United States Steel Corporation will be the first operator globally of Komatsu Mining’s new ZR122 blasthole drill at their Minntac Minnesota Ore Operations in Mt Iron, Minnesota. Komatsu states: “Their commitment was recognised at MINExpo and we’re excited to continue our partnership with US Steel in their operations.”
Engineered for high productivity drilling in tough rock conditions, Komatsu says “the drill is built to help reduce maintenance costs, support fully autonomous operation, and can be configured for rotary and hammer drilling, diesel or electric power, and single- or multipass drilling.” The model drills 13 3/4 in holes, with bit loading of 122,000 lbs and a single pass hole depth of 65 ft.
As part of the ongoing process to integrate its legacy brands into One Komatsu, the newest drill model and technology were showcased at MINExpo 2021 on the Komatsu ZR122 with the new look and branding. This new look will transition legacy brands to the Komatsu brand this year, which includes the P&H 77XR.
Designed to increase drilling time, the ZR122 rack-and-pinion pulldown system reduces the maintenance time required to support the old cable or chain pulldown and the boxer style mast reduces downtime for structural inspections. To help reduce bit change downtime and worker risk associated with a manual changeout process, an advanced auto-bit changer carousel helps to flex into a new hole diameter rapidly so operators can seamlessly adapt the drill pattern to reach peak fragmentation quickly. The one-touch, auto-bit operation keeps productivity going with a five-minute change.
Komatsu adds: “Customers can elevate their mine’s productivity by improving drilling accuracy with high-precision GPS through auto-navigation capabilities, allowing line-of-sight teleremote operations from up to one mile away.”
US Steel’s Minnesota Ore Operations are located on the Mesabi Iron Range in northern Minnesota, and are composed of two facilities: Keetac in Keewatin and Minntac in Mt Iron. At these facilities, taconite iron ore is mined and processed into iron ore pellets for use in US Steel’s steelmaking facilities. Annual production capability at Keetac is approximately 6 million net tons of pellets. Annual production capability at Minntac is approximately 16 million net tons of pellets. Minntac is the largest integrated iron ore operation in the US.
