Rammer copes with hardest stone

Wotton Roadstone is currently using a Rammer S83 hydraulic hammer to break up one of the hardest stones in the UK - Blue Pennant Sandstone.

The Rammer bought from Welsh company Hawkins Plant Services is mounted on a Komatsu PC300 excavator and is working at Gilfach Quarry in South Wales.

'Blue Pennant is a very difficult stone to quarry,' said quarry manager Clive Barrett. 'We used to hire hydraulic hammers of different marques to break up oversized stone after blasting, but we found that they were not man enough for the job.

'There is not a lot of grain in the stone and it takes time and power to find and reach the breaking point. In comparison the Rammer has no problem breaking the stone. Its performance is excellent and maintenance minimal compared with other units.

'It's a much more meaty and robust tool.'

To excavate material the quarry uses vertical boreholes and blasting with a Cat 235D FS loading a Cat 769 dumptruck. All the oversized stone - with blocks weighing between 2 - 10t - is broken down by the Rammer working near the face. Average daily output for the Rammer is between 3-400t and since delivery in February this year the unit has broken an estimated 100,000t.

The S83, with an operating weight of 2200kg, offers an impact energy of 5200J and impact rate of 360-520bpm.

Hawkins Plant Services, which supplied the Rammer to Wotton Roadstone, is the Welsh dealer for B-Trac Equipment, Rammer's UK distributor.

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