Category: References

PROBLEM-SOLVING IN THE DEPTHS OF A GOLD MINE

Posted on by Jari Silver

In the winter of 1986, a road construction job was underway in Kittilä, Finnish Lapland. Some rock was blasted, and out of curiosity, a geologist working nearby decided to examine the boulders – and found something. Today it is the site of the largest gold mine in Europe.

Gold was found in several boulders, and the Geological Survey of Finland began prospecting the site. The deposits turned out to be quite rich. More than twenty years passed until gold mining finally began in the Kittilä mine; first in an open pit in 2008, and underground a couple of years later.

Since 2012, mining in Kittilä has been exclusively underground. Today, Agnico Eagle Finland extracts some two million tonnes of ore each year, with annual gold production of around 7,000 kilograms.

Since May 2021, Robit has been supplying drilling tools to the Kittilä mine under a long-term contract. This includes, among other things, a turnkey drillmaster service, including a sharpening service. Robit supplies the products from their consignment stock, located 350 metres underground in the mine.

In Kittilä, Robit is dedicated to finding ways to cut costs per drill meter in cooperation with the customer. When the need arises, tailor-made products can be developed to meet the customer’s needs. A case in point is cable bolting, a common method used in underground mining to reinforce the rock before extraction.

“Cable bolting posed some problems. The drilling gear did not work properly in broken rock; the flushings escaped into the rock fractures and the drill bit would get stuck,” says Kimmo Kangas, Sales Manager at Robit.

“We suspected that the problem was caused by the side flushing of the bit. Our customer tried what would happen if you welded the side flushing shut – and it helped. We then made a series of bits at the Lempäälä factory that were modified in the same way,” says Kimmo.

Robit’s R&D Engineer Mika Koskinen was closely involved in the development work. “The results improved, but not quite enough. We discussed this with the bolting rig operators, trying to figure out what to do next. Based on the mining company’s views and our own design ideas, we developed the second iteration of the bit, which was substantially different. It finally solved the flushing problems, and drill meters began to reach excellent levels,” says Mika.

The new high-performance drill bit has been in use at the Kittilä mine since early 2022. Plenty remains to be drilled, as the mine is expected to operate until 2034 with the current ore reserves and production volumes. By then, new deposits may well be discovered in the course of prospecting.

 

Read more new stories in the latest Bulletin!

ROTOTEC ACCELERATES THE GREEN TRANSITION

Posted on by Jari Silver

Carbon neutrality is a globally accepted goal to minimise the negative effects of climate change, in which energy production plays a key role. The current military crisis in Europe is a reminder that nations should also strive for maximal energy self-sufficiency. Geothermal energy provides one promising, cost-effective path toward achieving both goals.

In Finland, the growth of geo-energy has been rapid in recent years. One of the key actors in the sector is Rototec, Europe’s largest geo-energy company with more than 60,000 energy wells drilled. Founded in 2007, Rototec has grown strongly in Finland and operates also in Sweden and Norway.

While geothermal energy has long been a popular energy source for single-family houses, Rototec is focusing more on supplying geo-energy for large properties such as hospitals, shopping centres, and factories.

A geothermal system requires one or more bore wells, drilled to a depth of 150–250 metres, depending on the amount of energy required. Robit has been supplying Rototec with drilling tools since the early years of the company.

“Robit, as a big domestic manufacturer, was a natural choice for us. 99% of the holes we drill are four-inch wells and Robit has a comprehensive line of tools for that. Currently, all our drill bits are from Robit,” says Hannu Puolitaival, Technical Director at Rototec.

The fruitful, mutually beneficial cooperation spans back more than a decade and focuses on customer-oriented service.

“Over the years, we have worked closely together to develop drill bits to better meet our needs. We test the products, and share our experience and comments with Robit for further development. One of Robit’s assets is their agility: after our feedback, they can produce new, improved prototypes at a fast pace for testing. Of course, the fact that they have domestic manufacturing helps too,” Hannu says.

“Another strength is that Robit can make small batches. If we’d need, say, five units of a particular new drill bit for testing, that poses no problem. Not all manufacturers can do this,” says Hannu, and adds one more thing: “I have especially liked the fact that Robit has a dedicated person managing all communication with us. It makes our cooperation seamless and straightforward.”

 

Read more new stories in the latest Bulletin!

SMOOTH DRILLING ON LAKE ONTARIO

Posted on by Jari Silver

Wolfe Island sits at the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the entrance to the Saint Lawrence River. The Canada–US border runs immediately to the south of the island, leaving it on the Canadian side. A ferry connects the island to the city of Kingston, Ontario.

A popular destination for nature lovers, Wolfe Island’s resident population tends to double or triple in the summer. For years, the ferry has been running near or even over capacity during the busy seasons. That’s why the Ontario Ministry of Transportation launched a major improvement project in 2020. Its goal is to replace the old ferry with a new, larger one, which requires significant upgrades at both ends of the ferry line: Kingston Dock on the mainland and Marysville Dock on Wolfe Island.

The General Contractor for the Marysville Dock project is Facca Inc. from Lakeshore, Ontario. A family business now in the fourth generation, Facca has built a reputation as one of the premier civil construction contractors in Ontario over several decades. They perform all the foundation work, and most of all other work on the Marysville Dock project with their own forces.

