secoroc hammers go for gold

Usak, Turkey
Secoroc hammers go for gold
Secoroc COP
Gold hammers
The number of meters drilled is
directly tied to the productivity
level of a mine. The type of rig,
hammers and bits must be able
to handle the geology of the site
while achieving the desired performance levels – and do so costeffectively.
Powerful drilling,
reliable production
To accomplish this, Tuprag Metal
Mandencilik San. Tic. A. (Tuprag) uses
Secoroc COP Gold DTH hammers on
two Atlas Copco DM45 rigs and a ROC
L6 at the Kisladag gold mine. Designed
for the production drilling market,
Secoroc COP Gold hammers feature a
specially designed piston for efficient
energy transfer; control tube suspension
with steel disc compression rings and
lower buffer rings; steel grade hammer
casing that provides greater impact
strength and excellent wear resistance;
and superb flushing capabilities.
Secoroc COP Gold hammers have
proven to be efficient, reliable and durable with a 10-15 percent longer service
life than equivalent hammers. Furthermore, with the COP Gold E-kit, they can
be rebuilt and restored to their original
performance levels up to three times at
a fraction of the cost of a new hammer.
These factors, along with intensive
training of local operators and maintenance personnel, have seen productivity levels increase beyond expectations since the mine opened in 2006.
Secoroc hammers on the job
At 157 km², the Kisladag gold mine in
the Usak province of western Turkey is
the largest gold mine in the country. It
is owned by Tuprag Metal Madencilik
San. Tic. A. (Tuprag), a wholly owned
subsidiary of Eldorado Gold Corp.
Kisladag Mine Manager Ahmet Raci Uslu in front of one of two Atlas Copco DM45 rigs that enables his
team to surpass productivity expectations.
Blasthole Drilling in open pit mining109
Secoroc hammers go for gold
B
A
C
C
C
……
10 m
A = 22 m Pre-split holes
B = 11 m Buffer holes
C = 11 m Production holes
Be
rm
Pre-split
holes
Buffer
holes
10 m
Production
holes
1m
4.2 m
2.5 m
5.5 m
4.2 m
5.5 m
4.8 m
5.5 m
10 m
The drilling pattern at the Tuprag open pit with 152–165 mm production holes, 152 mm buffer holes and
95 mm pre-split holes. The purpose of the pre-split holes and the row of buffer holes is to ensure the
stability of the final walls of the pit.
The ROC L6 with a Secoroc COP 34 DTH hammer drills the pre-split holes. Each hole is 95 mm in diameter
with an average depth of 45 m. Hole spacing is 1 m. (Inset) the blasting sequence of the pre-split holes.
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Tuprag uses two Atlas Copco DM45
rigs equipped with Secoroc COP 64
Gold DTH hammers for bits with a
QL60 shank. In addition, there is an
Atlas Copco ROC L6 equipped with a
Secoroc COP 34 DTH hammer for bits
with COP 34 shanks for presplitting, or
a COP 54 Gold DTH hammer for bits
with a QL 50 shank for production.
The result is reliable performance on
the site that has continuously increased
production from 70,895 ounces in 2006
to 109,177 ounces in just the first six
months of 2009. The grade is 1.41 gram
per ton.
Maintaining productivity
Kisladag started commercial production in 2006 with a local mine contractor and has been developed as a low
grade, bulk tonnage open pit operation
using heap leaching for gold recovery.
In May 2008, the mine began the transition to being a fully owner-operated
pit. The transition, which included
technical and practical training of operators and maintenance crews, was
completed in four months, and the mine
began using its own fleet exclusively in
October 2008.
Kisladag has been using Atlas Copco
rigs with Secoroc hammers and bits
since the transition began. Penetration
rates are good through the volcanic rock
and Ahmet Raci Uslu, mine manager,
says the rigs and rock drilling tools
were selected to maintain the high productivity rates required at the mine.
“The amount of meters we drill is
really important for us to keep up mine
production,” says Uslu. “In June 2009
we drilled nearly 48,000 meters and we
aim to maintain this level of production.
High productivity is one of the reasons
we chose Atlas Copco.”
The anticipated production capacity at Kisladag is 1.73 million tons a
month, but the current rate of mining is
more than two million tons per month.
To achieve this, drilling operations are
run for 20 hours a day; mining operations are 10 hours per shift and there
are 14 shifts per week.
A ROC L6 equipped with its Secoroc
COP 34 DTH hammer averages 45 m
per hour drilling pre-split holes. Hole
diameters are 95 millimeters and the
Blasthole drilling in open pit mining
Secoroc hammers go for gold
spacing between the holes is 1 meter.
