The Neyveli Lignite Corporation has overhauled a 36-year-old bucket wheel excavator deployed in Mine-I at a cost of Rs 19.29 crore.
NLC Chairman-cum-Managing Director B.Surender Mohan inaugurated the rejuvenated giant machinery at the specialised mining equipment erection yard on the Mine-I premises here on Wednesday.
A statement from the NLC said that the equipment, supplied by the O & K Orenstein and Koppel, Germany, was first commissioned on August 28 1978.
So far it had logged 1,68,000 working hours in removal of overburden (layer of soil covering lignite deposit).
With the rejuvenation the life span of the equipment has been extended for another 15 years.
Those who were present on the occasion included NLC Directors Rakesh Kumar (Finance), S.Rajagopal (Power), S.Boopathy (Planning and Projects) and Subir Das (Mines).
