Wirtgen Group trade show premiere at MINExpo 2024
New cutting drum expands range of applications for surface miners in hard rock and stone quarries
CUTTING drums are the core element of Wirtgen surface miners and cross-application miners deployed in opencast mining operations and on infrastructure projects around the world. At MINExpo 2024, which takes place from 24–26 September at the Las Vegas Convention Centre, highlights from the Wirtgen Group will include insights into their cutting technology solutions.
The focal point on the Wirtgen stand at the MINExpo show will be a new cutting drum that now also allows the cost-efficient extraction of resources with a uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of more than 100MPa.
The new cutting drum is equipped with HT14 toolholders and features a redesigned cutting geometry. The field-proven and established central-drum concept, which ensures optimum utilization of the machine weight, and the direct belt drive that guarantees the transfer of high usable power to the cutting drum, also contribute to the ability of surface miners to profitably extract even very hard rocks and minerals with UCS of 100MPa (14,500psi) and more, eg limestone, gypsum, or anhydrite.
The new cutting drum celebrated its premiere in practice on a limestone quarrying application carried out by a 280 SM(i) surface miner in Louisville, Nebraska. In addition to the extraction of very hard limestone at the quarry, the elimination of the need for drilling and blasting made it possible to extract previously unexploitable limestone deposits and extend the working life of the quarry and all downstream production systems by several decades.
For the quarry operator, surface mining is a cost-effective extraction solution that also contributes to safeguarding jobs, increases safety in the quarry, and enables responsible management of resources.
At MINExpo 2024, trade and industry visitors will be able to talk to surface mining experts from the Wirtgen Group about all other aspects of the solution, such as deployment and project assessment, recommended machines and equipment, related cost and performance estimation, and financing solutions.
