Ritchies takes drilling innovation to new heights in Gibraltar
Ritchies, the specialist geotechnical division of Edmund Nuttall Ltd currently undertaking the £14.2m contract to decommission the East Side Water Catchments in Gibraltar for Defence Estates, has added a new mobile drill rig to an already impressive fleet of seven units operating on the famous landmark.
In total some 9,000 ground nails will be drilled, installed and grouted as part of the two-year slope stabilisation contract.
The latest addition substitutes tracks for wheels to allow access to some areas of the slope not covered by corrugated sheets where surface conditions are less stable.
The new rig was designed and built by the Nuttall plant division’s Kilsyth Depot in Scotland before being stripped and transported by road to Gibraltar. The unit comprises a Boart Longyear power pack, drill mast and control panel mounted on a specially configured tracked unit. Each track has been converted to provide 8.5 tonnes of propulsion with a breaking capacity of 10 tonnes, allowing the rig to ascend the 600m, 35o slope under its own power at a rate of 3 metres per minute. Two hydraulic tirfors attached to the top of the slope ensure fail-safe operation.
Christened ‘Heineken’, for its ability to ‘reach the parts other rigs fail to’, the latest addition to the Gibraltar fleet will be operated by a crew of two and is expected to complete the installation of 4 anchors per day.
For further information, please contact:
Peter Bishop, Public Relations Manager, Edmund Nuttall Ltd, St James House, Knoll Road, Camberley, Surrey GU15 3XW, telephone: 01276 854708, telefax: 01276 854710, email: peter.bishop@edmund-nuttall.co.uk