Tesmec delivers the full hawg experience - Quarry

Surface miners from Tesmec are transforming the quarrying sector, where sustainability is the name of the game.

When Palmer Resources invested in a Tesmec 975 EVO Rock Hawg, it was taking a chance.

The company was one of the first in New Zealand to invest in a surface mining machine, which it planned to use at its three Canterbury quarries.

There are many common methods for quarrying, ranging from drill and blast to hydraulic mining to rip and load and continuous surface mining. Palmer Resources was one of the many operations that relied on ripping and loading with excavators or blasting for excavation to get its desired material.

That was until the company noticed the benefits surface mining was delivering for overseas quarrying operations.

“Blasting is fast, but there’s a lot of processing to be done afterwards. With surface mining, we’ve seen a 30 to 40 per cent cost reduction per bank cubic meter of limestone taken out of the ground,” Palmer Resources group general manager Shaun Cleverley said.

It was far from a simple transition. The company initially invested in a modified cold milling machine, traditionally used in the road sector, which presented some challenges. It could not access the corner section of the quarry as the machine’s tracks were wide while the cutting drum was narrow.

The company believed in the benefits of surface mining but decided to invest in a purpose-made surface miner that could deliver the operational benefits it desired with a better build quality suited to its limestone application.

The Tesmec 975 EVO Rock Hawg was Palmer Resource’s solution for its headaches. The 975 EVO is Tesmec’s smallest Rock Hawg surface miner, with a 2.9-metre-wide cutting drum mounted onto the 40-tonne machine.

These two fundamental features unlocked the full benefits of surface mining for the New Zealand operation. The drum –wider than its tracks – enabled operators to quarry against the square rock face and access the previously inaccessible square corners. The light frame – tipping the scales at just over 40 tonnes with optional extras added – means it can be transported between the three Canterbury quarries via a heavy transport truck.

The 975 EVO can operate in either an up-cutting or down-cutting mode. In up-cutting mode, the Rock Hawg can discharge excavated material onto a conveyor belt and into the truck. In contrast, the down-cutting mode enables the machine to leave the crushed material behind to be loaded later. This operational flexibility allows companies to cut in a way that best suits their operations.

Cleverley told Quarry the machine’s productivity means fewer staff are required on-site at any given time, leading to savings on operational costs. The 975 EVO uses around 37 litres per hour of diesel, significantly less than the 80 litres per hour used by the previous cold-milling machine Palmer Resources trialled.

“If a modern surface miner can save you 40 litres per hour with today’s diesel prices, that’s very significant when it comes to your operating costs,” Cleverley said.

To make the transition to the 975 EVO Rock Hawg easier, Tesmec spent a week with Palmer Resources to upskill operators on the new machine. Tesmec set up 3D models of the Canterbury quarries which enabled the machine to precisely follow digitally mapped routes on the sites and reduced the burden on operators.

“With GPS guidance enabled, it is practically driving itself,” Cleverley said. “Even in manual – it’s a lot like an excavator with a big drum on the back, so our staff who have operated diggers find it easy to learn.”

Tesmec believes surface mining, while relatively new in some regions, will continue to grow as quarries increasingly contend with extracting materials while managing sustainability targets.

Quarrying operations in Australia, New Zealand, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, France and Mexico are just some of the ones investing in surface mining technology.

According to Adrien Merceron, general manager of Tesmec New Zealand, sustainability is a key factor driving this investment.

“Sustainability is the word on everyone’s lips and quarries close to urban environments need to be more aware than ever of the environment, vibration, sound and dust,” he told Quarry.

“As cities grow, the spaces around some existing quarries are becoming more densely populated. This is forcing operators to be even more conscious of noise, dust, and vibration caused by extraction methods used on their sites. Blasting, in particular, has become more tightly regulated.

“While blasting using explosives is still the go-to for some quarry operators, several alternatives, like surface mining, are emerging to help operators tackle these challenges.”

Due to its expansive range, Tesmec is one of the manufacturers at the forefront of the surface mining trend. Its Rock Hawg product line includes the 45-tonne, 55-tonne, 100-tonne, and 140-tonne models, which can be customised to suit different quarrying applications. Surface miners like the 975 EVO Rock Hawg can be customised to use various digging attachments, including a rock saw or chainsaw, if needed.

While the product has been mainly sold into limestone and gypsum applications, Tesmec’s ability to customise the milling drum’s picks to suit the rock type means there is scope for other rock operations to use surface miners.

Tesmec has installed GPS guidance and automated digging systems as standard across its range of surface miners. The systems mitigate the risks of manual operation while ensuring increased productivity by allowing the surface miners to cover every inch of the quarry. Tesmec can also equip dust hoods, safety solutions like anti-collision technology, onboard performance analytics, and fault reporting to suit the quarry’s requirements.

Customers can access remote support for its machines through Tesmec’s ‘global’ service structure. Tesmec’s experts from its Italian or New Zealand offices can provide remote guidance when operators need it.

Hamil Pala, Tesmec New Zealand’s business development and sales manager, said the technology made the Rock Hawg’s user-friendly for operators of all levels.

“Thanks to the built-in technology, the wheels, tracks and rollers endorsement or equivalent standard plus a couple of days training on the machine are all you need to operate a Tesmec surface miner,” he said.

“Surface opportunities provide an opportunity to work smarter, not harder. The technology will transform the quarrying market like no other.”

While surface miners have mainly proved popular for medium-to-large-sized flat quarries, their sustainability benefits and customisation options make them a strong alternative for other types of quarries.

Limestone and cement quarries have been among the early adopters, but Merceron said many other types of quarries could also see the benefits.

“As technology continues to improve, surface miners will become even more versatile, enabling them to operate on a greater variety of sites and to quarry an increasingly wide array of rock types and minerals,” he said.

“In an industry like quarrying, where margins are often tight and competition can sometimes be fierce, embracing new technologies can be the difference between success and failure.

“With so many benefits, the number of surface miners operating within quarries is almost certain to rise in the years ahead.” •

For more information, visit tesmec.com

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