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Sandvik DPi Drill Rigs Wow Quebec Contractor
Castonguay prides itself on being able to handle the most challenging drill and blast projects from quarrying, to open pit mining to construction work and its clients have come to depend on its professional approach of managing projects safely and effectively. As an industry leader, Castonguay is continually striving to develop new technologies to provide the surface drilling and blasting industry with safer, more productive and economical means of completing each project in a timely manner. As such the performance, reliability and cost effectiveness of the drill rigs in its fleet are of paramount importance and both Castonguay management and rig operators are hugely complimentary about its Sandvik DPi units.
Graymont’s Marbleton limestone quarry in Quebec is no exception. This is one of the oldest quarries in Canada and supplies Graymont’s major Marbleton lime plant located near the site. Quarry production is some 2 million tonnes of rock (primarily a relatively soft limestone) a year and it relies on Castonguay’s Sandvik DP1500i rigs and their operators to produce this with no hassle and extremely economically making full use of the fuel saving attributes built into the rig’s design. The quarry achieves its high production level while only operating on a single shift basis five days a week and manages 25-27 m of drilling an hour. Many quarries rely on DTH rigs for their drilling, but Castonguay’s Sandvik DP1500i tophammer units have been found to outperform comparable DTH rigs in the Castonguay fleet in terms of drilling performance, precision and in particular in fuel economy – of major significance for operators today in this time of rapidly rising oil prices. The Sandvik DPi series of drills has now been on the market for around four to five years and was developed from the very successful Tamrock Pantera line of surface drills. Sandvik reports that general customer feedback is that these units outperform their previous generation both in productivity and fuel economy. Operators are particularly happy with the working environment the enclosed cab provides in terms of both soundproofing and visibility, while the intelligent control system makes for much easier and more accurate drill operation. Indeed, lower fuel consumption was a key target in drill design for the DPi series. Indeed Castonguay’s management and operators would fully agree with all the above. The contractor’s Regional Manager for Quebec and the Maritimes, Stephane Lavoie says he, and the company, are particularly pleased with the Sandvik drills at the Marbleton quarry and elsewhere. He comments that the decision to purchase the rigs was based on performance and in particular on fuel consumption “because of the constant and ongoing increase in the fuel price” – a move which has been well justified with the units delivering very precise drilling at 25-30% less fuel consumption than equivalent DTH high pressure compressor units in the company’s fleet. He notes that the onboard computer reporting function is very precise and gives the operator, and management very detailed information and that Sandvik service support is also excellent. “I definitely would recommend Sandvik DPi rigs” he says – but perhaps only to non directly-competing businesses! Hugo Leblanc, a Castonguay driller at the Marbleton site is equally complimentary about the DP1500i rig he operates. He says that from his experience it performs extremely well in all rock types from hard granites to softer limestones. He has been operating the rig for over a year and says it is very fast, drills good sized holes using Sandvik GT60 rock tools (used on other Castonguay rigs too). “It is much better than other rigs I have used before.” he says. He praises in particular the excellent visibility, the in-cab quietness of the unit, its accurate drilling – a deviation of only 1o in a 26 m hole. He also praises the very easy access for refuelling and simple maintenance tasks and the computer diagnostic system which makes fault correction quick and simple. “I’d recommend this machine to everybody” he says. Leblanc is an experienced driller and the transition to operating a brand new rig was smooth with two weeks training in a simulator to learn the layout and controls, followed by two weeks supervised drilling on site. He was then “good to go”. He goes on to describe the performance and fuel economy as “amazing” compared with previous rigs he has operated.
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In the quarrying sector, armed with 40 years of quarry experience, Castonguay works hand-in-hand with each quarry operator to ensure that the finished product conforms to the desired dimensions. Due to the proximity of some quarries to populated areas; Castonguay utilizes state-of-the-art seismic monitoring systems to record noise and seismic activity produced by the effects of blasting and very precise drilling can be key to achieving this. With accurate and dependable tracking, quarry operators can effectively meet or exceed regulated standards and still optimize productivity.
“We set three key environmental targets: one was lower fuel consumption and the other two minimising noise and dust emissions. We developed a new way of measuring fuel consumption which also incorporates the productivity aspect. While the previous measurement unit for fuel consumption was litres per hour, we now count litres per drilled metre,” explains Tapani Sormunen, Sandvik’s Engineering Manager, New Products, Surface Drills. 
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