The holes are 22 meters deep and have
an inclination of 65-77 degrees.
For production drilling, the ROC L6
with the Secoroc COP 54 Gold hammer
averages 400 meters per shift. Each
DM45, equipped with a Secoroc COP
64 Gold hammer, averages 31-35 meters
per hour. The hole diameters are 152-165
millimeters and the drilling pattern is
5.5 meters x 5.5 meters with vertical
holes. The production drilling benches
are 10 meters high with 0.5-0.8 meters
of sub-drilling.
The total drilling capacity for all
rigs is 58,000 m/month. This is including 2 x DM45 and one ROC L6. The
availability of the rigs is 92%.
Hole quality is checked by measuring tape before each blast. Kisladag
uses cord, downhole delays and surface
delays for detonators and ANFO and
emulsion ANFO explosives.
While high speed drilling increases
the number of holes completed per day,
air consumption, fuel costs, penetration
rates and bit and hammer life have a
major impact on profitability. The
operating life for the Secoroc DTH
hammers with E-kits is: COP 34-9,900
meters; COP 54 Gold-12,853 meters;
and COP 64 Gold-27,332 meters.
Maximizing,
extending bit life
Kisladag uses Secoroc drill bits to
achieve high production rates for
extended intervals. To utilize the full
power of the drill rigs, regular bit
grinding is essential. The bit on the
COP 34 averages 1,540 meters; the bit
on the COP 54 hammer, 2,257 meters;
and the bit on the COP 64 Gold, 3,099
meters.
However, the economics of drilling often comes down to balancing
penetration against bit life. A rule of
thumb is that a 10-percent increase in
penetration rate results in a reduction
of 20 percent in bit life.
To extend the life of its bits and
maximize the number of drilled meters
per bit, Kisladag uses a Secoroc Grind
Matic grinder, and each bit is reground
two or three times. The efficient grinders extend the service life of the bits,
which also results in less wear and tear
Bahadir Ergener, RDT/GDE product manager, Atlas Copco-Turkey, demonstrates how to use a gauge to
determine when a tungsten carbide bit needs regrinding. Kişladağ uses a Secoroc Grind Matic BQ2-DTH.
on each rig’s drillstring. The availability
of consumables and parts, as well as the
durability of the equipment, also played
a role in Ahmet Raci’s Uslu’s decision
to use Atlas Copco at Kisladag. “We
have our own maintenance shop and
crew. We get good maintenance support from Atlas Copco Turkey and a
good supply of parts and consumables
– that makes life easy for us,” he says.
Exceeding productivity
expectations
Since the first year of commercial
production (July 2006), Kisladag has
surpassed productivity expectations.
Initially, plans were to increase production in year four, but Tuprag was able
to move forward with expansion in year
two. And the trend continues. Tuprag’s
parent company, Eldorado Gold, recently completed a review of the
Kisladag mine. The study identified
opportunities to effectively increase
annual production by 30-40 percent,
while decreasing unit operating costs
by approximately 15 percent – all of
which is expected to be achieved using
Tuprag’s existing fleet.
For Ahmet Raci Uslu, the relationship with Atlas Copco and the reliability of the equipment will continue to
contribute to the production capability
of Kisladag. And with Secoroc equipment offering the lowest cost per meter
in the industry, taking all costs into
consideration, his fleet will also make
a major contribution to the mine’s profitability.
Acknowledgements
This article first appeared in Mining
& Construction, No. 3 2009, and was
updated June, 2010.
Blasthole Drilling in open pit mining111
Secoroc hammers go for gold
Tuprag: Equipment Summary
Equipment
Hole
diameter
Avg. drill meters/ Fuel
hr/shift
consumption
Presplit
95 mm/
3 ¾ inch
152-165 mm/
6-6 ½ inch
165 mm/
6½ inch
165 mm/
6½ inch
45 m/hr*
18,000 m/month
40 m/hr*
n/a
34 m/hr*
19,000 m/month
34 m/hr*
21,000 m/month
ROC L6 with COP 34
DTH hammer and bit
Production ROC L6 with COP 54
DTH hammer and bit
DM45 HP (No 1)
Secoroc COP 64 QL60 shank
DM45 HP (No 2)
Secoroc COP 64 QL60 shank
45 l/hr
n/a
69 l/hr
72 l/hr
* including rod change
Secoroc hammers are purpose-matched for all rock types and applications. Where high performance is the main criterion, Secoroc COP Gold hammers are
recommended in blast hole drilling.
112
Blasthole drilling in open pit mining