TECHNOLOGY
SOFTENING
HARD ROCK
New technology will improve surface mining efficiencies, writes Dineo Phoshoko.
I
n response to improving mining safety
and efficiency, Italian manufacturer
Tesmec has developed the Rock Hawg —
a machine specialising in surface mining.
Quarry Southern Africa spoke to Tesmec
technical chief Flavio Villa to find out more.
applications), quarries and opencast mines
(surface mining), and excavation of big
ditches (large diameter pipeline)
For the sake of clarity, we must say
that conventional drill and blast methods
are still the most widely used excavation
methods in quarrying and opencast mining,
and in many cases, they remain the most
productive and cost-effective techniques.
That being said, Tesmec Rock Hawg
technology allows excavating in a cost-
For which applications are the Rock Hawg
best suited?
The machine is ideal for surface mining.
To date, it has been used for the following
applications: bulk excavation of rock for
construction, site preparation (cut and fill
16 _ QUARRY SA | JULY/AUGUST 2018
How long has the Rock Hawg been
available on the market?
The first Tesmec Rock Hawg was built in
2003, from the original Tesmec idea of
adapting a drum attachment to the famous
Tesmec trenchers, world leader in hard rock
excavation. The result was an innovative
surface miner, with an outstanding
excavation effectiveness, thanks to the
special features of the Tesmec design.
Since then, there has been a constant
evolution of this machine concept, and a
continuous improvement has been carried
out over the years to improve productivity
and reliability and to extend the application
range of this technology to several different
applications.
effective way — even strong and unfractured
rock — completely substituting and avoiding
the use of explosives.
This aspect can be of primary importance
and makes (under certain conditions) the
Rock Hawg a viable alternative to drill
and blast methods, considering that the
use of explosives is subject to more and
more restrictive regulations, controls, and
limitations throughout the world, especially
in politically unstable countries. Also, more
This rock-breaking monster has the potential to substitute conventional drilling and blasting in
the open pit.