Skip to main content

Meeting Middle Eastern demand

Although construction projects in Dubai and Abu Dhabi demand large volumes of aggregates, many quarries in those regions are being closed by authorities. Much of the demand is being met by quarries in the Emirate of Fujairah which are fast becoming the regions' 'bread basket' for gabbro aggregates. Meeting this demand is a challenge for these quarries and contract drilling and blasting teams are proving essential, as is investment in productivity-enhancing technology. Fujairah-based Technical Drilling and
April 12, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Technical Drilling and Blasting now uses Sandvik top hammer rock tools across its whole drill rig fleet
RSS

Although construction projects in Dubai and Abu Dhabi demand large volumes of aggregates, many quarries in those regions are being closed by authorities. Much of the demand is being met by quarries in the Emirate of Fujairah which are fast becoming the regions' 'bread basket' for gabbro aggregates.


Meeting this demand is a challenge for these quarries and contract drilling and blasting teams are proving essential, as is investment in productivity-enhancing technology. Fujairah-based Technical Drilling and Blasting Company is one of the contractors gaining from this demand and has just standardised its operations to improve its productivity.

Despite the economic slowdown, the contractor reports that demand for drilling and blasting services remains high and it is one of five organisations operating in Fujairah. The company attributes the demand to the quality of the gabbro in the region with a typical density of 3tonnes per m³ and a 61% silica content. The Technical Drilling and Blasting Company has said that there is currently an almost continuous stream of trucks carrying aggregates travelling over the Hajjar Mountains from Fujairah to other UAE regions.

To help meet this high demand, the company now uses 325 Sandvik top hammer rock tools across all of its operations, which includes contracts for around 24 quarries in Fujairah. Technical Drilling and Blasting Company technical manager Bill Armstrong said that the company has a fleet of 16 surface top hammer drills and two down the hole rigs, of which nine are Sandvik units. "These are proving ideal in development and difficult to access areas of the quarry," he said.RSS

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Drilling's novel solutions
    July 23, 2012
    In the drilling and hydraulic attachment sectors too, firms are offering novel solutions for the customer. Atlas Copco continues to develop its comprehensive range of drilling solutions in the shape of its latest down-the-hole (DTH) and SmartRig variants, as well as adding new compact rigs and new consumables to the line-up. The firm's latest Roc L630 DTH rig benefits from a new feed as well as improved cooling. The new aluminium feed is said to improve hole straightness and hole quality. It also allows the
  • Increased asphalt demand - meeting the challenge
    February 8, 2012
    With demand for asphalt predicted to increase, manufacturers are ready to meet the challenge as Patrick Smith reports
  • Chinese ‘first’ for Sandvik drill rig
    July 2, 2013
    Chinese company, Fujian Saibang Leasing, has bought the new Sandvik DH350 compact drill rig, the first machine to have been developed and manufactured at Sandvik’s Jiading R&D centre in China. Globally launched at bauma China in 2012, the company said that the DH350 is proving ideal for a variety of construction drilling projects. The new Sandvik DH350 is a diesel-powered, crawler-mounted, self-contained down-the-hole drilling rig, that has been designed for drilling with 3”, 4”, and 5” hammers in the 89–15
  • Fast flyover removal with specialist demolition equipment
    July 12, 2012
    An overcrowded Indian flyover was removed in record time using specialist demolition equipment, as Patrick Smith reports Demolition of the landmark Lalbaug flyover south of central Mumbai has been completed and work on a new bigger bridge has started in India's largest city. Although the 38-year-old Sant Dnyaneshwar (Lalbaug flyover) two-lane, one-way traffic artery was serviceable and used by to 15,000 vehicles/hour, there were daily traffic jams and environmental consequences. Despite the complex and dema