“We have been doing our own deep foundation work – piled foundations and sheet piling, some drilled shafts in earth – for about 15 years now. However, this job is only the second for which we’ve performed hard rock drilling of this scope, and the first we’ve done completely with our own forces”, says P.Eng. Steven Gardonio of Facca.

On their Down the Hole hammers for the project, Facca has used both the Robit DTH Prime system and the Robit Steel Fist system, supplied by Pinnacle, Robit´s Canadian distributor. Through their extensive piling expertise, Pinnacle’s Mitch Yorston and Jim McPhail have also provided valuable technical support for Facca.

“We’re putting in about 1,800 m of caisson with the Primes through a mixture of clay, sand, and till, with 250-ish meters of that socketed into the very strong (approaching 200 MPa UCS) limestone bedrock.” “There are a total of 87 caissons on the contract, some more than 27 meters in length. Nine were first installed on a dolphin from our barge with technical assistance from Pinnacle. This work went so well that we decided to purchase from Pinnacle the drill setup required – Down the Hole hammers and associated – and the remaining caissons were installed at the main ferry dock”, Steven explains.

“With the Steel Fist, we’ve been drilling some of the more difficult of the approximately 220 toe pins embedded 2.4 m into the bedrock.”

“We’ve been extremely happy with the performance of our equipment from Pinnacle and Robit bits. All drilling is full RC, and the process of drilling overburden – soft to hard clay and dense glacial till – from inside of the pre-driven pipe piles and locking into the ring bit at depth has not been an issue at all.

“Often, we can lock into the rings without halting rotation, very smooth, as was the drill-through process. Same for the Steel Fist, we’ve managed to drill material out from piles without rotation so as to not engage the wings and lock into the shoulder at depth, saving us significant time. We realize this is unorthodox, but it’s been working for us”, Steven says.

The CA$70M ferry dock project is still very much in progress. If everything goes as anticipated, Wolfe Islander IV, the new state-of-the-art, fully electric, zero-emission ferry – first of its kind in Canada – will start operating between the new Kingston and Wolfe Island docks in November 2023.

 

Read more new stories in the latest Bulletin!

USING ROBIT TOOLS TO UPKEEP BRIDGES AND WILDLIFE IN THE NORTHEAST U.S.A.

Posted on by Jari Silver

Replacing and repairing bridges improves mobility and can increase quality of life in communities. In the Northeast U.S.A., M.A. Bongiovanni, a General Contractor out of Syracuse, NY, is helping to maintain our beautiful roads by providing the foundation for safe, resilient and reliable infrastructure.

M.A. Bongiovanni specializes in the Water/Wastewater industry and in geotechnical work, including driven and sheet piles, retaining walls, piers and drilled shafts. When they were chosen to replace a bridge on New York State Route 8, they turned to OCI Division of Global Drilling Suppliers for drill tooling. As often occurs in geotechnical drilling, ground conditions require special accommodations. This job was no exception with piles needing to be placed in overburden consisting of cobbles and boulders. Drilling of overburden without casings could result in collapsed holes and tool loss.

Of Course, drilling in these environments calls for the right equipment. The job required the installation of 22 centerline soldier piles, 24” diameter, through 33’ of overburden and 7’ of rock as well as 11 wingwall soldier piles through 30’ of overburden and 9’ of rock. The Robit® Steel Fist wing bit system was the clear choice.

OCI Division of Global Drilling Suppliers is a manufacture of drill tools, drilling accessories, and design-built drilling equipment. As a distributor of Robit products, they assisted M.A. Bongiovanni with their first Steel Fist concentric overburden drilling system. The drilling process utilized the Robit® DTH SF (Steel Fist) and Robit® Hyper 181 18” hammer with a single rotary head duplex drilling operation. Robit was able to manufacture and deliver the Steel Fist pilot through OCI within the job’s 6 week window before drilling started. Drill tools utilized by M.A. Bongiovanni, manufactured by OCI Division of Global Drilling Suppliers were:

  • Dual Swivel having high-pressure air inlet and discharge to enable drilled spoils containment includes a J-slot driver for driving 24” OD casing.
  • Canister style drill rods, 20” OD
  • Vibration dampening equipment
  • Over the hammer stabilizer, 20” OD
  • Inline oil injection equipment
  • Inline water injection equipment

OCI Division’s onsite field consultant was present while tooling up and during initial drilling, and is pleased to report all expectations were met and exceeded with the Steel Fist’s performance. The solid construction of the wings held up very good with no carbide loss or trouble with opening or closing during loading or unloading of casing material
Speed to finish a project is very important when replacing a bridge, as the structure being repaired typically restricts traffic during the work. Using the Robit® Hyper 181 down-the-hole hammer with the Robit® DTH SF XL2 for use with 24” OD x.500 wall casing material all holes were successfully drilled on schedule and under budget.

DISTRIBUTION DEAL CREATING SYNERGIES IN CENTRAL ASIA

Posted on by Jari Silver

As far as mineral reserves go, Kazakhstan is in the top twenty in the world, and mining comprises almost one-third of the country’s export earnings. No wonder then that the competition in the sales of all mining-related goods, including drilling tools, is very tough. Robit secured a distribution deal with a key player in the region.

