Ranger 700-2 drill ... high productivity.
Tamrock rigs drill deep in Fujairah
Ali Moosa’s new Tamrock workhorses have considerably boosted production at its quarry in Fujairah.
01 October 2005
Since acquiring its first Tamrock Ranger 700-2 drill rig early this year, the UAE-based Ali Moosa and Sons Crushers Company has been able to comfortably meet the increased demand for quality aggregates within the local construction market with a 20-hour-per-day operation.
Ali Moosa took delivery of its first Tamrock Ranger 700-2 drill rig from local distributor Dynatrade.
Located in Fujairah, the company has increased its production to between 9,000 to 10,000 tonnes per day (tpd) of gabbro mixed with serpentinite, offering a reduced strength compared with 100 per cent gabbro, but still with a density of 2.8 tonne/cu m.
The rock - which is free of limestone, highly abrasive and has a high silica (SiO2) content - is found exclusively around Fujairah and is in high demand.
Producing a wide range of crushed aggregates for domestic and export sales, Ali Moosa provides aggregates for asphalt, concrete, and hollow construction blocks. Customers include Wade Adams, one of Dubai's largest highway contractors and its own contracting company as well as readymix and block factories in Sharjah and Dubai.
Until recently up to 60 per cent of its products were exported to Kuwait but today this has reversed to 60 per cent being absorbed by the domestic UAE markets and 40 per cent exports.
Quarry operation
Ali Moosa took over development of the quarry some three years ago from Wade Adams, which purchased the quarry in 1994. Covering an area of approximately 2 km by 1 km, the quarry features two benches of heights varying between 18 to 20 m, and has a third bench in areas.
According to quarry manager, P Sathish, a recent survey has indicated that the quarry has an operational life of up to five years with 18 tonnes of rock reserves.
Ali Moosa, which has three 200 tonnes per hour (tph) crusher lines, is currently installing a new 500 tph fourth line.
“We therefore ordered the Tamrock Ranger 700-2 drill rig to meet the necessary increase in rock production. Since arrival on-site, the Ranger rig has been working virtually 10 hours everyday. As the new crusher comes on line, the rig will be working 20 hours daily,” says Sathish.
According to quarry blasting engineer, Azam Hussain, Ali Moosa uses the Tamrock rig to drill between 75 and 80 holes per blast, typically 20 m deep and 89 mm in diameter, with each hole generally taking just under an hour.
Using a 2.6 m by 2.7 m spacing up to 5 tonnes of explosive are used for a bench blast of approximately 10,000 cu m/28,000 tonne twice a week.
The company had previously relied on two competitive rigs for drilling production but turned to Tamrock to meet the increased production requirements.
“We had become disillusioned with the local back-up for our existing rigs,” says Sathish. “Spares had become a problem. But we came to know that Tamrock, with its increased population of rigs in the UAE, had no such problems. We therefore decided to order the 700-2 and although still in its early days we are very impressed.”
According to Sathish, the quarry is currently seeking a service contract with the local distributor, Dynatrade.
Ranger 700-2 rig
Although only appointed as distributor for Tamrock in the UAE four years ago, Dynatrade has enjoyed considerable success delivering more than 22 Ranger 700-2 rigs in the last 12 months alone, says a spokesman for Dynatrade.
The Ranger 700-2 hydraulic drilling rig features a rear-mounted power pack to effectively counter-balance the feed and boom assemblies to provide an inherently more stable drilling platform. The rig also features a TIM2305 laser-based measuring system, which guarantees accurate production drilling.
Turntable-mounted articulated boom and rock drilling assembly offer 120-degree arc movement and a large 17 sq m drilling area coverage. The configuration provides an improved drill location range at even the most acute angles.
A major emphasis has also been placed on operator comfort and safety with the new rig including laminated windows and both roll over/falling object structure protection to the appropriate ISO standard.
Excellent all-round visibility of the drilling area together with air-conditioning, filter air intake and sound proofing to 80 dB(A) provide the operator with an excellent working environment, says a spokesman for Sandvik Tamrock Corporation, the Finland-based manufacturer.
For Sathish, it is his first experience with Tamrock. However, he is already impressed with the high drilling rate per hour of the Tamrock 700-2 rig.
For operator Roberto Gamboa, specially brought in for the new rig, its business as usual with more than eight years of experience with Tamrock rigs. “The new rig is brilliant,” he says.
“The cab is so comfortable and the water and diesel filling systems are even easier and better than the old CH660. The on-board monitoring system is also really good allowing us to monitor the depth of the hole,” he concludes.
