Liebherr TA 230 Litronic - Manual (Page 20)

38 // Quarrying Quarrying // 39
Geocal Mineração quarry is
located about 40 kilometres
away from the capital of São
Paulo. It was founded in the
municipality of Santana de
Parnaíba. The quarry was set
up by Roberto Zanotto, an
Italian citizen who settled in
Brazil in 1994, the company’s
founding year. Geocal
Mineração handles with the
entire mining process at a
quarry, from the extraction at
the limestone mine to the delivery of by-products such as sand,
crushed stone, concrete and agricultural limestone.
Geocal is a family owned company. It is also part of the Zanotto
Group, with a strong presence in Italy. Roberto Zanotto says that
he grew up near a mine in the Veneto region of Italy. Therefore,
mining is in his blood.
When he chose to bring the Group’s business activities to
Brazil, Roberto Zanotto found a country undergoing a serious
transformation. Brazil went through an economic reform aimed
at controlling the inflation that had paralyzed the country for at
least eight years, with figures higher than 1,000 % a year. Still
under the shade of instability, Roberto Zanotto saw in Brazil a
country of opportunities. “When we arrived in Brazil, we saw a
number of things yet to be done for the country’s development,
such as infrastructure, highways and sanitation. We saw then an
opportunity to participate in this country’s growth. It is now 20
years later and there is still a lot to be done,” says Zanotto.
He purchased a quarry that had been shut down since 1968, the
Cal Matarazzo. Relying on the experience he had acquired in Italy,
Roberto Zanotto got in touch with Liebherr, a reliable equipment
supplier who had excellent references. And this is how the
partnership which has been in place for nearly 20 years was set
up. Zanotto bought the first hydraulic excavator with backhoe
attachment in the country from Liebherr for Geocal Mineração.
It was a Liebherr R 944, bought in 1995. The most common use
Rio de Janeiro, which operates with three more
Liebherr R 944 hydraulic excavators and
four L 580 wheel loaders.
The Geocal plant in Santana de Parnaíba
currently turns over approximately 25,000
tonnes of material a day, in two 9-hour working
shifts. The Liebherr equipment operates nearly
non-stop during these shifts. The machines are
refilled with gas inside the mine by a convoy of
trucks. This leads to reduced downtime and
enhanced productivity.
Roberto Zanotto values Liebherr’s equipment
quality, availability and service excellence.
of hydraulic excavators at that time in Brazil was the shovel
attachment. Geocal was also the first company to buy a wheel
loader produced in the country, the L 574, predecessor of the
model dedicated to the Brazilian market for quarrying – the L 580.
At the plant located in Santana do Parnaíba, Geocal operates
along the entire limestone production chain. In addition to the
quarry, the company also has three stone crushing plants, one
of them being portable. Stone crusher number 1 focuses on
grinding agricultural limestone and, as a by-product, generates
aggregates for civil construction. Stone crusher 2 produces
sand and also uses the by-product for civil construction. Stone
crusher 3 focuses on quartz production. Altogether, the three
plants have a production capacity of 230,000 tonnes per month.
The limestone mine provides the quarry with a range of working
possibilities. In addition to being a supplier for civil construction,
Geocal works heavily in agricultural corrective agents, which are
used to correct the acidity of the soil and provide nutrients such
as calcium and magnesium to improve the site. This product
accounts for 50 % of the company’s invoicing.
The company turns over approximately 500,000 tonnes of material
a month, from limestone to sterile material. The fleet consists of
ten hydraulic excavators, six wheel loaders and 30 off-road
trucks. Almost the entire quarry operation is done with Liebherr
machines: one R 944 B and one R 944 C crawler excavator, four
R 954 C and one R 964 C. Hydraulic excavators are used in
quarrying. Three L 580 wheel loaders and one L 538 wheel loader
are used for movements at the yard. At this same site, the
company has a Concrevit concrete plant that uses 120 Liebherr
concrete mixer trucks. Concrevit also relies on a subsidiary in
Geocal has forward-looking plans and sees Liebherr as a partner
for that. The company’s projects are oriented to the diversification
of the quarry activities, such as the investment planned for this year
in the production of filler, which is the limestone powder used as
mortar additive. Zanotto sees growth opportunity in the special sand
segment, as sand is a base product for civil construction, and due
to environmental laws, it is getting more and more difficult to meet
product requirements. Roberto Zanotto concludes: “We want to
diversify, but we need to be specialists in what we understand: raw
material production. Producing raw material is thus our target for
the future”.
“ Liebherr equipment never caused any problems, and I have no
complaints about unscheduled downtimes. However, whenever
needed, I have always been readily assisted by the service team.
Our machines must work reliably; after all, they are the resources
we have in order to operate daily, and Liebherr is the ideal partner
for that,” he says.
Zanotto also says that he uses the machines to their exhaustion:
“The first loader we bought operated for about 25,000 hours.”
Compared to the kilometres a car runs, this figure is equivalent
to approximately 125,000 kilometres. To Zanotto, it is difficult to
find skilled manpower in Brazil to work with the machines.
Therefore, he invests in his employees and, whenever possible,
uses Liebherr’s training centre in Brazil.
Safety is another important factor for the operations at Geocal.
The quarry pit is very deep – approximately 150 metres – and
features very narrow benches that require the equipment to
operate within a very tight radius. The Liebherr excavators offer
a high level of safety, as the weight is ideally distributed so the
machine does not swing when operating in the mine. “As the
benches are quite narrow, the comfort and safety that Liebherr
excavators provide the operators is incomparable,” says Silviano
Salazar, Geocal’s mine manager.
Reliance and partnership
for safe quarrying
“ Liebherr equipment never caused any
problems, and I have no complaints about
unscheduled downtimes.”
Roberto Zanotto, founder and managing director
Even as a child, Roberto Zanotto knew that mining was in his blood. 20 years ago he came to Brazil to set up
a site near São Paulo. For his new company, Geocal Mineração, he bought the first hydraulic excavator with
backhoe attachment in the country from Liebherr. Now he looks back on the interesting developments that
have accompanied the enormous growth of the country. The company today turns over 500,000 tonnes of material
a month, and nearly the entire quarry operation is done with Liebherr machines.
The wheel loaders are used for transport and loading.
Sector:
Size of company:
Founded:
Location:
Managing Director:
Website:
Liebherr machines
in operation:
Geocal Mineração
Company profile
Quarrying
1,200 employees
1994
Santana de Parnaiba / Brazil
Roberto Zanotto
www.geocal.com.br
L 538, L 580, R 944 B, R 944 C, R 954 C,
R 964 C
Geocal Mineração was set up
by the Italian citizen Roberto
Zanotto in 1994.
Feature: Geocal Mineração
Hydraulic excavators are used in the extraction.