Chilean rental company Avemi has purchased a 317.5t (350 USt) capacity Grove GMK6350 mobile crane. The crane has been put to work at the El Abra copper mine in northern Chile where it has been busy handling general maintenance and emergency lifting work for government-owned producer Codelco (Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile). It is one of the few cranes in this capacity class available for rental in the region.
Avemi recently had the crane take the lead in a tri-crane lift of a mineral spreader in the El Abra field. It helped lift the 108t (120 USt) machine after it broke in the middle and landed on its side. The GMK6350 used 50% of rated capacity from its second boom section at a 12m (40ft) radius.
The lifting work took four days to complete.
Calama-based Avemi’s GMK6350 is the third Grove crane it has purchased in recent years. The company runs two 118t (130 USt) GMK5130 models, as well as a 54t (60 USt) RT 760.
Key specifications of the GMK6350 include a boom length between 15.4m (51ft) and 60m (197ft) and a jib that tops out at 61m (200ft). It boasts 193kW (260hp) of power under the hood and has a GVW of 72t (79.3 USt).