As a major global exporter of minerals, Kazakhstan benefits from its central geographical location between Europe and Asia. This is also reflected in the name of the largest company supplying machinery and equipment for mining and construction in the area: Eurasian Machinery LLP.

With more than 600 employees, Eurasian Machinery provides customers with high-quality technical services through ten centers in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Besides being the official distributor of Hitachi Construction Machinery – their spearhead product line – they also supply the industry with machinery and equipment from a host of other high prestige global brands. As of August 2021, these include Robit.

George Apostolopoulos, Robit’s VP, Global Sales, is thoroughly familiar with the Central Asian market and sees great synergies for Robit in the exclusive distributor agreement with Eurasian Machinery.

“Eurasian Machinery have a strong reputation in the Kazakh market. They have done an excellent job with the Hitachi Construction Machinery brand and have placed themselves among the preferred suppliers for the country’s mining industry. They are present with equipment and service contracts in most of the mines in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan”, George says.

“Customer satisfaction is driving their efforts and they are providing high-quality services to the industry. A high-tech Component Repair Center in Karaganda serves the purpose very well.”

“This is a very significant deal for Robit as the Kazakh mining market is among the biggest in the world. It’s the 2nd largest within our East sales area after Russia. It could provide significant leverage for our sales; big opportunities exist for our Top Hammer products both underground and surface, as well as our Down the Hole offering.”

“There is some tough competition in this market not only from the traditional players but also from low-cost suppliers. This makes it particularly important for us to have a renowned and well-represented distributor in this market”, George concludes.

Picture: A view over the steppes from a chalk mountain in northern Kazakhstan.

AUSDRILL AND ROBIT: A LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIP DOWN UNDER

Posted on by Jari Silver

Mining has long been a key driver of the Australian economy. With more than 350 operating mines, it is one of the world’s leading producers of iron ore, lithium, gold, lead, bauxite, uranium, and zinc, to name but a few, making it a very attractive market for a company like Robit.

Thanks to the acquisition of Drilling Tools Australia (DTA) in 2016, the country is a domestic market for Robit, with customer relationships reaching back to the DTA days. One of these long-standing partners is Ausdrill, one of the largest drilling services providers in Australia, founded in 1987.

We talked to Mark Hercik‑Saul who started with Ausdrill in 2003 as an Offsider, worked his way to Driller to Supervisor to Superintendent and is currently Project Manager for RC regional, looking after some ten RC (Reverse Circulation) drill rigs for various clients in Western Australia and South Australia. Mark has been using Robit’s Down the Hole (DTH) hammers for years.

“Our preferred hammers of choice from Robit are the DR 55 and DR 53, mainly for their downhole reliability, performance, and durability to wear. We have continuous online and in-field support from Robit with any issues that may develop with any of their products. For quality products, the prices are also competitive”, Mark says.

In a busy market like Australia, availability must be a key issue when it comes to drilling consumables. How has Robit been performing on that front?
“We have been working closely with Robit to tailor our frequently ordered parts to meet the demand/ supply to all of our sites. This has been challenging over the last couple of years with Covid-19 restrictions in play, but having local manufacturing close by, I feel the communication has grown stronger through this time”, says Mark.

From your vantage point, what’s the future outlook for the Australian mining sector? What kind of role do you see Robit could play in it?
“Mining is definitely booming, and since the Australian economy is strong at the moment, the demand to keep up supply for all drilling products is high. I think Robit will have an important role in the future by keeping proactive with their site support, which to me is the key to having good relationships and trust between suppliers and companies. They also should be open to new innovations and designs combined with competitively priced products”, Mark concludes.

Picture: An Ausdrill RC drill rig at work at Woodie Woodie Manganese mine, Pilbara, Western Australia

NEW AFTON SWITCHED BACK TO ROBIT TOP HAMMER TOOLS

Posted on by Jari Silver

Two branches of the Thompson River run through the ruggedly picturesque landscapes of south-central British Columbia, to meet at the eastern end of Kamloops Lake. The town of Kamloops was founded there as a fur trading post 200 years ago. Today, Kamloops is a thriving city with rich copper and gold deposits nearby.

Afton mine, situated 10 km west of Kamloops, was originally an open-pit gold and copper mine, in operation throughout the 1980s and 90s. New Gold,a Canadian mining company, acquired the mine and restarted production in 2012, now as an underground mine called New Afton. Last year, New Afton produced 64,000 ounces (some 1,800 kg) of gold and about
33,000 tons of copper.

New Gold had been using Robit’s Top Hammer (TH) tools in New Afton for years. However, in early 2019, through ownership changes at the supplier, New Afton switched to another brand of TH consumables. Over the course of the year, it became evident that the performance of the TH Tools did not meet the Mines expectations. In 2020, Ryley Renneberg and Cody
MacLeod from the Sales Division of Pinnacle Drilling Products (Pinnacle), Robit’s Canadian distributor, decided it was an opportune time to reach out to New Gold.

“We arranged an in-person meeting with New Gold’s production mine manager. We listened to their problems with their new brand of TH tooling and discussed how we might be able to help out. New Gold had been happy with Robit before and they knew the production performance well, so this really helped progress things forward. It turned out to be the start of a great relationship between Pinnacle and New Gold”, Ryley reminisces.

