Atlas Copco XRHS 1096 High-Pressure Portable Compressor

The Atlas Copco XRHS 1096 is a high-pressure, high-flow portable diesel rotary screw air compressor delivering 31 m³/min (1,096 cfm) of free air at a working pressure of 24 bar — the combination required for driving large-diameter 6-inch and 8-inch DTH hammers at maximum efficiency in hard rock mining applications. Powered by a 373 kW diesel engine, the XRHS 1096 produces the compressor output profile that the Atlas Copco Secoroc QL60 and QL80 DTH hammers are designed to operate at, delivering the percussion frequency, blow energy, and flushing air volume that maximises penetration rate in the hard granites, gneisses, and greenstone formations of the Arabian Shield and the cemented conglomerate and basalt formations encountered in Saudi Arabia's more recent geological units.

High-pressure DTH drilling technology has transformed the economics of hard rock open-pit mining across the Middle East, and the XRHS 1096 sits at the heart of this capability. At standard 6-bar compressor pressure, a 6-inch DTH hammer achieves penetration rates of perhaps 15–20 m/hour in medium granite. With the XRHS 1096's 24 bar pressure supply, the same Secoroc QL60 hammer achieves 35–45 m/hour — a 2 to 2.5 times productivity improvement from the pressure increase alone. For mine operators who pay drill rig operating costs by the shift-hour regardless of metres drilled, this productivity multiplier directly reduces the cost per metre of blast-hole drilling — often the dominant operating cost item in hard rock open-pit mining budgets. At the Ad Duwayhi and Mansourah-Massarah gold projects, where hard granitic host rock requires sustained high-energy percussion to achieve economic penetration rates, the XRHS 1096 compressor capability is essential to making blast-hole drilling programmes financially viable.

Beyond mining, the XRHS 1096 serves a growing market in high-pressure air applications across Saudi Arabia's industrial sector. Offshore and onshore oil and gas decommissioning and construction projects require high-pressure air for hydrostatic testing of pipelines and vessels at pressures typically 1.5 times operating pressure — for 16-bar pipelines, this means test pressures of 24 bar or more. ARAMCO, Sapura, McDermott, and other major EPC contractors use XRHS series high-pressure compressors for commissioning and testing programmes at offshore platforms and onshore facility expansions across the Eastern Province and Jubail. The compressor's dedicated high-pressure receiver and aftercooler package produces dry, cool high-pressure air suitable for instrument air and high-pressure testing applications without additional treatment equipment.

The XRHS 1096's tropical design specification — with high-ambient-temperature heat exchangers, insulated canopy, and tropical-grade oil — is factory-optimised for continuous operation in the 45–50°C ambient temperatures encountered in Saudi Arabia's summer months, where standard-spec compressors of competitor brands experience thermal derating of 10–15% that reduces available output. Razz Middle East supplies and supports the Atlas Copco XRHS 1096 in Saudi Arabia, with units available for immediate sale or rental deployment across the Kingdom.