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First
choice: An Atlas Copco rig at the open pit gold mine in
Ghana
A
tough task on a tough gold project
BEATING
THE ODDS IN GHANA
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Taywood Mining
in Ghana, a division of Taylor Woodrow UK, has a production target
of 1.6 tonnes per month over an estimated five-year period at
Ashanti Goldfields' Idupriem mine near Tarkwa.
And the company's task to maintain profitable production in tough
hard rock conditions has been made even more difficult by low-grade
ore and the current rock bottom prices for gold.
But these formidable odds are being evened out by achieving a
high level of operational expertise and equipment availability
to boost cost efficiency at the mine.
Quality teams
Taywood Mining chose four Atlas Copco ROC 952 drilling rigs and
one ROC F7 rig, all supplied with T51 drill rods, for its operations.
In addition, intensive training programmes were instigated in
both Sweden and Ghana to create high quality drilling and maintenance
teams.
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It's
a deal: Freek Nijdam (left), Senior Executive Vice President
of the Atlas Copco Group and head of the Construction and
Mining Division, with Geoff Fisher, Manager of Taylor Woodrow's
Ghana mining operations and one of the ROC 952 HP rigs.
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Says Geoff Fisher, Manager of Taylor Woodrow Mining in Ghana: "We
chose Atlas Copco equipment because of its durability and suitability
to cope with the local conditions and requirements of this contract.
"To date, the performance of the five Atlas Copco drilling
rigs has pleased us and is fully in line with our expectations."
Mining is by drill and blast with 6m-high benches - and hole collapses
due to changes in geology have been reduced to around 5% by using
115mm or 127mm bits in the transition zones and 89mm or 115mm bits
in hard rock.
Taywood's crews take care of daily maintenance, while a three-strong
team from Atlas Copco Ghana's newly-opened service branch in the
Tarkwa area deals with more complicated work.
Quick response
Alan Terry, General Manager Atlas Copco Ghana, concludes: "It
is important that Atlas Copco supports its customers and equipment
to the fullest extent in order to ensure that the client gets maximum
production from the machines.
"This is particularly true when the project is located in a
remote area, such as this one. Customers rely on us for support
and we have to react quickly to their needs." |
