Bantle opt for Kemroc EK140-900 chain cutter

German mining firm improves gypsum extraction process with new excavator attachment

BANTLE say they have made radical changes to the extraction and mineral processing methods at one of their gypsum quarries by using a Kemroc Erkator EK140-900 chain cutter mounted on a 45-tonne excavator.

The use of the chain cutter has replaced a hydraulic breaker as the main extraction tool, leading to considerable savings in both plant and labour costs. In the last 12 months the family-run business – located in the town of Bosingen, in south-western Germany – had been investigating different methods of extracting the relatively soft rock from their gypsum quarry.

One of the methods considered was the use of a chain cutter and, after initial trials, the company decided to hire a Kemroc Erkator EK140-800 with an 800mm wide cutter head (supplied by Kemroc agents BS Baumaschinen Service GmbH) to mount on a 45-tonne excavator.

Bantle found that using a hydraulic breaker mounted on an excavator was a time-consuming and difficult extraction procedure. During the trial period, the company discovered a number of benefits of utilizing the Kemroc attachment, including: higher productivity; reduced maintenance requirements, improved reliability, and lower operational costs.

With the Kemroc chain cutter, a patented cutter chain running between two cutter heads is utilized to deliver maximum productivity from the available width of the attachment. The Erkator chain cutter also produces a smaller, more consistent grain size than a hydraulic breaker, resulting in savings in crushing costs and materials handling.

On completion of the six-week trial with the Erkator EK140-800 unit, managing director Georg Bantle and Armin Kopf, blasting manager for Bantle, held discussions with BS Baumaschinen Service to increase the 800mm wide cutter head of the chain cutter to a 900mm wide unit.

‘With the Kemroc chain cutter on hire, we achieved a production rate of 50 tonnes to 80 tonnes per hour, which was significantly better than what we were achieving with the breaker,’ said Mr Kopf.

Bertram Zebrowski of BS Baumaschinen Service said that productivity could be increased by around 20% using a chain cutter with a wider cutter head.

Mr Bantle has clearly been impressed with the increased productivity and cost savings achieved, thanks to the significant reduction in material passing through the company’s impact crushers. Wherever possible, Bantle say they will introduce the Kemroc chain cutter to other gypsum quarries and segments of the business too.