EN
CASE
October 22 · 2026

A Friday call and a Saturday solution

How HYCON's tools and responsive support help Mineraliengrosshandel Hausen extract thulite at a remote Norwegian deposit

Mining in the middle of nowhere

An hour’s walk from the nearest gravel road, a team is extracting thulite in the Norwegian mountains. Crew and equipment have been brought in by quad bike. When the work is done, a helicopter will carry it out again.

For Mineraliengrosshandel Hausen GmbH, this is an annual operation with a short working window. The mineral and gemstone wholesaler spends around two weeks at the deposit each year, extracting approximately 15 – 20 metric tons of raw stone. Ranging from soft pastel pink to deep wine red, the beautiful gemstone is meant for jewelry and decorative pieces.

Getting it out takes planning, effort and equipment the team can transport and handle on the mountainside. When a drill breaks down here, arranging a replacement is no small task.

Finding a way forward

That was the situation when Hausen called us one Friday. Their HRD30 rock drill had broken down on site, and they needed a way to get the crew drilling again as soon as possible.

With so little time available at the deposit, getting the drill to a service center and back would take too long. Together with Hausen, we agreed on another solution: a loaner HRD28X that a representative from Hausen would fly to Denmark to collect.

We prepared the drill, and on Saturday our Technical Manager, Johnny, went to the HYCON office to hand it over. Hausen’s representative collected the replacement for transport to the Norwegian site.

“Thanks again for providing the replacement unit so quickly and without any hassle,” says Managing Director Chris Hausen.

For HYCON, the user of our tools is at the core of everything we do. We aim to be available and responsive when our phone rings.

The right rock drill for thulite extraction

The replacement also gave Hausen the opportunity to work with a shorter, lighter drill.

The team typically drills holes 32 - 38 mm in diameter and up to approximately one meter deep with the HYCON rock drill and then uses splitting wedges and expansive demolition agents to separate the stone. This approach allows them to extract the thulite without heavy extraction machinery, with the aim of limiting disturbance to the surroundings and keeping the natural character of the extraction area as much as possible.

Portability was one of the reasons Hausen chose HYCON, and the team now uses our breaker and ring saw alongside the rock drill. Beyond getting the equipment to the site, weight also matters when working with it. The team generally tries to drill in pairs, and Chris points out that even a few kilograms make a noticeable difference over the course of a day. The HRD28X’s lower weight and shorter design compared with the previous drill make it easier to handle for this work.

The HRD28X needs an external compressor that supplies air to clear drilled material from the holes, matching the setup Hausen was already using. For Chris, the combination of drilling performance and more comfortable handling makes it a good fit for the conditions.

“The drilling performance of your machines is absolutely impressive!” he says.

On a remote mountainside, the right equipment is only part of what keeps an operation moving. When Hausen had a breakdown with one of our drills, finding a practical solution meant working together: assessing the options on Friday and meeting in Denmark on Saturday, with a replacement drill ready for the journey.

Want to read more about Mineraliengrosshandel Hausen?

Check out their website and see their beautiful jewelry

Mineraliengrosshandel Hausen's website

Relevant products

Let us help you find a local distributor

We appreciate you taking the time to reach out to us. Your inquiry is important to us, and we always try to respond within 1-2 business days.

 

+45 9647 5200 
hycon@hycontools.com

Get in touch