All time high at AITIK

New ROC L8 rig sets the standard

At the Aitik open pit copper mine, the region's severe weather conditions combine with loose and fissured rock and high volumes of water in the holes at certain times of the year to make drilling operations a tough task. Despite this, however, the arrival of a new drill rig at the mine has helped the contractor, Ballast Nord, to achieve a record performance in April this year of 10,920 metres - well above the monthly average required to meet the mine's current annual total of 90,000 metres. Down-the-hole drilling is the method used at Aitik and Ballast Nord owns two Atlas Copco drill rigs operating at the site - a ROC 936 and the recently-acquired ROC L8.

Reliable and capable

Åke Forsgärde, head of Ballast Nord, says: "To be able to win through when operating in the kind of weather conditions we get here, it is essential that we have drilling equipment we can rely on. After spending some time evaluating our options in autumn last year, we decided to continue with down-the-hole drilling and purchased the new ROC L8 rig.

"It is the most modern DTH crawler rig on the market. It is extremely reliable and capable of handling the drilling in the troublesome rock conditions we have here. In addition, the design of the cabin makes it an effective and comfortable environment for the drillers.

"Now that we have reached an all-time drilling record for the mine, we hope to carry on exceeding the production plan on a yearly basis."

Ballast Nord driller Kjell Nilsson adds: "We didn't consider buying any rig other than the Atlas Copco ROC L8. It's made for tough challenges like this one and we are all very pleased with the performances of both rigs."

Åke Forsgärde of Ballast Nord: "In my view, the ROC L8 is the most modern down-the-hole rig on the market - extremely reliable."

The company carries out both bench preparation and pre-splitting. Tight alternate rows of 6-inch and 5-inch diameter holes are drilled in 5 x 5 m and 4 x 4 m sections respectively.

It has its own equipment workshop and carries out all servicing with five drillers keeping the two drill rigs constantly in operation during the demanding work schedule.

Both rigs operate well in temperatures down to -40°C and penetration in the hard rock is 60 cm/min. The ROC L8 is also equipped with a water mist system to aid hole stabilisation.

The range of equipment that is earning praise at both mines in this arctic wilderness is proof that Atlas Copco's total drilling technology can triumph over the toughest challenges in the most adverse conditions.

Open pit mine

The copper deposit was discovered in the early 1930s and bulk-mining technology made exploitation feasible in the 1960s. It became Europe's first large, low-grade copper mining operation in 1968 with an annual output of two million tonnes of ore, which rose to 18 million tonnes by 1998. Current reserves are estimated to be sufficient for production until 2012.

The two rugged, reliable and powerful Atlas Copco drill rigs work non-stop 18 hours a day to consistently record around 200 metres per rig per day. Now the new record represents a challenge for the rigs and drillers to do even better!