Lop Nur lies at the lowest point of the Tarim Basin. Rivers fed by the surrounding Tianshan, Kunlun, and other mountain ranges once all flowed together into Lop Nur. However, worsening ecological conditions led to the drying up of Lop Nur, giving it the appearance of the “Ear of the Earth” and making it impossible to imagine its former lush scenery. After drying up, Lop Nur became rich in potash resources, and developing this death zone was of great significance for improving China's situation of relying on imported potash at the time.

 

 

SDIC Lop Nur Potash, whose main business is producing potassium sulfate from the natural brine resources of Lop Nur, is the world's largest single-site potassium sulfate production enterprise. The SUNWARD 450 rotary drilling rig is the largest rotary drilling rig in Northwest China and was deployed by SDIC Lop Nur Potash for potash mining.

 

Lop Nur has a harsh environment year-round: strong windblown sand in spring and autumn, surface temperatures above 70 degrees Celsius in summer, extreme cold in winter, highly corrosive potash deposits, and enormous annual output. All of these place extreme demands on the drilling depth, efficiency, quality, and stability of mining equipment.

 

To enable the customer to put the equipment into construction as quickly as possible, in December last year several service engineers from SUNWARD's Gansu-Qinghai Branch worked day and night to install and commission the equipment, assembling parts and components step by step in a steady and solid manner, and successfully handed the equipment over to the customer on the fifth day of installation.

 

After delivery of this SUNWARD SWDM450 rotary drilling rig, it has so far successfully completed three holes, with a diameter of 1.0 meter and a depth of 98 meters; below 10 meters, everything is hardened salt. Its environmentally friendly, efficient, safe, and outstanding construction performance has won high recognition from the customer and has also prompted the customer to change from a 20-year-old percussion drilling hole-forming method to the advanced rotary drilling rig method.