Coal India begins operation of EKG

Coal India Ltd has begun mining operations with excavators manufactured by the Russian company IZ-KARTEX, a part of the Russian UZTM-KARTEX Group, which has been detailed in an article shared by Frontier India News Network. The EKG-20 was supplied under a contract for the supply of 11 machines with a bucket capacity of 22 cubic metres and spare parts for an 8-year period beginning with the first machine's commissioning. In July 2021, IZ-KARTEX and Coal India signed the contract in a $250 million deal.

The first of the 11 ordered machines will be operated at the Dudhichua open pit. The launch of the next excavator is scheduled for September. At the same time, the third machine is being prepared for installation. The supply of the entire batch of IZ-KARTEX will be completed in 2023.

The equipment was purchased by the Indian state concern Coal India as part of a program to develop the country's coal mining industry. Coal India intends to increase its annual coal production to 1 billion tonnes by 2023. The contract also provides for the supply of five walking excavators manufactured by Uralmashzavod and spare parts, tools and accessories (SPTA). This deal is worth $350 million. For the UZTM-KARTEX group, the supply of excavator equipment to one of the world's leaders in coal mining, Coal India, is its largest in the last 30 years.

With the help of high-performance excavator equipment, Coal India will significantly increase production volumes and achieve all the tasks set for the company, said Bhola Singh, Chairman and Managing Director of Northern Coalfields Ltd Singrauli, stressing that the excavator was installed in the shortest possible time. NCL practices open cast mining. The purchase enabled ongoing effort to modernise the company's ageing fleet of heavy earth moving machinery. Three of the machines would be used in Nigahi, Dudhichua, and Jayant, while one would be used in Khadia and Amlorhi. The deliveries of the machines would bring the total number of such shovels in NCL to 20.

The shipping of the first machine to Coal India commenced in December of 2021. On January 8, a cargo ship departed from St. Petersburg port and arrived at the port of destination, Kolkata, in 55 days. The commissioning of the machine was planned for early June 2022. IZ-KARTEX designed the EKG-20 as a serial-produced machine. However, according to Lead Project Designer Andrey Emelianov, several changes have been made to the machine's design to accommodate the needs of the customer. The changes included increasing the bucket capacity to PCSA standards (up to 22 m3), automating the supply of lubricant from the revolving frame to the carriage, and adapting the entire electrical part of the machine to the operating site's specific climatic conditions which in the summer shoots up to about a temperature of +50°C.

The shovel is of the same class as BEML's BRS-21 or the Komatsu P&H 2300XPC, or the TYHI WK-20. The rugged and easy-to-operate Komatsu P&H 1900AL (10.7 m3 capacity) rope shovel has traditionally been the market leader in India, but as production demands increase and truck sizes expand beyond the traditional 100 t class, there is now a real demand for larger shovels.

The mining shovels EKG-20K and EKG-20KM are designed to work with dump trucks with loading capacities of 130-220 t. They are equipped with AC and DC electric drives. According to the company, these excavators have an average vehicle availability rate of 0.80-0.90 and a productivity of 5.5 million cubic metres per year. Anti-wear manganese steel is used for the welded bucket front wall, hinges, and teeth. Manganese steel castings protect the bucket's side edges, and wear-resistant strips cover the bucket's bottom.

It is the second contract signed in the last ten years between IZ-KARTEX and Coal India. The factory supplied four EKG-10 machines under a contract signed in 2013.

Uralmashplant JSC, also part of UZTM-KARTEX, will supply Coal India with five ESH 24.95 walking draglines with increased unit capacity over the next five years. The contract also includes the installation and commissioning of the equipment at the customer's location. Uralmashplant will also provide service support for draglines as well as spare parts and accessories for 11 years from the date of commissioning. Previously, Uralmashplant JSC and SRB Group (India) upgraded NCL's fleet of walking draglines. The last of the upgraded draglines, ESH 20.90, was commissioned in August 2019.