|
Norilsk Nickel is preparing to launch the Norda mechanized tunneling complex, which has no analogues in the world. This is a "combine harvester" capable of providing record-breaking penetration speed, as well as improving work safety. The company plans to start testing in the second quarter of 2026. The complex, weighing about 700 tons and 160 m long, is already being delivered to the Taimyrsky mine of the Polar Branch of Norilsk Nickel (Norilsk). The equipment will be used to extract the rich ore of the Severnaya-4 deposit. "We are entering into a unique project. Similar "combines" are used in metro construction, for salt or coal rocks. But such equipment has never worked on ore anywhere in the world. We are pioneers here," said Alexander Leonov, Vice President and Director of the company's Polar Branch. — The estimated penetration rate is 500 m per month with the potential to double. Based on this rate, we plan to produce 150,000 tons of ore using the complex in 2026, with a subsequent increase to 0.5 million tons." As noted Oleg Osnovin, CEO of the Mining Technology Industry Company (IGT, the title contractor for the project), the new technology has been developed for more than ten years jointly with Norilsk Nickel. Its fundamental difference is the possibility of completely abandoning the traditional drilling and blasting method. Instead, the method of mechanical rock chipping is used. "This makes it possible to completely eliminate the impact of an explosion on the mountain range, which fundamentally increases the safety of work," Osnovin said. The absence of explosions also minimizes risks to personnel. In addition, the complex is equipped with a unique emergency capsule developed jointly with partners. It is capable of providing an autonomous stay of the entire crew underground for a month. The Norda complex is fully automated. All parameters of its operation — performance, downtime, and system status — are digitized in real time and transmitted to the surface. The use of a tunneling complex in the future makes it possible to abandon the presence of a person in the face. According to experts, the first step will be the automation of mining operations (ore trucks), followed by the transition to a deserted model. For the successful launch of the Norda, about 300 tons of peripheral equipment and spare parts will be supplied to Norilsk with a reserve of several years. All the specialists who will work with the unique complex have already been trained. A special camera was created to assemble the complex at Taimyrsky. The installation of the Norda is carried out under the supervision of the manufacturer and with the direct participation of the Russian contractor and the engineers of the mine. Norilsk Nickel is convinced that the launch of a unique tunneling complex at Taimyrskoye is not just the introduction of new equipment. This is a strategic step towards innovative leadership, the formation of a new technological order for the entire mining industry in Russia and the world. The project demonstrates how the traditional industry, relying on interaction with science and bold engineering solutions, is able to make a qualitative leap, ensuring human safety and economic efficiency.
|
