Mining Magazine > Panorama > Sandvik unveils double pass continuous miner

Sandvik Mining and Construction RSA (Republic of South Africa) has entered the double pass continuous miner arena with the launch of its proprietary MC470, a continuous miner that offers the African coal mining market 100% utilisation in the cutting mode. The machine’s ability to use the shear-up function during cutting maximises cutting productivity.

A prototype unit was introduced by Sandvik in Austria and a coal mine in South Africa at the end of 2009 and, following successful field tests, the first three units have been sold to a potash mine in the United Kingdom and the test mine in South Africa, with a fourth on order from a South African coal operation.

Weighing in at 115t, the Sandvik MC470 is the heaviest machine of its kind on the South African market. With 540kW of cutting power, the machine is powered by 3,300V for easy cable handling. Radio remote controlled, this high productivity continuous miner is designed to operate in the hazardous areas of underground coal mines and is ideally suited to South African bord and pillar operations, though also has application in salt mines.

The MC470 harnesses hydraulic track drives from the successful Bolter Miner series and has fail-safe emergency brakes on its tracks. The entire machine has been designed to protect hoses, cables and components against damage from roof and rib fall. The machine’s low cutting speed reduces dust generation during cutting, providing safe working conditions, while a high capacity on-board dust filtration and suppression facility also minimises operators’ exposure to dust.

Other features include low ground pressure, an on-board health-monitoring visualisation screen and load-sensing hydraulics with continuous fluid filtration and cooling.

Sandvik electrically-powered track-mounted continuous mining machines are designed to cut coal and soft minerals continually, eliminating the need for drill-and-blast. Using advanced cutting technology, these machines cut and gather the material simultaneously and convey it to shuttle cars, haul trucks or to a continuous haulage system. Extremely productive and reliable, they are used to develop longwall panels for extraction, as well as for full scale production in bord-and-pillar operations.
 
Technical data:
Total length (approx)                11.9m
Machine height                2.2m
Total weight (approx)                 115t
Total installed power at 3,300 V, 50 Hz    930kW
Cutting width                    3.8m
Drum diameter                1.3/1.4m
Minimum cutting height            2.6m
Maximum cutting height            5m
Cutter motor power                2 X 270kW
Loading device                Spinners
Loading capacity                45t/min
Conveyor width                960mm
Conveyor capacity                45t/min
Tram speed slow/intermediate        4.5/12.5m/min
Maximum tram speed                25m/min