“Arkhangelskgeoldobycha” JSC (Arkhangelsk, Russia):

Paley L. M., Acting Chief Mechanic, e-mail: LPaley@agd.lukoil.com

Commercial development of Grib diamond deposit is carried out in the unsettled, heavily watered and swamped territory, in the severe climatic conditions of the European North of Russia. Industrial site of V. Grib MPC is located at the distance of 130 km from the town of Arkhangelsk and is connected with the town by a communal earth-road. The executive group of “Arkhangelskgeoldobycha” JSC was entrusted with the task of undertime implementation of preliminary, managerial and engineering package plan, to begin with the deposit opening and ore extraction commencement. The group of actions of the early mining practice stage included substantiation, selection and procurement of the equipment optimally appropriate for the working conditions at the upper levels of the open pit mine; moving-in of the heavy-weight equipment to the industrial site; development of the open-cut equipment acceptance, keeping, assembly, repair service and operation infrastructure; personnel selection. The large-size cargo was transported by wheel-tyre tractors with heavy-duty trailers. Before the transportation the on-route bridges were examined and reinforced where necessary and the swing-round road sections were expanded. The assembly and commissioning work is executed by service organizations, as well as by the equipment manufacturers and mechanics and technical personnel of the mining-and-processing integrated works. The basic set of the mining and haulage equipment accepted at the early stage of the deposit opening and preparation are dump trucks BELAZ-75473 with capacity of 45 t and BELAZ-75281 with capacity of 36 t, with the articulated frame and the wheel arrangement 66; diesel engine drive hydraulic excavators Liebherr 964 with bucket capacity of 4 m3; heavy-duty bulldozers Caterpillar D 9R. The recruited personnel have certified operating permits to drive mining, transport and other related machines, with unrestricted work authorization after period of probation. For maintenance and repair, two tent sheds are erected, that are heated by scavenge oil heating installations. The maintenance and repair is executed by services of the equipment manufacturers. The standby mining and haulage machinery is located on an isolated site with light illumination and electric network. Oil drain and servicing is carried out by custom machine UST 54531A, diesel fueling is implemented by KAMAZ-43010-based filling truck Nefaz-66063, at the fuel stops arranged nearby the open pit mine and the dump. There is a warehouse of consumables and frequently replaced spare parts.