Advantages of Vermeer surface miners

Whether you’re surface mining, extracting aggregates from a quarry, or prepping a site for civil construction, a Vermeer surface miner delivers numerous safety and productivity advantages compared to conventional methods like drill and blast mining. There are numerous applications for surface miners that help operations maximize productivity on the mine or work site.

Surface miners deliver numerous advantages in replacing or complementing traditional methods like drill and blast:

• Produce a smaller, more consistent particle size.
• Minimize product dilution.
• Help reduce the need for crushing equipment.
• Optimize selective mining and loading.
• Mitigate environmental restrictions related to noise, vibrations and dust.
• Eliminate safety challenges such as flyrock.
• Produce a smooth, level mine floor.

Mines continue to see results

A prominent mining operation in Chile found Vermeer surface miners showed 12% more mineral recovery than heaps with traditional mining. This mineral recovery rate was achieved in a period 33% shorter than using traditional mining methods.

Vermeer surface miners offer productivity advantages


The top-down cutting action of the teeth creates a more consistent-sized product, which can be adjusted by increasing or decreasing the depth of cut — resulting in smaller material or reduced fines.


GPS grade control, auto steer and a patented tilting head allow the surface miner to freely and precisely follow ore bodies in three dimensions and engineered plans.


Optional continuous dust suppression system helps reduce the amount of dust entering the air and eliminates the need to source water for dust control.


This intuitive, easy-to-read platform takes the guesswork out of surface mining by assisting operators with adjustments to machine controls and tracking the operational performance of the machine.


A chain drive attachment cuts up to 90-degree highwalls, a single-sided direct drive attachment cuts up to 80-degree highwalls, and a dual-sided direct drive attachment cuts up to 45-degree highwalls.


Surface miners can build roads and produce a smooth pit floor by utilizing GPS that allows the machine to cut to grade. This helps reduce wear and tear on haul trucks and increase transport speed.


Dual tracks and a low center of gravity allow for optimal maneuverability (including zero-turn radius) and stability over changing and diverse surface conditions.

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