“We reassured we could have a seamless transition and were able to support New Gold through the ramp-up period, not to mention this pandemic situation and the global supply chain crisis.”

For Robit, the first purchase order in the spring of 2021 meant a need for a serious production ramp-up of TH tools.

Says Mikko Vuojolainen, Robit’s Vice President, North America: “It’s always a critical period when a customer switches supplier. The new supplier must be able to deliver 100% availability. In this case, our TH production lines were already fully booked so we needed to get creative. We divided the products into two groups: those we can start delivering two months post order, and those we can start delivering four months post order. It worked out perfectly.”

Since August 2021, New Afton is back to using Robit’s TH tools in their underground operations. The New Afton deal can also help propel the Pinnacle-Robit business partnership forward.

“It brings us leverage into the mining industry within North America. I believe it’s going to open many other opportunities for us to challenge the ‘big three’ in the market”, says Ryley Renneberg.

Picture: Kamloops Lake on a frosty winter day.

SUCCESSFUL PRODUCT PERFORMANCE AND SEAMLESS COOPERATION AS A BASIS FOR FURTHER BUSINESS COLLABORATION IN OMAN

Posted on by Jari Silver

Robit is supplying consumables for development of two gabbro quarries in Khatmat Malaha, Sultanate of Oman. The tools are being supplied by Robit’s distributor, Pioneers For Mining Trading. The customer is Oman-based Al Sarh JV Int LLC.

The customer is using two drill rigs in the gabbro quarries and has just changed over to Robit drilling consumables. According to the customer, Robit consumables are performing well in the very hard and abrasive rock formation as the products are clearly cost effective in the comparison of different suppliers. The drilling consumables in use are 89 mm button bits with a thread of C51. The gabbro quarries of Khatmat Malaha are one of those toughest and challenging areas among Oman rock formation.

In addition to the good performance, Al Sarh JV Int LLC is happy with the delivery times as well as all the technical support regarding Robit drilling consumables. Pioneers For Mining Trading is maintaining a good inventory and technical engineer to meet the customer’s demands.

Al Sarh JV Int LLC has confirmed that they are pleased with the performance of Robit drilling consumables as well as the support received from Robit’s distributor, Pioneers For Mining Trading, and thus they will continue business cooperation with Robit and Pioneers For Mining Trading.

Despite the current travel restrictions due to COVID-19, the seamless cooperation between Robit, Pioneers For Mining Trading as well as the customer including continuous follow-up on Robit product quality and support, enables a strong sales development in Sohar region. Pioneers For Mining Trading has been awarded as a New Distributor of the year 2020 in Robit’s annual Distributor Days.

Dhofar Mining Company LLC. – the new satisfied user of Robit’s rock drilling consumables

Posted on by Jari Silver

Dhofar Mining Company LLC. is the manufacturers of high quality natural gypsum at present Dhofar Mining Co having a production of 1,200,000 MT per annum. Company operates including Thumrait near Salalah in southern Oman.

“We are really excited about Robit’s C45-76mm Drop Center button bit performance and penetration rate. Average life for the button bit is around 19,000 m in this Gypsum quarry, which is much more better than we have seen earlier.” says Mr. Hari Kumar, Quarry Manager.

Mr. Akhil Muralidharan, Sales Manager from Pioneers for Mining Trading company (Robit’s distributor in the Middle East) is convinced of successful cooperation with Dhofar Mining Company LLC.

In the picture from left: Mr. Kabeer, Drill Rig Operator and  Mr. Hari Kumar, Quarry Manager from Dhofar Mining Company LLC. and Mr. Akhil Muralidharan, Sales Manager from Pioneers for Mining Trading.

Record-breaking piling project in Helsinki

Posted on by Jari Silver

In the late 19th century, Helsinki was growing and industrialising rapidly. This was particularly evident in the seaside district of Sörnäinen, which became the largest industrial area in the city after the construction of a cargo port and a railroad track. Now the port and factories are history, but the neighbourhood – now called Kalasatama or “Fish Port” – will remain an integral part of the Helsinki maritime cityscape in the future. That future is now being built in Verkkosaari, at the northern end of Kalasatama.

While the southern Kalasatama has been under reconstruction for years, Verkkosaari was sitting idly for a long time. Its 13 hectares are now zoned for a residential area for 3,600 people, a large daycare centre, and a marina. To start with, more than 200,000 tonnes of contaminated soil had to be removed. Before construction work can begin, the soil needs to be reinforced. New land is also being built on top of the sea, where some of the buildings will arise.

At this moment, work at Verkkosaari is in full swing with excavations, earthfilling, pile drilling, and other groundwork. Drilling contractor Fingeo is drilling micropiles for road base support, in cooperation with the main contractor GRK Infra. The jobsite is demanding.

”Most of the challenges are caused by the old structures, concrete piles, wooden piles and other materials buried in the soil. It’s former seabed that had been gradually filled since the early 1900s”, says Tuomas Perkiö, supervisor for Fingeo.

The jobsite is also exceptional in scope. “This is the largest micropiling project ever in Finland. We have a drilling contract for 6,000 piles, 110 km altogether”, Tuomas recounts.

