Published: December 27th 2009December 24th 2009
Video Playlist:
1: MMW240 working 21 secs
2: A Malakal Sunset 30 secs
3: A Malakal Sunset 30 secs
4: A direct hit with the big machine 61 secs
1: MMW240 working 21 secs
2: A Malakal Sunset 30 secs
3: A Malakal Sunset 30 secs
4: A direct hit with the big machine 61 secs
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A cleared DA in Kaji Keli
This Demining Area has been cleared by the big MW370 machine, only the road through remains, the machines and control point are in the distance
The videos, if you can download them are well worth watching, especially the one of the big machine actually detonating an anti-tank mine, it did a fair bit of damage, but then that's kind of what it was designed for! If you listen carefully you can hear a piece of shrapnel whizzing and bouncing off the armoured vehicle the guys are sat in, oh and excuse the language!!
The machine was completing clearing a line up to the other machine that you can see in the video, this machine wasn't being operated properly and managed to track over an anti-tank mine, blowing the left hand front track end clean off....lots of damage, took nearly 8 weeks to crane it out of the field and remake the track undercarriage before it was operational again!
The photos are just a random few that show bits of the job,
Marker stones on the DA
Looking into the bush where the machine has worked, a very effective vegetation clearer! But no more mines.. they found anti-tank and anti-personnel mines in this DA
The Malakal sunset video gives an idea of how flat and big this part of Africa is, just flatness to the horizon, with the snake of the river to break the grass plains.
The video of the MMW240 working is not the most exciting, but that is waht the job is about, chewing up soil very slowly, to a depth of between 20 and 30cm, making sue nothing is missed.
A UN quality assessor lost part of his lower leg last year checking an area that had been "manually fully cleared" he stepped on a missed anti-personnel mine....
The picture of the damaged tiller was one of MTI machines that hit an anti-tank mine last year, as you can see it caused a fair bit of damage!
Hope this helps get a better picture in folks mind about the mechanical part of the mine clearance work, I haven't been in the field when the dogs and the manual guys have been clearing, but when I do I will try and get some photos up for interest.
There are more photos below
Photos: 9
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13+ years in Africa and 5 years in Russia and the CIS, most of the time in the wildest places, still going with the mission to find the undrinkable red wine and looking forward to new adventures...
After surviving Sudan and then a bit of time in civilization, Tanzania is where we have been for the first year of parenthood, having not done things by halves, it has not been easy, there have been many changes and trials along the way... one of which has been neglecting the blog in the blizzard of parenthood and work. Time for that to change!... full info
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Malakal maintenance
The maintenance area for the machines working in Malakal in the north, the small machine is in the foreground with the workshop truck for the big machine behind
MMW240 coming in
The "Mini" is remote controlled, the operator is in the Mine Proofed Vehicle (Rhino) following on behind
Being fixed
A daily chore with the Mini machine, reliability has been a bit of an issue on this particular machine
The business end
Basically a road planer, that you see taking tarmac or concrete off the highways
What happens if
The remains of the side of a tiller that hit an anti tank mine.... compare it to the right hand end of the photo before
The Bagger
A modified excavator used for clearing hard to get to areas around bridges and buildings, this is the prototype and is working for NPA in South Sudan
One for the Techies
This is looked at carefully, one can make out the marks where the guys are repairing the entire front of the track undercarriage inch and a half steel bowed like a banana by the detonation (spot the novel use of the toyota jack!)
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Miranda Lane
non-member comment
The Machines & Mine Clearance
Very good blog, really gives an insight into the job of mine clearing going on out in Sudan and the type of equipment being used and the huge areas that are being cleared.
From Blog: The Machines and Mine clearance