Dębówko Mine in Poland Relies on Doosan Machines
There is no such thing as an ideal machine. Every piece of equipment has its strengths and weaknesses, and the latter are always worth improving. Machine manufacturers argue that it is essential for innovative solutions to be functional and reliable at the same time. All these elements are effectively combined in Doosan machinery used in the DÄ™bówko Mine in Poland, namely a DA30 articulated dump truck, DX300 long reach excavators and a DL420-3 wheel loader.
The DÄ™bówko Mine, owned by SzczeciÅ„skie Kopalnie Surowców Mineralnych S.A. (SKSM)[Szczecin Mineral Mines], was established in the early 1970s and is one of eight separate operations owned by the company. Currently, DÄ™bówko has rights to exploit a 200 hectare mineral estate from which sand and gravel are extracted.
Jacek Skocelas has been managing this mine since 2012. He is available 24-hours-a-day on the phone. "What else can I do - the job requires this?" laughs Jacek.
DÄ™bówko Mine has 14 employees, and it is an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) type company. Szczecin Mineral Mines operations are known for incorporating cutting edge production and gravel and sand mining technologies. They execute the orders placed with them immediately. And they treat every customer on an individual and flexible basis. Their subsidiary operations also have state-of-the-art plant and machinery.
Dynamic Growth
The state-of-the-art machine fleet at DÄ™bówko Mine includes Doosan DX300 excavators. "We use this Korean manufacturer's machinery to extract sand and gravel from both underwater deposits, where sediments are submerged in very shallow water, and open pits," says Jacek Skocelas.
Apart from Doosan machinery, the mine is the first in Poland to operate a German Rohr floating grab excavator. The machine is 18 m wide, 15 m high and 30 m long, and its total weight is 220 t. On the site, you will also find dump trucks, including a Doosan DA30 model and a Czech DCJ jaw crusher and cone crusher. All the machines run 20 hours a day, under a three-shift scheme, including 4 hours for maintenance at night.
The company has been carrying out a large investment programme in the facility recently, building new sorting and processing plants. "The old plant could handle up to 300 tonne per hour, whilst the new systems are designed to process 700 tonne of raw material in less than an hour," explains Jacek Skocelas.
Quality Despite Difficult Conditions
An open-pit mine is an aggressive environment for any type of machinery. Long downtimes are totally unacceptable so extremely reliable machinery is simply a must. SKSM puts its trust in Doosan. The Korean manufacturer makes their DA30 dump trucks using top-notch components from global suppliers, such as Scania, ZF, NAF, Parker and Rexroth. The core of a DA30 dump truck is a Stage IV compliant 5-cylinder 9.3 litre Scania engine with an output of 357 HP. The dumper also has a permanent 6-wheel drive and automatic reduction of dumping speed to ensure permanent contact of all 6 wheels with the ground all of the time, which allows the machine to run on very difficult and soft surfaces.
"In the first instance, Doosan should be commended for the easy operation of the DA30 dump truck. As standard, the machine is equipped with scales to measure total load, and selectively for each run. It is also possible to program for two operators per day. Moreover, each of the operators can see how many kilometres they have covered on a given day, how many cycles they made, how much load they transported incrementally, how much fuel they consumed and what their average fuel consumption was. All this data can be viewed on a very clear colour display.
The body lifting feature was designed in a very interesting way. There is an acceleration button mounted in the handle for body tipping so the operator does not have to control the accelerator pedal with their foot. The body, especially the one with a payload of 28 tons, goes up very slowly without proper acceleration, and efficient time management is important for all of us. The brake is controlled with one foot leaving the other free. I tested three different makes of dump trucks and for me, Doosan offers the best solution of all of them," according to one of the dump truck operators who works in the mine. "The Doosan DA30 consumes just 16.72 litres of diesel per hour, on average. In addition, the cab gives excellent visibility - it is large enough, automatically air conditioned, has an air suspension seat that adjusts to the weight of the operator and is heated. The cab entry could be more comfortable, so there is some area for improvement," adds the operator.