Atlas Copco has received significant orders valued at over €13 million from Hindustan Zinc in the first quarter of 2012. This is one of the largest underground mining contracts for Atlas Copco India. Atlas Copco will deliver a total of 24 machines which includes face drilling rigs, long hole drilling rigs, bolting rig, loaders and trucks. The long hole drilling rigs Simba 1254 and Simba 1354, 15 t loader Scooptram ST1530, 50 t Minetruck MT5020 and the 60 t Minetruck MT6020 mark their maiden entry into the underground mining market in India. The delivery of all these 24 equipment will be completed in 2012.
Hindustan Zinc (HZL) is a Vedanta Group company, and is the world’s largest integrated producer of zinc, as well as being India’s largest producer of lead and silver. The company also operates the world’s largest zinc producing mine – Rampura Agucha – in Rajasthan. HZL also has the distinction of being the world’s lowest cost producer of zinc. Atlas Copco and HZL have been associated together for the past thirty years, and the Atlas Copco fleet will be used by HZL for two of its newest underground mining projects at the Kayad and Rampura Agucha mines.
Atlas Copco and the Kayad mines share a long history together where Atlas Copco had sold an investigation drill Diamec 262 for exploration for about ten years ago. The Kayad mine being developed is located 9 km from Ajmer in Rajasthan and will produce zinc and lead. Rampura Agucha mine, located 230 km north of Udaipur in Rajasthan, has an annual ore production capacity of 6 Mt from an open pit where Atlas Copco hydraulic DTH rigs already form the backbone of surface drilling operations. Atlas Copco India is now going to support the underground mining operations of Rampura Agucha by supplying high capacity equipment there.
“This order confirms the confidence that Vedanta has in our abilities to provide products which would help them to boost productivity while lowering costs. Apart from the capital equipment sales, we are in the process of finalising complete back up for these machines for a period of twenty thousand hours or five years of operation, whichever is earlier. This means that Vedanta would operate the machines and everything else would be taken care of by Atlas Copco” said Sanjay Ahuja, General Manager Atlas Copco Mining and Rock Excavation Technique CC India.