Nouveautés

Low wear and tear
Black Forest tools pass tough test in Alaska

From Aichhalden to Alaska – Betek tools help to secure the extraction of raw materials even in the most hidden corners of the world.

Since summer 2007, Canadian company GAIA Inc., working closely with Bauer Resources Canada Ltd., has been building a slurry wall, up to 50m deep, to seal off a waste water treatment reservoir at one of the most productive zinc mines in the world, the Red Dog Mine in Alaska. Using a Bauer BC 40 trench cutter plus MAT mixing and separating systems, the company is creating 55,000m2 of sealing wall in very hard rock formations. The workers on site had to combat two different challenges: on the one hand providing construction site supplies for a project north of the polar circle proved to be a logistical challenge, and on the other the demanding geological conditions represented a tough test for the machines. Commenting on the choice of tools, an excerpt from an academic work produced by the Technical University of Berlin reads as follows: “After a series of attempts with different types of teeth and milling wheels, the tool that proved well suited was a rock milling wheel set, designed specifically for such conditions, which is predominantly fitted with round shank bits. This so-called round shank bit milling wheel set represents the best compromise between the milling progress required in the varying conditions of the backfill and in the compact rock. The progressive design of the teeth arrangement also enables wear to be kept within acceptable bounds, even in these extreme conditions.” It goes without saying that the bits mentioned in this academic report are the tried and tested precision tools made by Betek from the Black Forest.