Oaky Creek North's record-breaking longwall production performance in August was achieved using Hydra's drums.

Hydra chief executive Gordon McShannon said Oaky North’s shearer drums were designed with the same radial cutting system that had been used by Beltana, the previous record holder, for the past four years.

Oaky North installed the new heavy-duty cowless radial shearer drums earlier this year.

McShannon said the mine had benefited from the improved cutting and loading performance, as well as the reduction in pick consumption, which has led to increased production rates due to more uptime on the longwall shearer machine.

The new production records achieved were 56,890 tonnes (daily), 31,2506t (weekly) and 1,146,721t (monthly).

McShannon said besides the productivity benefits of the drums, the company’s Incendive Temperature Potential Protection cutting system offered improved dust control at higher haulage rates, allowing the shearer to operate at its full potential.

He said more than 50% of Australia’s longwall mines used or planned to use Hydra's cowless radial shearer drums.

McShannon said Hydra worked closely with shearer manufacturers and coal mines to optimise the design of each set of shearer drums with the capability of the shearer machine.

“This attention to detail and the use of Hydra's unique cowless radial shearer drums ensures maximum production performance at minimum cost, which is a win-win-win situation for the mine operator, the shearer manufacturer and Hydra.”