Telehandlers in extreme conditions: Rosebel mine

Pegasus telescopic handlers have been chosen to help maintain a Suriname gold mine, thanks above all to their robustness and versatility.

Working in a mine is a very arduous and above all dangerous job, in which the thorough maintenance of vehicles and structures is an essential factor for the safety of operators.
That is why Rosebel gold mine has several Pegasus 45.30 construction telehandlers purchased from Dieci America, which are used to maintain large operating machinery and installations.

Rosebel Gold Mine is one of Suriname’s largest gold mines. The mineral is extracted from the alluvial soil in open pits: rocks unearthed by huge, 6.5-m tall excavators are loaded onto equally large dumpers capable of transporting 300 tonnes to the mill with every truckload. In the mill, the mineral is crushed and heated to high temperatures before the metal is extracted and cast directly into large ingots.

Why the Pegasus?

The large dumpers and excavators used in the mining industry are powerful machines, but the harsh work and climate can quickly ruin the most exposed parts, particularly tyres and hydraulic hoses.
The Pegasus telehandlers and their basket enable maintenance staff to easily and safely reach components on vehicles over 6 metres high which would otherwise be difficult to reach.
The rotating turret also makes things easier when it comes to lifting and positioning heavy and bulky parts.
If the ground is uneven or muddy (which it almost always is, being located in a tropical jungle), the four automatic levelling stabilisers provide a welcome guarantee of safety and can make the difference, for example, when changing dumper tyres measuring four metres high and weighing almost five tonnes.

But the work done by Pegasus vehicles does not stop at mining machines: the tropical environment, humidity, the heat of the furnaces, and the rocks and powder take their toll on the mill installation too.
The structure, which is dozens of metres high and occupies a vast area, requires frequent maintenance, inspections, spare parts and replacements. The Pegasus telehandlers have been chosen for their technical characteristics:

• 4500 kg capacity
• 30 metre lifting height
• numerous compatible accessories to meet the most varied needs

Thanks to its strict compliance with safety regulations, the Rosebel mine achieved an important milestone in 2016: five million man-hours without an accident. A milestone achieved, at least in part, thanks to the work of our Pegasus vehicles.

Dieci in the world: a country mistakenly transplanted onto the Caribbean coast

Suriname is a South American country in an area peculiar for the fact that neither Brazilian nor Spanish is spoken there. The main languages are Dutch, Chinese and Sranan Tongo (a lingua franca blending English, Dutch, Portuguese and African languages). Gabriel Garcia Marquez (a renowned Colombian writer who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982) defined Suriname as a country that is more Asian than South American. This description perfectly sums up the country and the many ethnic groups that live there, including Indians, Indonesians, Chinese, Amerindians, Europeans and Africans (displaced during the colonial period). This mixture of ethnic groups helps to differentiate the country from the rest of South America. Until 1954 Suriname was called Dutch Guyana, a name that refers to the infamous penal colonies of neighbouring country French Guiana. Many prisoners escaped from these states by trying to pass through the jungle. To this today men still traverse the jungle, but rather than freedom they seek adventure and, above all, gold.