Atlas Copco - Annual Report 1999

Uniroc offers full service
to Mount Isa Mines
To remain competitive, Atlas Copco’s Uniroc division has
gone beyond the call of duty of standard supply contracts
to provide its customers more than is traditionally expected.
The supply contract now includes total logistic support
for the mine as well as a fixed price per drilled meter.
Mount Isa Mines, in Queensland, Australia, is one example of
a value-added contract where customer needs lie beyond Secoroc’s
traditional core business, which is the marketing, sale, and
distribution of drilling consumables. Secoroc, a brand within
the Uniroc division, currently provides Mount Isa Mines with
a total top-hammer-drilling consumables package.
The package includes the supply and delivery of products to
underground drilling rigs as well as refurbishment of worn drill
bits. But it even covers the collection of data needed to calculate
the cost of consumables per drilled meter per application as well
as the drilled-meter lifetime of all components of the drill string.
A total of 40 rigs are serviced across Mount Isa’s four mine sites,
with backup inventory of spare parts located underground.
Secoroc service personnel visit their assigned mine sites at least
two or three times a week to replace used drill consumables, collect
button bits for regrinding, and salvage rods for straightening
purposes. Four-wheel-drive vehicles are used to bring the used or
damaged goods to the surface. From there, they are taken directly
to the Secoroc Mount Isa warehouse for examination.
Service personnel use lap top computers to collect data
underground. The entry of data into a computerized system
allows greater use of the data than just inventory control.
Secoroc can offer timely and accurate information to Mount
Isa Mines’ management, enabling them to effectively monitor
the utilization of drilling consumables across their four
mine sites.
CONSTRUCTION AND MINING TECHNIQUE
ATLAS COPCO 1999 55
CONSTRUCTION AND MINING TECHNIQUE