New life for Canadian mine - Atlas Copco

What theoperators sayMatthias Sjökvist, Berg & Byggteknik AB, Sweden“I have been in this business about 20years and we have about 14 rigs in ourfleet. I have to say Atlas Copco has donea pretty good job with this SmartROC.We were asked what sort of improvementswe would like to see and today it’sgreat to see that they have listened to us.This rig meets a lot of our demands andoverall I think the solutions are quiteimpressive. The low fuel consumptionand plenty of space for servicing is allgood.“A big plus for me is that you can nowadjust the display screen vertically. Thismakes it much easier to get the screen in exactly the right position. I also like the possibilityof radio remote control. A lot of the time you want to be outside the rig, especiallyin difficult terrain, so it’s pretty good to have that choice. If there’s anything else I wouldlike to see the SmartROC get in the future it would be a bigger dust collector.”Tom Erik Janerud, Kjell Fors AS, Norway“My company has ordered three of theserigs and I am very excited about that. At themoment we have seven ROC D7 C rigs andthe SmartROC will make a big difference.I’m really glad I came here today. It gaveme a really good feeling for what this newrig is all about. I think it’s amazing – a revolutionarysolution. I’m looking forward togetting in that comfortable seat and startingit up. The added comfort alone will be a bigimprovement for us, especially when workingthe long shifts. And of course you can’tignore the fuel saving. That’s a huge plus.”The SmartROC has been field testedin several countries, working anaverage of 40 hours per week fora period of three months. During thistime, average fuel consumption per righas been recorded at 10–14 litres perengine hour. Below, two drillers reporton the result of the tests:David Rohlén, RohlénsSprängtjänst, Sweden“We have used ROC D7 rigs since the1990s. They have always been good, butthe SmartROC T35 is a great improvement.It worked well for the whole testperiod. Productivity increased from thevery first day and there was a dramaticreduction in fuel consumption. A lot ofthings have been changed and upgradedand I think Atlas Copco has done it inthe right way, especially when it comesto the design of the controls whichmakes this rig much easier to operate.”Dennis Stenger,Harald Stenger Drilling, GermanyRune Anderssen, Vassbakk og Stål AS, Norway“I operate a ROC D7 C right now. It’s agood rig, but with this new one AtlasCopco has really given a lot of thought tous operators. I think it’s a big step forward.When I got into the cab, it felt greatjust to sit at the controls and feel howeasy it is to use the joysticks. You feelthat you can really relax while you workwhich makes a big difference for thebody, especially when you work longshifts in the same position. My companyhas bought three of these new SmartROCrigs and I hope to be the first to use one.”“My overall impression of it was not justthat it was good – it was excellent andfar exceeded our expectations. We useda SmartROC T40 in a quarry with a holedepths of 8 to 25 meters in compactrock. The hole diameter was 98 mm andwe drilled at an angle of 14 degrees. Netpenetration was about 1.10 to 1.20meters per minute with a top speed of1.4 m per minute. Refueling was cut byhalf which resulted in much less downtimefor refueling as well as lower dieselcosts. The noise level in the cabin is alsothe lowest I have experienced. ”24 Mining & Construction – 3 / 2011