How Motor Graders Save Money on Mines?

The mining industry in India is growing at a rapid pace owing to mineral rich soil of the country. Further, in the recent past, the mining activities in the country have received a further boost due to new legislation aimed at increasing private sector participation in explorations and extractions.

This increasing mining operations in the country have a direct correlation with the motor grader equipment sector. This is because of the fact that motor graders highly improve productivity and efficiency and even reduce the operating cost at the mining sites. How? Well, motor graders help in construction and maintenance of haul roads and help in movement of men and materials.

Motor grader’s role in boosting cost efficiency at the mining sites

Here is a look at the usage of motor graders at any mining site and the benefits offered by them...

1. Constructing and maintaining haul roads:

Every mining site essentially has haul roads that are constructed for heavy or bulk transfer of materials at the mining site. These roads can also be constructed between mining operations and processing locations. These roads must be well-constructed and maintained to prevent road deformity and degradation which occur with frequent use.

Generally, high-quality haul roads offer various advantages like they help in improving overall productivity at the mining site by minimising slow-downs and delays as haul trucks can approach and navigate ruts, depressions, bumps or potholes easily, increasing the life of haul trucks and their tires which do not worn out or damage easily, reducing fuel costs for hauling material and improving safety for haul truck operators. Guess what? Motor grader is one equipment that can easily help in doing all the above by constructing and maintaining good haul roads so as to support maximum cost efficiency and productivity at the mining site.

It is generally seen that when the haul roads are kept in a good condition, then the haul trucks can move easily over them at a fast speed. Here, it goes without saying that the good road conditions always play a key role in extending the life of the equipment like haul trucks in this case and help in reducing the maintenance need of haul trucks, lower fuel costs and reduces tire damage. This also results in improved cycle times and producing of more ore at lower cost.

So, while drills, draglines, loaders and haul trucks are responsible for producing ore at the mining site, motor graders have a direct impact on how productively these machines can operate. In fact, they have an essential role in haul road construction and maintenance, blasting cleanup, loading area cleanup and reclamation. Also, on the haul roads, motor graders help in creating and maintaining constant grade and proper drainage.

Further, generally, the haul roads begin at the loading face and ends at the dump point. Motor graders help to keep the floor smooth and remove debris in the load zone, so that the trucks and other equipment don’t drive over rocks and move at fast speed. As for the dump zone, there also motor graders ensure that the floor is smooth and trucks and other equipment are able to entre at high speed on it.

Thus, overall, motor graders help in constructing and maintaining efficient haul roads by ensuring that the road surface remains flat and smooth with proper drainage and the road is kept free of debris, puddles, potholes, depressions and ruts. This saves huge costs at the mining site.

2. Helping in movement of men and materials:

Motor graders also help in the movement of men and material at the mining sites. Jobsites like quarries and industrial sites in remote areas generally do not have proper roads leading to the site. This causes a lot of hassle for the movement of men and material. Here, comes the importance of motor graders as they can be used to create temporary roads leading up to the site to sustain daily operations and enable ease of transportation. By supporting movement of men and material, motor graders hugely save time and money involved in the two tasks and thereby boost cost efficiency at the mining site.

In a nutshell

Haul roads at the mining site if not constructed and maintained properly can end up costing lot of money. In fact, at all times, the haul roads at mining sites should be free of puddles, potholes, ruts and gullies, there should be no spillage or debris on the road and there should be no rubber deposits on tight and rocky turns. These situations can be averted only through constant maintenance of haul roads through motor graders which ensure smooth road surface at all times. It goes without saying that proper haul road maintenance equals saving huge money on truck maintenance. Particularly, during the rainy season, motor graders become much more important as by keeping the haul road in good condition, they prevent the haul trucks from churning up the road surface by making it less slippery. Thus, motor graders highly help in boosting cost efficiency and productivity at the mining site.

Keeping in mind, the increasing need of motor graders in the mining applications, the motor grader manufacturers in India are leaving no stone unturned in producing high quality machines. One indigenous manufacturer among them is Mahindra Construction Equipment (MCE). The company manufacturers RoadMaster G75 motor grader which is one of the most affordable and incomparable equipment in its category in the country at the present. The RoadMaster G75 is very productive and suited to work in any environment and terrain of the country. The equipment is designed to provide optimal output at affordable cost with its simple yet rugged design. Having excellent features, RoadMaster G75 comes with the option of having additional fitments i.e., the ripper and dozer for added versatility. They are ideal for mining sites as well.

Overall, these days, motor graders are not only employed for road construction projects but they are even used extensively at the mining sites as they are highly versatile machines and can perform a variety of tasks easily and increase mining site productivity and cost efficiency.