Ekaterinburg-based Uralmashplant JSC has started manufacture of two of the largest shovels in its product line – model EKG-35. In April 2019, the plant signed a contract for supply of two shovels of this model to coal major Kuzbassrazrezugol (KRU), which is part of UMMC’s raw materials assets. In addition, negotiations are ongoing for the manufacture of a third EKG-35 machine for another Russian coal mining company.

Uralmashplant manufactured its first shovel EKG-35 – the largest crawler-mounted mining shovel in the Russian mining equipment market – at the end of 2017, and the machine was commissioned for pilot operation in the spring of 2018 at Krasnobrodsky opencast colliery, which is also part of Kuzbassrazrezugol/UMMC.

The experts of Kuzbassrazrezugol that took direct part at all stages of the manufacture of EKG-35 – from its design to the commissioning – emphasised its successful operation during the tests. According to Igor Kirilov, Chief of the Power and Mechanical Department of Kuzbassrazrezugol, the pilot EKG-35 has already demonstrated high performance.

“The trend to increase unit capacity of equipment is typical for many mining enterprises. We promptly managed to respond to the market demands and quickly organised production of the largest Russian shovel. We see the growth trend in the demand for machines of this class in the near future,” – says Konstantin Smirnykh, Mining Equipment Sales Director of UZTM-KARTEX managing company which provides strategic management of Gazprombank Group heavy engineering assets such as Uralmashplant in Ekaterinburg and IZ-Kartex in St Petersburg.