KENNARDS Concrete Care supplied a hydraulic splitter for a trial at the Ridgeway Gold Mine near Orange, NSW in early June 2008.
The Darda C12 Hydraulic Splitter was used to break specially selected oversized boulders. The rocks were trucked up to the surface from the production level 850m underground.
The mine managers say workers will have to break up to 100 similarly-sized boulders every day when the new Ridgeway Deeps underground project is established.
The directors were looking for safe methods to break up the boulders to a more convenient size. Traditionally the miners relied on explosives to carry out the task. However, this dangerous technique results in fumes, fly-rock and can damage the structure of the tunnels.
Five volcanic-type boulders were brought up to the surface for the trial. Each measured around two to four cubic metres and had an estimated unconfined compressive strength between 110 and 140MPa.
The workers say the initial cracks appeared in each rock in around 15 to 20 seconds.
The splitter was supplied by Kennards’ base in Artarmon, Sydney.
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