Little giant starts to grow

2010-08-24

Simba plays key role in mine integration

Sub-level caving in the Severny orebody showing a typical layout and drilling pattern. The Simba L6 C rigs are used for production drilling of 102 mm holes in both longhole stoping and sub-level caving operations.

In 1994 the leading Russian mining group Norilsk Nickel began an ambitious project to connect two underground orebodies to increase productivity. Scheduled for completion this year, the mine is aiming for production of some 6.3 Mt, rising to 7 Mt in 2011.

To support the development and production work, a new mining fleet was procured that includes 15 Atlas Copco Simba rigs, 18 Boomer face drilling rigs, eight Scooptram LHD’s and 11 Minetruck trucks.

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