OREANDA-NEWS  On 14 October was announced, that Urakali (Berezniki, Perm Territory) signed agreement with Sandvik Mining and Construction GMBH, a world-leading manufacturer of mining equipment, for the delivery of MF-320 (Marietta 900) rotor miners by the end of 2011. Uralkali's overall investment in the project will exceed 20 million euro.

MF 320 miners are used in the potash industry for underground mining. The 126-tone machine's capacity is over 1,200 horsepower. Its technical and operating capacities are considerably higher than of those currently being used in the Russian potash industry.

Uralkali ordered the first rotor miner Marietta 900 in 2004. Since 2006 the miner has been tested at the company's Fourth Mine Division. The tests have proven the new miner's capacity to be over 10 tons of potash ore per minute while the competing equipment's capacity is 7.5 tons per minute. On top of that, among the machine's key advantages are its longer life cycle and greater run between repairs than those of the rest of the company's equipment.

Uralkali became the first potash mining company in the former Soviet Union to sign an agreement with Sandvik. Uralkali plans to sign another agreement with Sandvik for the delivery of six state-of-the-art MF 320 miners in 2013-2014.

Sergey Diakov, Deputy General Director, Uralkali:

The new miners will be produced according to Uralkali's technical proposal. Their unique design is the result of cooperation between Uralkali experts and Sandvik engineers who succeeded in adjusting the equipment to the conditions of Uralkali's mines, while keeping the miner's technical advantages – high efficiency, speed and maneuverability.

Elena Samsonova, HR Director, Uralkali:

It's crucial for us that the new equipment would not only be highly efficient, but also safe and comfortable for our employees. Sandvik has developed a special training programme for our workers who have already got the certificates needed to drive and maintain the miners. Marietta 900 is operated automatically which makes the miners' work much more comfortable.

About Sandvik:

Sandvik Mining & Construction GMBH is one of the world-leading providers of equipment and solutions for mineral exploration, underground mining in hard and soft formations, surface mining and bulk materials handling in specific areas of the construction industry, such as quarrying, tunneling and other civil engineering applications. Sandvik's partners are the world's largest mining companies – DeBeers, BHP Biliton, Mosaic, Norilsk Nickel, etc. The company operates in 130 counties around the world and has been working in Russia for over 30 years.