Fingeo started the pile drilling work at the beginning of 2020 with one drill rig. By November they were operating five drill units and had laid down some 3,800 piles, which equals to 63 kilometres. The remaining 2,200 piles will be drilled by autumn 2021.

Fingeo uses Robit’s pilot bits and reamers in the drilling work, which has progressed without a hitch. ”Robit’s pilots and reamers are doing a great job. At best, we have drilled more than 8 kilometers with a single bit. Cooperation with our Robit contact Sami Paavola has also been excellent: deliveries run smoothly, and Robit reacts quickly to our requests and provides support whenever needed”, says Tuomas Perkiö.

From left: Matti Tikkanen (Fingeo), pilot bit after drilling 8 km, a brand new pilot bit, Sami Paavola (Robit). Photo: Tuomas Perkiö

The remaining infrastructure works in Verkkosaari are scheduled to be completed in 2022, allowing the actual construction phase to begin. Kalasatama as a whole is one of the largest construction areas in Helsinki, and it will keep taking shape well into the 2030s.

The piling project in Verkkosaari continues into the second half of 2021. Photo on the top: Matti Tikkanen, Fingeo

World’s #1 copper producer chooses Robit

Posted on by Jari Silver

Copper mining has been a key driver of Chile’s economy for centuries. Among the country’s mining companies, the state-owned Codelco is the crown jewel. It’s the world’s leading copper producer with immense mineral reserves, and a driving force for the entire country’s development.

Codelco’s major mining sites include El Teniente, “the Lieutenant”, the world’s largest underground copper mine which has been in operation for 200 years and currently has a capacity of 400,000 tonnes.

The second largest mine is the century-old Chuquicamata, or “Chuqui”, as the locals call it. Since its open pit operations had grown increasingly uneconomic over the last years, Codelco made a huge investment switching to underground cave mining in 2019. Chuqui’s current capacity is 377,000 tonnes. Andina, the third largest mine nested at the dizzying height of 3,700–4,200 metres on the Andes, consists of the Rio Blanco underground mine and the Sur Sur open pit.

As of late 2020, Robit will be the main supplier of Top Hammer and Down-the-Hole drilling tools for Codelco’s three largest mines. This is a result of decisive cooperation between Robit and their Chilean distributor Full Safety.

Founded in 2010, Full Safety had focused on dealing in clothes and footwear for special target groups such as armed forces, law enforcement, health professionals – and the mining industry. The last-mentioned seemed like a promising sector for new business opportunities, and in 2015 they contacted Robit.

“We were looking for new strategies, and we met Robit at the right time. After consulting with them we restructured our business model over the next few years by opening a new office and recruiting sales personnel as well as drillmasters for field support. In turn, Robit offered us training and technical-commercial support on client visits, and participated in mining fairs with us”, recounts Cesar Cornejo, General Manager of Full Safety.

Getting a foot in the door of a global giant like Codelco is not a simple thing. Despite persistent efforts, discussions on arranging a comparison test to prove the quality of Robit’s consumables led nowhere. As a change of plan, Full Safety approached Astaldi, the main contractor at El Teniente – and they agreed to a head-to-head test between Robit and their then-current brands.

The February 2020 tests, involving bits, drifter rods and couplings, did not disappoint: Robit outperformed the competition by some 30% in terms of lifetime and penetration rate. A letter of certification by Astaldi opened the door to participate in a tender for Codelco. Full Safety and José Antonio Rodríguez, Sales Manager for Robit SAC, then carefully fine-tuned an offer that proved the most competitive.

This major achievement, however, is just the tip of the iceberg. The Chilean mining sector has vast growth potential for the Robit-Full Safety partnership, and several other tenders and product tests are already underway across the country.

Picture from left: Alberto Castillo (Sales Manager, Full Safety),Rafael Rojas (Drillmaster, Full Safety), José Antonio Rodríguez (Sales Manager, Robit), and Cesar Cornejo (General Manager, Full Safety).

Louhintaliike Ylimäki Oy – A specialist in large blasting operations

Posted on by Jari Silver

Louhintaliike Ylimäki Oy, headquartered in Lapua, is a family business that specialises in large-scale blasting and quarrying operations covering the areas of Pirkanmaa, Western and Central Finland and North Ostrobothnia. With more than 40 years of experience in the industry, the company guarantees its customers efficient and flexible service, helping it become one of the biggest quarrying operators in Finland.

Aatos Ylimäki founded Louhintaliike Ylimäki Oy in 1983. The company started out with rented equipment, but soon acquired its own manual drill and tractor-mounted air compressor. The company’s first contract was foundation work for a vocational school (Hervannan ammattiopilaitos) in Tampere. Over the years, the company’s fleet of equipment and number of personnel has grown. In 2012, the family company was transferred to the next generation, and since 2015 it has been headed by Matti Ylimäki.

Picture: Louhintaliike Ylimäki’s fleet includes six Sandvik open-pit drill rigs. According to Managing Director Matti Ylimäki (centre), head charger Matti Pitkäjärvi and driller Markku Viitanen, Louhintaliike Ylimäki has relied on the quality of Robit’s consumables, such as drill bits, rods and shanks, in its drilling operations for more than 20 years.

