total productiveness, in line with the OEM. Pipe sizes vary from 89 to 140 mm, relying on the dimensions of the hammer. The utmost gap depth is 53.6 m when utilising the carousel choice with pipe sizes from 89 to 114 mm. The capability vary of 403 kW Tier 3 CAT C15 diesel engine and dependable compressor is ample for high-pressure drilling with 4-6.5 in DTH hammer sizes.
