Earlier this year, CalPortland took delivery of a new cutter suction dredge that will be used for mining operations at the company’s Santosh aggregate site in Scappoose, Oregon.
The vessel is a DSC Marlin Series dredge, named “Betsy J” in the honor of Oregon Senator Betsy Johnson.
According to CalPortland, the CSD was needed to replace an aging (35 year-old!) Marion dragline which has been used at the Santosh site since 1996. “ She will access 60% more additional reserves than the dragline operation at a higher production rate.”
The dredge is equipped with hydraulic winches on the deck that move the dredge forward, backward and to either side. It is designed to extract material from the aggregate deposit and transport it to land using a system of suction pipes and hydraulic pumps.
“ This state of the art dredge will allow the company to keep up with increasing demand for concrete/asphalt/construction aggregates in the Portland/Vancouver and NW market ,” CalPortland said.
The Betsy J, which has a 155-foot digging depth, is powered by electricity and can move material up to 12 inches in diameter at the rate of 20 feet per second.