Quarrying with a large capacity
Today, Louhintaliike Ylimäki is known for carrying out large-scale blasting operations. With a staff of 20 and a fleet of 18 machines, the company performs rock extractions amounting to 7 million tonnes a year in a range of sites.
“Among our customers are aggregate suppliers, crushing companies and earthworks companies. We blast rock in open-pit mines in roughly 70 different sites every year; in recent years, we have also carried out a number of contracts for wind farms. We have numerous long-term customer relationships, which helps us in planning our operations in advance. Our services include crushing extractions and other large-scale quarrying, excavation of building foundations and road alignments, rock-breaking using a hydraulic rock hammer, per-metre drilling, rock slope scanning and hole straightness measuring,” lists Managing Director and head charger Matti Ylimäki.

Top-notch machine performance
Louhintaliike Ylimäki’s fleet of drilling equipment consists of six mid-range Sandvik drill rigs for open-pit mining and two Doosan excavators equipped with an ExcaDrill rock drilling attachment. The company also extensively uses rock-breaking equipment: 14 primarily Atlas Copco rock hammers mounted on ten 30–35-tonne excavators, most of which are from Doosan’s range. A wide array of other equipment used in quarrying contracts, from dumpers to vibration meters, is also in the company’s fleet.
Drill rigs are replaced after roughly 5 to 6 years of use; in one year, a single rig drills around 60 to 70 kilometres of holes in rock. The equipment is maintained at our own workshop in Lapua and of course we also use the equipment supplier’s maintenance services,” says Ylimäki.

Decades of co-operation with Robit Louhintaliike Ylimäki has relied on the quality of Robit’s consumables, such as drill bits, rods and shanks, in its drilling operations for more than 20 years. “Robit is a very important partner to us. As a Finnish operator, their service and products are always nearby, they listen closely to customer feedback, and perhaps most importantly for an operator of our size, their service is flexible – Sales Manager Esa-Matti Polvi is very pro-active, always on the lookout for new solutions to further enhance our operations. And of course the products are in top condition, which enables efficient drilling and well as a good price/quality ratio. Robit’s continuous product development brings better solutions to market and if we need, say, a few dozen special bits, they will be produced in Lempäälä just the way we want them and on a tight schedule,” praises Ylimäki.

A container with drilling products on site
A year ago, Robit set up a consignment stock at Louhintaliike Ylimäki’s location in Lapua.
“The products stocked in the container include all the drilling consumables we need, meaning bits, rods and shanks, as well as coupling sleeves and bit adapters, to name a few. Robit invoices us for the products we use, and we place orders to ensure the shelves are always stocked with what we need. The container itself was made to be user-friendly, so picking products and, for instance, using a forklift to lift drill rods onto the rack is easy. Drillers bring the products to the worksite with them in their vehicles, and they always have enough for one or two weeks’ worth of work on the rig,” says infrastructure engineer and head charger Matti Pitkäjärvi.
Robit’s consignment stock has significantly improved Louhintaliike Ylimäki’s logistics:
“It makes things easier for drillers when they can pick up the consumables they need from a single location straight off the shelf, without having to order them separately,” says Pitkäjärvi.

Picture: A year ago, Robit set up a consignment stock at Louhintaliike Ylimäki’s location in Lapua. The products stocked in the container include all the required drilling consumables, i.e. bits, rods and shanks, as well as coupling sleeves and bit adapters, among other things. Robit invoices for the products used, and orders are placed to ensure the shelves are always stocked as needed.

Effective results in Aggregate Andesite & Cement Quarry

Posted on by Jari Silver

As Indonesia continues to see a rising trend in the number of COVID-19 infected cases, the country especially Jakarta as the capital city where infections are the highest, continues to face a challenge to balance between containing the pandemic while maintaining the economy’s sustainability.

PT. Marton Tekindo Abadi as Robit’s distributor in Indonesia continues to show its highest level of professionalism and support for its clients across Indonesia amidst the pandemic. By complying with the protocols and regulations issued by the government and obtaining the necessary permits to continue business operations, Marton is able to continue supporting customers’ consumables needs across Indonesia.

Together with the support of Robit, Marton is able to maintain its supply and technical support to the customers. During these times, we believe that it is even more important to show our commitment and ability to support our customers to fortify the customers’ trust towards Marton and Robit. With a good teamwork between Marton and Robit, we are able to seize this moment as an opportunity to strengthen our presence in the market.

*Note: We highlight 2 customers here that are still operating during this pandemic one from aggregate quarry and another from cement quarry.

PT SUMBER TIGA PERMATA

PT Sumber Tiga Permata (PT STP), a long-standing and loyal customer of Marton, got acquainted with Robit drilling consumables when Marton and Robit started a distributor partnership. Being satisfied with Robit product performance, the co-operation continues with Robit drilling consumbales.

  • 2 pneumatic drills of Furukawa PCR200 are in use in three of PT STP’s quarry locations
  • In total, 6 units are in operation
  • As PT STP puts after-sales service in high regards, it is satisfied with the quality of Robit rock tools’ performance as well as the after-sales support receiving from Marton and Robit.

Segmentation: Aggregate Andesite Quarry
Location: Plered, Purwakata

Please find the picture above.

