Tamrock aims for peak efficiency.

(From Gulf Construction)

Tamrock rock drills are currently ensuring high output for a UAE drilling contractor working on a new quarry in the mountains of Fujairah

UAE specialist drill and blast contractor Technical Drilling and Blasting Company (TDBC) - which has recently taken delivery of its fifth Tamrock 700-2 surface drill rig in less than three months - has already put the new rig to immediate use in a new mountain-top quarry in Fujairah

The rig - fitted with Sandvik rock drilling tools - has started work on Doha quarry on a 201 m-high peak in the foothills of the Hajar Mountains

Work on the Doha quarry, developed by the recently-formed Great Lakes Development Corp, started at the beginning of the year - with one of the first jobs involving removal of the beacon on the flight path to nearby Fujairah International Airport

With the quarry's reserves expected to last up to seven years, Great Lakes is currently installing a 1,200 tonne- -per-hour (tph) capacity crushing plant. Access roads to the top of the "peak" are too steep for haul trucks. The contractors will, therefore, remove the top 20 m to provide an easier gradient access - initially pushing blasted rock down the slope to a stockpile at the foot of the mountain

During this "levelling" operation, the Tamrock rig is drilling just 10 m deep holes on a 3.25 m by 3.5 m pattern