Skip to main content

Breaking at the face

Italian customer Marocca Group is using an Indeco HP18000 hydraulic breaker (the heaviest hydraulic breaker on the market at present) for primary demolition at a limestone quarry in Anagni, close to capital Rome. The 40ha quarry produces high grade limestone in 21 different sizes to meet an array of construction needs, and the bespoke fully automated crushing and screening plant is able to process over 500m³/hour of rock. By using the HP18000 in a primary winning application, Marocca Group has also been abl
July 16, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
RSSItalian customer Marocca Group is using an 237 Indeco HP18000 hydraulic breaker (the heaviest hydraulic breaker on the market at present) for primary demolition at a limestone quarry in Anagni, close to capital Rome.

The 40ha quarry produces high grade limestone in 21 different sizes to meet an array of construction needs, and the bespoke fully automated crushing and screening plant is able to process over 500m³/hour of rock.

By using the HP18000 in a primary winning application, Marocca Group has also been able to significantly reduce operating costs by minimising its use of explosives, which are costly and subject to strict regulations. Many quarry operators are keen to cut their reliance on blasting: this has been particularly apparent in Italy, where regulations have long been much tougher than in other European countries.
Comparative research carried out on rock produced from quarries using breakers for primary winning against blasted stone shows other benefits from using hydraulic hammers. Where breakers are used, the stone produced features less micro-cracking and is said to offer high performance in civil engineering applications as it is less likely to feature crack propagation.

The Marocca Group has been using Indeco breakers in its quarries for five years and in addition to the huge HP18000 it also has an HP2500, an HP7500 and an HP12000. Maintenance for its Indeco breakers is provided by Fratelli Alpassi, while for scheduled maintenance and periodic overhaul, the Bari plant also provides servicing.

The HP18000 is being used on a 120tonne 233 Hitachi excavator fitted with a Lenhoff quick coupler. The breaker is mounted on the quick coupler as Marocca also uses a ripper and a bucket on the excavator when required.

According to Marocca, the HP18000 is able to carry out the work of two mid-sized breakers, and it can break up the hardest blocks of materials, enabling it to clean each seam faster, a critical procedure for safety and for restoring the site.
RSS

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Hitachi’s excavator digs deep in the Swiss Jura
    May 1, 2015
    A new Hitachi ZX870LCR-5 owned by Swiss company Lachat is making a significant impact on the production process at the Asuel La Malcôte quarry in the canton of Jura. The large Zaxis-5 excavator is excavating a mixture of marlstone and limestone materials in a much cleaner way than before, as well as helping to sanitise the relatively unstable site. Lachat, founded in 1948 and taken over by the Steiner Group in June 2013, has 42 employees working in quarrying, recycling and the production of aggregates
  • DSS Group invests in Hitachi ZX670LC-5 excavator
    August 23, 2013
    One of Poland’s largest aggregates producers, DSS Group, has purchased a new Hitachi ZX670LC-5 for its quarry at Pilawa Górna in Lower Silesia. The company took delivery of the Zaxis-5 large excavator from Polish Hitachi dealer Tona in January 2013 as a key part of its strategy for aggregates production at the site. The DSS Group – owned by Dolnolskie Surowce Skalne SA – is the largest domestic producer of crushed aggregates for infrastructure projects. It has a 30-year licence to extract amphibolite (a
  • Boom in Morocco's road construction materials
    February 10, 2012
    The strong road construction market in Morocco is helping boost the quarrying market in the country substantially. One such operation exists near the town of Ben Slimane, situated north of Casablanca. Agregat Oued Cherrat (AOC) owns a 65ha quarry, one of the largest of the 14 in the region and when the firm decided to buy new excavators, it also opted to buy Hitachi machines. AOC placed an order for one ZX330-3, with the second delivered three months later and the company now has three ZX330-3s, with a four
  • Remote control crushing
    July 16, 2012
    Following a trial of Metso Minerals' Nordberg Plant Management System at Hanson Aggregates' Ystrad Meurig Quarry, UK, the software has now been installed on a further six mobile machines at Lithalun Quarry. Metso installed the remote control system on the Lokotrack LT300HP for Hanson last year to allow the company to test the advantages of the wireless communication capabilities. The system has now been extended to the LT110 primary crusher, another LT300HP and its two ST358 and ST620 mobile screens.