M I n I ng Constru C t I on 1 2013 17 perfor med on site b y the T ara Mines engineers Prior to the ar ri v al of the frst Scaletec scaling w as mostl y done b y w ork ing either from the b uck et of a scoop the platfor m of a utility v ehicle or b y standing on the slipper y muckpile a no brainer According to P eter Bre witt Atlas Copco s B u s i n e s s L i n e M a n a g e r f o r t h e U K Ireland the operators w ere doubtful b ut are no w positi v e to mechanical scaling in their w ork places This is a major shift in atti tude and confr ms that the y w ant to reduce the number of incidents betw een f ace drill ing and bolting he sa ys In addition Grennan adds risk assessments that ha v e been done indicate that mechanical scaling is a no brainer Bre witt confr ms that the T ara Mines operators lik e the er gonomicall y designed cabin and that Atlas Copco is making fur ther impro v ements Besides the Scaletec the T ara mine has a feet of Atlas Copco equipment including Boomer M2C twin boom f ace drilling rigs Simba long hole production rigs Cab letec cab le bolters and MT6020 Minetr uck tr ucks This is one of the better advances I have seen in my 37 years in the mining industry John g rennan Safety Superintendent T ara Mines t aking the risk out of scaling The Atlas Copco Scaletec scaling rig was devel oped in 2005 to enable miners and tunnelers to tackle the hazardous task of scaling roofs and walls after blasting with maximum protection Not only does the Scaletec improve safety for the scaling crew it also improves the qual ity of the scaling result which benefits overall productivity The rig consists of world proven components notably the carrier the hydraulic breaker and the comfortable well protected operators cabin The breaker is designed specifically for scal ing It is constructed from a solid one piece body that does not require side bolts making it a much stronger unit T o optimize it for scaling operations the breaker s strike frequency has been increased at the same time as the impact energy has been decreased The boom covers an area of 9 m high and 11 m wide enabling it to effectively follow the contour of the face the roof and walls in most drifts and tunnels In addition the cab comes with a 375 mm v ert ic al li ft an d a 1 5 de gre e ti lt to pr ov id e t he op er a tor with optimum visibility Positioning and control with RCS Rig Control System is fast and easy and an integrated water channel provides the hammer with water flushing for dust suppression Scan the code to see the Scaletec in action