PT CEMINDO GEMILANG

PT Cemindo Gemilang is one of the major cement producers in Indonesia, known for its brand “Semen Merah Putih”

  • 5 hydraulic drills: 3 units Soosan CSM (ex Junjin CSM) supplied by Marton, 2 units Epiroc hydraulic drills and 2 pneumatic drills from Furukawa PCR200
    • – 4” bits are used at site
  • Cement plant capacity in Bayah is able to produce up to 4 million tons of cement per year
  • Marton supplied 3 units of Soosan CSM Top Hammer hydraulic drills, and Cemindo uses also Robit rock tools across its multi-brand drill rigs
  • Cemindo continues to be a committed customer of Robit, as our distributor partnership ensures a sufficient stock for the customer’s production and also provides excellent after-sales technical support.

Segmentation: Cement Quarry
Location: Bayah

Robit’s Successful Test Results in Vietnam

Posted on by Jari Silver

In June 2020, the distributor of Robit in Viet Nam – Dong Loi Equipment & Services Corporation organized a drilling test at Dak Mi 2 hydroelectric tunnel in Quang Nam Province.

Robit and other well-known brands from China and Japan were tested in this site. The test was conducted on a Sandvik DT821 drilling machine with both sides of drill hammer, left and right. The drilling parameters were identical for each brand. The test was conducted to determine the highest working life each tool could reach in the same testing conditions. The structure of tunnel is concrete on the hard rock formation. After a few days, the results of all brands were published. Robit Drifter Rod R32/T38, L=4.9 m completed the service life at 2,300 meters in the left and 3,200 meters in the right of drill hammer. With these results Robit reached from 500 meters to 700 meters better performance than rods by other well-known brands. The customer was very satisfied with the performance of Robit Drifter Rod. They appreciated its quality and will give the priority for using Robit Rod in the future.

Test Location: Dak Mi 2, Hydroelectric Tunnel, Quang Nam Province, Jun 2020
Test Objective: Measuring performance of Robit Drifter Rod R32/T38, L=4.9m vs. other well known drilling consumable brands.
Reported by: Pham Quoc Binh, Sale Manager at Dong Loi Corp.

Drilling Anseong~Guri #7 Tunnel within ab. 24 Months

Posted on by Jari Silver

“Dajoo Industry” (called Dajoo) is suppling Robit Top Hammer drilling tools in highway tunnel called Anseong~Guri #7.

Currently, Anseong~Guri highway is one of the biggest SOC projects in South Korea. Anseong~Guri highway is part of the Pocheon~Sejong project, which connects administrative city, Sejong with capital city, Seoul and northern industrial city, Pocheon. #7 is a 2-way highway of 1.7 km. Client organization is EX (Korea Expressway Corporation) and constructor is Samwhan. Drilling period is approx. 24 months. Robit distributor Dajoo has wide experience in rock tools business. Dajoo supplies to around 70 sites, which contain tunneling, quarrying and surface drilling. Robit and Dajoo have been working together since 2015. Dajoo has constantly increased sales volume year by year. In 2020, Dajoo has become one of the main distributors in South Korea and will increase Robit share consistently. Rock condition is granite and medium hard rock. Drilling machine is Epiroc XE3C (COP1838). Dajoo expects the site to consume 1,200 pcs of 45 mm bits, and 150 sets of drill string.

Distributor: Dajoo Industry
Robit consumables: Button bit – HTG 34RR045 S2,Ball,
Rod – T38*RR34*5525 (HEX35), Shank – COP1838 C38*435,
Coupling – C38 SB

Tunnelling the New Rail Line from Bhanupali – Bilaspur to Beri

Posted on by Jari Silver

Robit is supplying forepoling systems and MIPL casings for tunnel roof support to RVNL project Bhanupali – Bilaspur – Beri New Rail Line project.

The Bhanupali – Bilaspur – Beri New Rail Line project is being constructed with NATM method. The project is located in Himachal Pradesh. There are in total 7 tunnels being constructed from Bhanupali – Bilaspur – Beri. The government has also further plan to extend this broad-gauge line till leh via Kullu-Manali. The project has been awarded to Max Infra (I) Limited at ₹ 435 crore. The total length of the tunnel is 3.5 km. The geology consists mainly of sand, stone and soft rock. The contractor has till date completed 1200 metres tunnel by mainly using 114.3 mm Robit forepoling systems together with MIPL casings. The project is running smoothly. The contractor is using 6 Epiroc Drill Jumbos to install the forepoling at different tunnel faces. The contractor is achieving a daily advancement of 3 metres.

Contractor: Max Infra (I) Limited

NH21 Project is Running Smoothly with Robit’s Products

Posted on by Jari Silver

Robit is supplying forepoling systems and MIPL casings for tunnel roof supporting, and rock drilling consumables for face drilling to NHAI (NH21) project.

The 4 laning road of NH21 stretches from Pandoh Bypass to Takoli section in Himachal Pradesh. The project worth of ₹ 2600 crore will reduce time and traffic as well as streamline movement of vehicle from Delhi to Leh. The project started in March 2018. The tunnel network of 21-kilometres consists of 10 tunnels, out of which 5 tunnels totaling 15 km have been completed.

