On Friday, June 6, 2025, in the morning, the life journey of the KU 800 bucket wheel excavator called as “The Dragon of Březno” was ended by the fifteen kilograms of explosives in Březno near Chomutov. The giant excavator, manufactured in the 1970s at Uničovské strojírny (now UNEX), had been mining coal in the Tušimice brown coal mine in the Chomutov region for three decades. During 123,805 operating hours, the machine extracted 268,675,231 m³ of material. For the next thirteen years it served as a tourist attraction. The remains of the machine will be cut up and scrapped.
UNEX has been producing large machines since the 1960s. The KU 800 was one of the largest machines of its kind produced in Uničov. The UNEX bucket wheel excavators worked not only in the North Bohemian open pit mines, but also in extreme climatic conditions, for example in the Siberian mines.
Technical parameters and performance capabilities of the KU 800:
- Performance: the theoretical performance of the KU 800 was up to 5,800 m³/h.
- Dimensions and weight. The weight is around 4 400 tonnes.
- Bucket wheel: The wheel diameter of the excavator was about 13 metres, and it was equipped with 15 buckets with a capacity of 1,000 litres each.
- Mobility. Despite its considerable weight, the machine was able to move independently thanks to special skids, with one “step” measuring 3 meters. The KU 800 was one of the largest self-propelled machines ever built by man.
Foto: CTK
KU 800
