BHP Mitsubishi Alliance has received the help of Wolff Mining to break a monthly drilling record at the Saraji coal mine in Central Queensland.
Wolff Mining, which is part of the National Group, supplies BMA Saraji with a Cat M6420B drill, which delivers increased operator safety and precision.
During November, Wolff drilled 43,794 metres, beating the previous record of 41,500 drilled metres at the Saraji site.
With its electro-hydraulic controls and computer-controlled drilling, Cat M6420B operators can focus on drilling more metres in complete confidence that they are in a safe work environment.
Also boasting autonomous ready functions and enhanced diagnostics, the M6420B is one of Cat’s most reliable and safest heavy duty drills available for open pit mining operations.
The MD6420 drill still has the features of its predecessors, which are favoured by drillers worldwide, but with greatly improved safety systems and communications networks.
The Cat C-Series computer controls allow for onboard process tracking of the component status and tramming functions to guide the driller throughout the process, ensuring precise drill pressure control for improved productivity and operator safety.
“It is very rare that a drilling company exceeds 40,000 drilled metres a month, so breaking the site record of 41,500 drilled metres at BMA Saraji and setting a new record of 43,794 for November is a great achievement,” National Group managing director Mark Ackroyd said.
“To achieve a milestone such as this takes a highly skilled and motivated team and a high-quality piece of mining machinery such as the Cat M6420B drill.
“Working at BMA Saraji has been a pleasure and we are dedicated to repeating these results, pushing the boundaries of possibilities and breaking new records into the future.”