Rock drilling technology and energy consumption: comparative study
The arrival of new technologies on the market of portable rock drills combined with the need for mines to improve electric consumption made it possible to identify the potential of two new types of rock drill presently in use in South Africa, namely the electric and the water powered hydraulic rock drill.
In collaboration with Niobec and Giant Sleeping Mines of Cambior Inc. and Hydro-Quebec, the real potential of energy savings of the hydraulic and electric portable rock drills compared to the conventional compressed-air rock drill was evaluated for hard and soft rock.
The presentation will highlight the potential energy savings for the water powered and the electric portable rock drill compared to the conventional pneumatic rock drill. Furthermore, the results for a mechanized mine and a narrow vein mine, with different ground conditions, will be presented.
Mots Clés:
Energy, electric consumption, rock drilling
