Catch up with Digger on the Construction Plant & Equipment Blog, @TheDiggerBlog View construction machinery on Construction Index TV View over 400 UK Plant Hire Companies on Construction Index Looking to buy Construction Plant and Equipment? Construction Training everything from NPORS to NRSWA New Hewden boss sets out his stallLifting innovationsHighclimberJCB shows off innovationsBig lifter Geotechnical contractor BAM Ritchies’ UK drill and blast operations have been boosted by the arrival of three new Sandvik DI550 drill rigs.
The drill rigs will operate on a number of quarrying contracts in the north of England and Scotland.
The DI550 is the first of Sandvik’s new generation down-the-hole drill rigs, designed for large and medium-sized quarries.
BAM Ritchies says that it is now the largest drill and blast contractor in the UK, having blasted more than 40 million tonnes of rock in 2014.
The new drill rigs are equipped with down-the-hole hammers that are designed specifically for high-capacity rock drilling in quarries, opencast mines and construction projects. They are completely self-contained, with on-board compressors, dust suppression and ergonomic cab. It has a 328 kW diesel engine and a 24.4m³ compressor airflow at 24-bar pressure, driving four-and five-inch DTH hammers.