Breaking, Drilling & Blasting

Finland-based Robit Rocktools has announced that all of its button bits are now manufactured from 100% recyclable 'green steel'. The company said that the environmentally friendly steel production process reduces CO2 emissions by 80% and 95% of the waste is recycled including the process smoke which is filtered. According to Robit, the new specially designed steel grade, gives even more uniform properties and improved fatigue strength which is crucial in rock drilling process.

Atlas Copco has announced that from 1 July it will operate under four new business units that have been designed to strengthen customer segment and product focus. Under the new structure, quarrying equipment will be part of the Mining and Rock Excavation Technique, which will cover underground and surface drilling products, crushing, loading and hauling, and exploration equipment. Hydraulic breakers will become part of the Construction Technique business area and be combined with portable compressors and ge

Efforts to improve energy efficiency in any quarry will be furthered by a new EU-funded project now underway. Claire Symes met with the EE-Quarry project leader Antonio Barona to find out more. When you think of energy efficiency and quarries, you might not link these thoughts with an office block in a newly built district on the northern edge of the Spanish city of Madrid.

Quarry efficiency and productivity was keenly in the spotlight at the CONEXPO-CON/AGG event in Las Vegas in March with a large number of new machines aimed at improving aggregate operations unveiled. While many of the products had already been seen in Europe and were unveiled at Conexpo as new to the US, there were still some major innovations on display for the first time. Rockmore and Furukawa displayed new down the hole drilling solutions and Atlas Copco allowed visitors to try out its new drill training

Sandvik claims that its new Compressor Management System (CMS) will help customers to save money and reduce their impact on the environment during blast hole drilling operations. The new system carefully manages the volume of air required at all times, so that the compressor only runs at full volume when needed. The company has said that this allows full productivity but with lower fuel costs and reduced emissions