A MINING WORKHORSE

DOZERS ARE AN ESSENTIAL COMPONENT OF THE MINING INDUSTRY, BUT WHAT MAKES THEM SO IMPORTANT AND WHAT TYPES OF DOZERS ARE COMMONLY USED?

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While trucks and loaders are key transporters of ore on a mine site, support machines such as dozers take on much of the grunt work by pushing and excavating valuable material.

A seamless dozer operation can be the central ingredient to a more productive mine, enabling other machinery to go about its business without a hitch.

Dozers can assist in constructing and maintaining haul roads and safety berms, mine reclamation and clean-up of blast areas, while dozer ripping is a popular and cost-effective alternative to accessing ore when blasting is not possible.

The most efficient ripping operations are those that cut with the grain, though it’s important to understand the strata to support the best ripping patterns. Cross ripping can be an effective technique to navigate difficult spots.

Operators must be mindful of ripping up slopes or on side-slopes – ripping downhill can be the most effective approach, best capitalising on the dozer’s weight and horsepower.

Australian Mining takes a closer look at track and wheel dozers and spotlights a Tier 1 original equipment manufacturer in the process.

Track dozers