The project is being constructed by Afcons Infrastructure Limited. The geology consists mainly of Class D (more than 50%). Robit is supplying forepoling systems together with MIPL casings  of 76.1 mm for roof supporting. The Robit consumables have been found successful in making tunnels. The project is currently running smoothly and expected to be completed by next year.

Through its distributor MIPL, Robit has also tested rock drilling consumables, which have also proved to be successful by achieving more lifetime in terms of meterage compared to other brand products. Now most of the rock drilling consumables of this project are provided by Robit. Additionally, the economical products increase customer satisfaction.

Contractor: Afcons Infrastructure Limited

Buiding Up the Longest Tunnel in India

Posted on by Jari Silver

Robit is supplying forepoling systems and MIPL casings  for tunnel roof supporting, and rock drilling consumables for face drilling to RVNL Package – 5.

The Rishikesh–Karnaprayag Railway runs from Yog Nagari Rishikesh railway station in Rishikesh to Karnaprayag. The ₹16,200 crore project will shorten travel time from Rishikesh to Karnaprayag from 7 hours to ~2 hours. A 15-kilometre tunnel, reported to be the country’s longest, will be built between Devprayag and Lachmoli.

The proposed 125-kilometre stretch will have 12 stations, 17 tunnels and 35 bridges. The design consultancy contracts for tunnels are provided by Lombardi Engg, Yuksel, AECON.

The package 5 is being constructed by Navayuga Engineering Company Limited. It consists of 2 tunnels (Tunnel No. 9 & 10). Tunnel No. 9 from Laksh Moli to Maletha is 2.8 km and Tunnel No. 10 from Maletha to Rani Hatt is 4.1 km, including escape tunnels. The current geology found in both tunnels is RBM (soft rock with mixture of sand). The difficulties faced during forepoling and drilling were majorly due to RBM with big boulders of phyllite and quartize.

The NATM method is being used to construct the tunnel. Currently the daily advancement is 6 metres per day. We are proud to report that Robit forepoling systems together with MIPL casings  are approved at RVNL and are being successfully used by the contractor.

Contractor: Navayuga Engineering Company Limited
Design Consultancy: Lombardi Engg, Yuksel, AECON

Constant Product and Performance Improvement as a Result of Seamless Cooperation Between Robit, Distributor and Customer in United Arab Emirates

Posted on by Jari Silver

Stevin Rock LLC is one of the largest quarrying companies in the world, operating in the Middle East, on limestone, dolomite and gabbro minerals. Stevin Rock LLC produces over 80 million tons of the above minerals each year, drilling at the same time over 1.5 million meters.

After stringent trials with multiple competitor products over months, Robit products were found to have the least cost per meter in operations. Thus, the first contract was signed in 2017 for 2 years. After consistent performance for these 2 years and once again testing all competitor products, Robit was again found to have the most competitive performance. Robit was once again awarded the contract for the next two years covering 2019 and 2020. During these periods 2017 to 2020, Robit has been continuously improving its products based on customer feedback. As a result, Robit products have been regularly improved repeatedly.

Robit has also conducted regular drill master visits as well as conducted regular classes for Operators and Mechanics on optimum parameters for getting the best life of the product.

A combination of timely product evolution, regular training, visits of Drill Masters, 100% on time delivery and zero down time loss on account of product performance had contributed to the success of the product.

Robit is represented by Deltacorp Global FZE in the United Arab Emirates. They export to over 15 countries and operate from 2 warehouses in Duty Free Zone, in UAE.

Case report by: Bharadwaj Ventaraman, Manager, Deltacorp Global FZE and James Keenan, Distributor Business Manager, Middle East and Turkey, Robit Group

Strong Co-Operation with Amak, the Pioneer Mining Company of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Posted on by Jari Silver

Al Masane Al Kobra Mining Co (AMAK) is the pioneer private mining company of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, producing copper, zinc in concentrate as well as gold and silver in doré since 2012.

Al Masane Al Kobra Mining Co (AMAK) is the pioneer private mining company of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, producing copper, zinc in concentrate as well as gold and silver in doré since 2012.

The main mining camp (Al Masane) is in the southwest region (Najran) of Saudi Arabia at an elevation of 1620 mRL and approximately 640 km southeast to Jeddah. AMAK is committed to establish and sustain the highest safety standards with a zero-harm target and international best practice environmental standards with zero discharge to ambient environment. AMAK’s motto is “Every Incident Is Preventable”.

AMAK is continuously seeking investing in mining opportunities in the KSA and the region, including East African countries. Exploration continues at its nearby concessions as well as deeper levels of Al Masane and Guyan orebodies, which are still wide open at depth and extensions, with additional satellite pit development opportunities at Al Masane, Guyan and Al Aqiq mineralization zones.

AMAK is using Robit’s drilling consumables for face development, ground support and DTH drilling for underground operations. Robit consumables are performing well and thus, getting positive feedback from AMAK: “We are satisfied and happy for working with Robit. We appreciate the full support during the contract meaning quick responses for deliveries and shipping as well as providing technical services support in case of any problem”.

Case report by: Kadir Uslu, Drill & Blast Engineer, Al Masane Al Kobra Mining Co and James Keenan, Distributor Business Manager, Middle East and Turkey, Robit Group

Photo: Jumbo Operators, Mr. Mustafa Tufekci and Mr. Roger Junas