Heidaigou mine adds Groves

Heidaigou coal mine, between Inner Mongolia, Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces in China, has added two new Grove rough terrains to its fleet of cranes.

Included in the order were a 60 tonne capacity RT765E-2 and a 135 tonne RT9150E complete with a 60 metre main boom. The RT9150E also has the Twin-Lock boom pinning system. Maximum reach with jib extensions is 95 m.

The rough terrains join a fleet that includes three 120 tonne capacity RT9130Es, two 80 tonne RT990 cranes and two 300 tonne GMK6300 all terrains.

The Heidaigou mine covers 42 square kilometres and in 2011 produced more than 31 million tonnes of coal. More than a thousand pieces of equipment are on site, including the largest dragline in Asia, haul trucks with capacities of more than 320 tonnes and a shovel with a capacity of more than 60 cubic metres, a company spokesperson said. The mine is state-owned and part of Inner Mongolia Jungar Energy (Shenhua Group).

At the mine, the Grove cranes are used for maintenance and repair work.

Lv Jianduo, chief engineer in the equipment maintenance centre at Inner Mongolia Jungar Energy, said, “Right from the beginning, we aimed to be a world-class operation and wanted equipment that both fitted our mentality and values while offering us the latest technology. Grove is the leader in mobile hydraulic cranes and when we started out it was the obvious choice for us. So we purchased two 80 tonne RT990 rough-terrain cranes, and 20 years later they are still in operation.

“We have high safety standards in our pit and Grove products give us reassurance,” says Jianduo. “Their durability and strong uptime performance means that the cranes can routinely maintain our other equipment, which is vital to our daily operations. Staff from Manitowoc Crane Care regularly visit our facility for training and updates and this has further enhanced our relationship and strengthened our belief in the company’s high-quality cranes.”