Year-end reports from Australia confirmed Long-Airdox longwall shearers remained the preferred choice of local underground mine operators, according to US-headquartered Long-Airdox Company.

Model EL1000 shearers ordered by two mines in New South Wales and an AM500 purchased to replace a competitor's machine at the Southland mine in NSW were the only shearer orders placed in Australia during 1999, Long-Airdox said. A refurbished EL1000 would also replace a competitor's shearer at the Wollemi mine this month, it said.

The company's Australian market share — based on the number of units currently operating in the country's longwall mines — is 55%. Long-Airdox is part of the $US6 billion-a-year Marmon Group.