Apatite for extraction

2007 Mar 03

When drilling contractor Hartikainen Oy sought a new drill rig fleet for the Siilinjärvi mine, Finland, they had very specific demands. High productivity, reliability, mobility, efficiency and the ability to drill larger, more accurate holes all featured high on the priority list.

The Siilinjärvi open pit mine is the biggest in Finland, extracting almost eleven million tons of apatite a year. Excavation began at the site in 1979 at what is the European Union?s only apatite mine. Today the mine has grown to three kilometres in length, is between 200 and 600 meters wide, and 130 meters deep. According to the owner of the pit, Kemira GrowHow ? a leading producer of agricultural fertilizer, there is enough apatite ore at the site to last 40 years at the current rate of production.

Epiroc operated under the trademark “Atlas Copco” prior to January 1, 2018.