The Bachatsky opencast coal mine of UK Kuzbassrazrezugol JSC (KRU, part of UMMC) has formally commissioned an EKG-18M rope shovel, the first updated model of this flagship shovel from Uralmashplant (UZTM). Toward the end of 2020 the company will supply four more machines of this class to KRU.
UZTM is part of UK UZTM-KARTEX LLC, a company created in 2015 which brought together the largest Russian manufacturers of mining equipment: Uralmashplant JSC in Ekaterinburg and IZ –KARTEX named after P. G. Korobkov, in St Petersburg. The main shareholder of all three members of the association is Gazprombank.
The formal commissioning of the EKG-18M was timed to the coming 300th anniversary of the Kuzbass c0al deposits discovery which will be celebrated in 2021. The machine was given No 300 in honour of the forthcoming event.
This new EKG-18M is the tenth machine of this EKG-18 shovel class supplied to enterprises of the KRU coal company by UZTM. In 2011 the Krasnobrodsky opencast coal mine commissioned the first shovel with the serial No 1. The updated version known as EKG-18M was developed by Uralmashplant designers together with specialists of Kuzbassrazrezugol and takes into consideration ten years of field experience with the EKG‑18.
The qualitative changes are aimed at the enhancement of machine reliability, service life and operating safety and cover most of the main units, structures and systems of the shovel. The company says its engineers implemented the most advanced technical solutions. The EKG-18M features upgraded dipper-door opening mechanism, which allows reducing the dumping cycle, enhanced design of the boom and undercarriage. The changes of the housing include better tightness, safety and more comfortable conditions for machine operator.
EKG-18M is equipped with the most advanced systems, including information and diagnostic systems, which provides for reliable control and supervision of shovel units and its protection in overload modes; an illumination system Red Kill Zone for the dangerous zone, which enhances the safety of mining operations during the hours of darkness; video surveillance with two monitors providing for simultaneous supervision of shovel machinery room, front end equipment, cable reel and “dead zones.” The fire detection and suppression system TUNGUS produced by a Kuzbass company ensures protection against fire threat.
“The cooperation of coal company specialists and Uralmashplant designers resulted in a completely new type of machine, which provides for more reliable, comfortable and safe operation. The specifications of this shovel equal to those of foreign analogues,” says Igor Kirilov, Head of the Power and Machine Department of UK Kuzbassrazrezugol JSC.
According to Natalya Kostina, Technical Director of UZTM, the enterprise will continue to improve the excavating equipment. “Our objective is to provide the mining industry with reliable and high-performance machinery. We pursue this goal together with our customers: their experience, suggestions, and severe requirements allow us to raise competitive capacity of the national engineering industry.”
This year Kuzbassrazrezugol plans to acquire four additional EKG-18M shovels: one machine for Kedrovsky and Kaltansky mines each, and two more shovels for Bachatsky.
