Atlas Copco continues to expand its blasthole product offering with the addition of the reverse circulation (RC) kit for the DM45/50 mid-range blasthole drill. Based off proven systems, components, and technology the RC kit is designed to meet the demands of today’s expanding mining market by offering the added dimension of in-pit grade control. A number of components are included with the optional kit, which can also be retrofitted on drills currently in the field. The cyclone arm allows for sampling from the ground or platform level, with a vertical raise and lowering function.
A cyclone rotation of 160 degrees provides safe access for cleaning, maintenance, and attaching new sample hoses from ground level. The cyclone is a heavy duty system designed specifically with flexibility in mind. Some of the features of the cyclone assembly are: a hydraulic upper knife valve and pneumatic lower knife valve for collecting and isolating the sample; a hydraulic hinge between the dump box and cone splitter that allows for easy cleaning; a fixed cone splitter with primary and duplicate sample chutes. All cyclone and sample functions are all easily controlled from the operator’s cab.
A 66 litre dump box, with a steep cone for limiting sample hang up is part of the sample collection feature. The primary and duplicate ports can easily be adjusted from 4-15%. The RC carousel has four 4.5 in rod cups and offers a 44 m maximum on-board capacity. Some other components included with the RC kit are a blast box/discharge, a blow-down valve that offers internal valving that does not require any external three-way valving or unnecessary hosing above or around the rotation head, an above head dual swivel that eliminates the need for a below head air swivel, and a fully integrated sample hose management system that has been designed with safety and practicality in mind.
The DM45 and DML reverse circulation drills offer hole diameters ranging between 4 ½ in – 5 ¾ in (114 mm – 146 mm) with maximum hole depths of 145 feet (44 m) based off on-board capacity.