An HP 9000 FS steps up productivity in a Puglia quarry

An HP 9000 validates how excavating with a hydraulic breaker is a better option than drilling and blasting in certain conditions.

Indeco breakers have long been the choice of quarry operators around the world who have changed their method of extraction from drilling and blasting to mechanical systems. With the exclusion of very large quarries located in remote areas, the use of breakers is now a solid trend in many countries due to several factors that make drilling and blasting a less advantageous solution. Undoubtedly, among the motivations is the ever complicated bureaucracy involved in obtaining permits to use explosives in view of the safety issues. Another aspect is environmental impact, which over the last 20 years has played an important role in many quarry operators’ decision to switch their excavation method, as the noise and vibration from quarrying activities can be a disturbance to residential areas in the vicinity. Favoring a hydraulic breaker are also technical and economic considerations: though drilling and blasting clearly delivers superior output and is a necessary method on sites where high daily production volumes are required, it involves steps that lengthen times and add to costs. The most evident are the need to use rock drills (in general expensive equipment) and to reduce the volume of the larger blocks with the breaker before sending the material to the crusher. When sufficiently productive, reliable and able to sustain the constant work pace typical of a quarry, breakers are a valid quarrying method.
Messapica Inerti operates the limestone quarry in Ceglie Messapica in Italy’s Puglia region, supplying quality aggregates to produce concrete and asphalt (at its own and subcontracted production plants) and is one of the many companies that have switched to breakers after being convinced of the advantages. Starting in the late 1990s, Messapica Inerti decided to gradually abandon the use of explosives and transition to quarrying with breakers, carefully weighing which model would guarantee the highest productivity, reliability and profitability. After a set of comparative tests, the company settled on an Indeco HP 7000, a model that over the long term has proven its ability to meet the production demands of the quarry. Given the excellent output of the attachment during the early 2000s, the company followed up by purchasing a second breaker

The HP 9000 increases production

The quarry is characterized by relatively compact limestone (i.e., not highly fractured) and values of uniaxial compressive strength of 30-50 MPa depending on the zone. Angelo Elia, purchasing manager at Messapica Inerti, spoke about the choice for an HP 9000 to boost production: “When faced with the need to improve production, we decided to switch to the HP 9000 FS and mount it on an Case CX 490D excavator, guided by the fact that the HP 9000 was able to increase our production by 30%, as was demonstrated in the quarry. This new breaker will be added to the two HP 7000 we already own that in any case will be key to achieving our total daily production goals. Based on our use of Indeco breakers over the last 20 years or so, I can say that the HP 9000 FS possesses all the features that have led to the excellent results we’ve had to now, not to mention the advantages of the latest technology.”
That opinion is shared by many users around the globe who recognize Indeco breakers for their excellent ratio between energy input and energy output and consequently optimum efficiency. All breakers of the range are installed with the ABF (Anti-Blank Firing) system, Indeco’s patented technology that considerably improves the performance and durability of the breakers. In addition to a hydraulic system with improved efficiency, the HP series is characterized by the FS (Fuel Saving) mark indicating that the breaker needs less hydraulic power to operate, resulting in a significant reduction in the carrier machine’s rpm and a fuel savings of up to 20%. While delivering consistently excellent performance and maximum productivity, Indeco breakers require a reduced quantity of oil per minute and a lower operating pressure, a notable advantage with respect to breakers of other manufacturers in terms of weight and performance, and an even more important factor when comparing Indeco breakers with competing products of the same size that are gas or diesel-powered.