Tenova TAKRAF has won a turnkey contract for the supply of one SRs2000 bucketwheel excavator for the coal mine extension operated by the Zhahanaoer branch of the CPE Mengdong Energy Group. The Zhahanaoer coalfield lies at the northwest end of Togliao city in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous District. The open pit mine is situated on a the ridge of the southern part of the Daxing’an mountain range. In this region the tough climate is characterised by temperatures varying from +39°C down to -39°C. The coal mine covers an area of 31.36 km² and holds an estimated coal reserve of 827.93 Mt of lignite extracted at various levels from 85 to 356 m depth.
The recently ordered bucketwheel excavator is designed to excavate up to 6,600 m³/h of overburden, which then will be transferred via loading unit to the bench conveyor. Thus, the designed capacity makes the unit the largest such excavator in east Asia. With a boom length of 44 m the bucketwheel excavator will be able to mine a bench height of 30 m and a block width of 50 m. The conveyor bridge connecting the excavator and the discharge module will have an approximate length of 120 m. The commissioning of the equipment is planned for October 2013.
This bucket wheel excavator is the 56th machine of this type supplied by Tenova TAKRAF, operating reliably under most adverse climatic conditions. The SRs 2000s supplied by Tenova TAKRAF some 30 years ago to mine hard coal in Ekibastus (Kazakhstan) are still in operation all year round at temperatures even exceeding the levels in Zhahanaoer mine. Some of those excavators in Ekibastus are just under refurbishment, replacing the original bucketwheel drives with the all-new developed extra heavy duty Tenova TAKRAF bucket wheel gear boxes to make them fit for the next decades of operation.
Tenova TAKRAF has been selected for this latest based on its long-term relationship with the group, with mining equipment comprising two bucketwheel excavators, the complete belt conveyor system and a spreader, supplied to Yuan Bao Shan some years ago. Other reasons for choosing Tenova TAKRAF were its global reputation as a supplier of bucketwheel excavators and the excellent technical solution of this particular project .
