Compact and remotely controllable demolition robots have great potential for use in thin vein mining. With 80% of injuries and fatalities in underground mines occurring at the working face, allowing crews to remotely control rock drilling, blasting, anchor installation, and chunk crushing will ensure the safety of these workers.
Breaking robots are providing an effective solution for many underground mine applications with their compact, bionic, three-section arm structure, dead-zone free operation, remote control and other outstanding multi-functional designs.
The Breaking Robot equipment uses heavy-duty tracks and outriggers to operate in the most uneven terrain, and the working arm consists of three segments that provide an unprecedented range of motion allowing for chiseling, prying hairs, crushing rock and installing anchors in any direction, in addition to the equipment utilizing a hydraulic system that eliminates the need for compressed air and minimizes the need for working face facilities. The electric drive ensures that these robots have zero carbon emissions during operation.
The same breaking robot can perform a variety of tasks such as stripping, rock drilling, prying hair, mine roadway maintenance, drilling, etc., which not only improves the productivity of the mine, but also increases the safety and sustainability of mining operations.
Breaking up large blocks
A demolition robot can be placed on top of a fixed grate or in a blasting chamber, allowing it to break up chunks without the use of explosives or any unnecessary material handling.
Domestic demolition robots are now available in sizes ranging from 0.7 to 12 tons, each with a power-to-weight ratio 2 to 3 times that of conventional excavators.
Ultra-deep thin vein mining
Deep vein mining requires highly maneuverable and durable equipment. Although robots are now available for large-scale hybrid mining, they are not suitable for ultra-deep thin vein mining. Breaking robots offer additional benefits such as high safety and productivity in remote operations, as well as high flexibility and precision, which some gold mines have achieved by adding breaking robots to their deep vein mining.
Demolition robots have been coupled with excellent power-to-weight ratios, often comparable to machines twice the size of existing equipment, with efficiencies that greatly exceed those of air-legged drills, and can withstand the high temperatures and pressures of ultra-deep mining. Through the efficiency statistics of a mine that employs breakout robots in deep mining, the labor cost of advancing a mine one meter deeper is reduced by 60% when working with breakout robots compared to traditional manual methods.
Mine tunnel maintenance
Two other tasks that can be performed more efficiently by remotely operated wrecking robots are the repair and maintenance of mine shafts. Mining methods have changed in recent years, with many mines utilizing more advanced equipment to re-exploit former veins, thereby supplementing ore production. However abandoned mines are in a state of disrepair. The presence of coarse boulders, collapsed support systems, and fallen pipelines within the mine makes the process of cleaning up the mine slow and dangerous. In addition, as mining technology advances, safety requirements for mines have become more stringent.
As a result, a great deal of work may be required when rehabilitating old mines to meet modern regulatory requirements. In these cases, versatile breakout robots can minimize equipment and personnel requirements and complete mine rehabilitation very efficiently.
During the initial repair or rehabilitation, the robot can remove loose pumice with a rock crusher, and the breakout robot uses a non-blasted approach to break up large chunks, resulting in increased efficiency. And instead of stopping operations and evacuating people for chunk blasting, the operator can switch the tooling of the demolition robot to use a shear tool or multi-cutter attachment to remove support components and piping, haul away piping or discarded support beams, install a grapple on the robot to transport the material and carry out the ballasting, and use the drilling component to carry out the chunk blasting as well as installing the support system and suspensions.
Finally, the robot can also utilize shotcrete attachments sourced from the manufacturer. Mines using demolition robots to rehabilitate abandoned mines can double the monthly vertical extension and reduce labor requirements by 44%. The multi-functional design features of the demolition robots provide mechanization and safety maintenance solutions that not only increase mine productivity, but also improve mine safety and sustainability.
Hitech, as one of the few engineering robot manufacturers in China, has developed and manufactured up to 8 types of breaking and demolition robots, which have been used in many industries in China, such as emergency rescue, subway tunneling, mining, mine tunneling, metallurgy, kiln dismantling and kiln clearing, and cement industry.
