Mining equipment manufacturer Mine Master has finished on site underground testing of a proven two boom underground face drill rig at the Yubileinoe mine, a porphyry copper deposit, located in Bashkortostan, in the Southern Urals of the Russian Federation. The mine is operated by SHSU, part of Ural Mining Metallurgical Company (UMMC, or UGMK in Russian) which has now proceeded with the purchase of five machines.
The Face Master 2.3 is a twin boom drill jumbo intended to drill drifting face holes with diameters from 41 mm to 76 mm. It can be used in mines free of methane, with heights from 2.5 up to 6.1 m. The drill-off area covers about 67 m2. Both booms on the machine are equipped with telescopic feeders. The hole depth may range from 2,150 to 4,010 mm, or 2,440 to 4,310 mm with corresponding length of the drilling rod. The impact power of the hydraulic drifter is rated in the 20 kW range.
Mine Master says its Face Master 2.3 is characterised by its compact dimensions and good manoeuvrability. It comes with an internal turning radius of 3,300 mm and an external turning radius of 6,650 mm. “A major advantage is the robust construction of chassis, providing long service life and low maintenance costs. The machine is diesel-powered, features a permanent 4-wheel drive and an ergonomic operator’s cabin with FOPS & ROPS rating. The rig can also be equipped with a system to control working parameters with data transfer via Wi-Fi, offering many options to monitor its operations.”
“The face drill has showed itself in the best light. It is a universal machine, demonstrating high drilling precision and low consumption of drilling instruments,” noted Dmitry Zhukov, Executive Director at GHH Russia, a distributor of Mine Master products in CIS countries. He said the rig has proven its high productivity in large-scale mining works as well as in tunnel construction.
UMMC is one of the top Russian producers of commodities including copper, zinc, coal, gold and silver. It operates 40 companies and has more than 80,000 employees. Its mining division extracts and processes more than 24 Mt of ore per year. Underground mining makes about 90% of all UMMC ore operations.
“This is one of our first projects with Mine Master, a member of GHH Group, but we are satisfied with the results and the possibilities that the drill rig gives us,” said SHSU Director Ildar Sharipov. “The Face Master 2.3 showed itself so good during test works, that we decided to replenish our machine fleet with this model”.
Poland-based Mine Master provides drill rigs, roof bolters and production drill rigs, but also customised auxiliary machines and roof scalers as well as loaders, dump trucks and utility vehicles. Mine Master is part of GHH Group, a supplier of comprehensive solutions in mining and tunnelling.
