Wheel Dragon™
Bucketwheel Dredges
The Wheel Dragon™ Bucketwheel Dredge features a specialized dual-wheel excavator system that replaces the traditional cutterhead. This design significantly increases cutting force and improves the recovery of heavy minerals by feeding material directly into the suction pipe with greater consistency. Unlike a standard basket cutter that can lose material during rotation, the bucketwheel captures solids more effectively, resulting in a higher percentage of solids in the discharge slurry. This system can be installed on various dredge models, providing a substantial upgrade in digging efficiency for compacted ocean floors or hardpan surfaces.
This technology is specifically suited for the mining industry, where maximizing material recovery is critical to profitability. It is widely used for excavating valuable minerals such as rutile, ilmenite, and gold, as well as for mining industrial materials like salt and trona. The Wheel Dragon™ is also an excellent solution for dredging hard-packed sand and clay that would otherwise require much larger and more expensive conventional equipment to break apart.
Key Features
- Superior Mineral Recovery: The dual-wheel excavator captures heavy minerals more effectively than standard cutters, significantly increasing the yield of valuable deposits like rutile and gold.
- Consistent Slurry Feed: The positive-feed action of the bucketwheel forces material directly into the suction intake, maintaining a higher and more consistent concentration of solids.
- Hard Material Excavation: Delivers exceptional cutting force , allowing the dredge to break up hard-packed sand, clay, and trona that conventional basket cutters struggle to process.
- Simplified Maintenance: The mechanical simplicity of the bucketwheel design allows for easier replacement of wear parts compared to complex underwater hydraulic systems used by some competitors.
- Mining Optimization: Specifically engineered for the 24/7 demands of the mining industry, offering rugged durability for abrasive environments.
Ready for Your Next Project?
Your challenge is our expertise. Contact an Ellicott sales engineer today to discuss how a Dragon® dredge can optimize your project’s profitability.
Ellicott has been a leader in dredge manufacturing for over a century. Our experts will match the perfect dredge – from our smaller, portable units to our heavy-duty capital dredging models – to your specific material and production goals.