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EQUIPMENT TRUCK UPDATEEQUIPMENT TRUCK UPDATE
Haul truck future
Tmanu acturers wt a num er o maor
m n ng pr ects on o , par t cu ar y
pressurs ng t e u tra-c ass mar et w ere
t e ey contracts are re at ve y ew an aretween, compare to ower-capac ty c asses. e
following details developments at Caterpillar and
Liebherr, but also reveals for the first time BELAZsplans to roll out key models in North America.
Among the other manufacturers, namely Komatsu,
Hitachi and Terex, there have also been someimportant developments. The first Komatsu 960E
fleet is being commissioned at a Peabody coal
peration in the US, following very successful testing
f the truck at Rio Tintos Bingham Canyon mine. Afuture Mining Magazinearticle will examine the
progress of the 960E in more detail. The new Terex
eet at ustra as no ron magnet tem ne s operat ng we , an t e company s pursu ng
pportun t es or t e n ustrys newest u tra-cass
truc e sew ere.tac , w ose truc was ment one
ar er t s year , a y , p , as now s ppe
20 of its new EH3500ACII trucks, which are well spread
ut geographically: three are operating in Australia
with contractor Comiskey, stripping overburden in a
oal mine; two are operating in South Africa with Anglo
oal; four are in Finland at Talvivaaras nickel mine;
nd four others are operating in the US with MasseyEnergy, stripping overburden at a coal operation. The
remaining trucks are waiting to go into service.
The company states that the general feedback has
been positive, with the drive system performingparticularly well. Finally, the all-new EH4000ACII has a
prototype still under test, with product approval due
in December. The new truck is expected to be
vailable commercially in January 2010, subject toboard approval.
n one o t e most s gn cant mar et- eve opment
ec s ons n t e story o e aruss a- ase truc
manu acturer , t e company as c osen tontro uce ts truc s to ort mer ca. t oug t e
firm makes more than 2,000 pieces of equipment per
year for the mining, construction and specialised
vehicle markets, the North American launch willfocus on its new electric-drive mining trucks with
10-130t and 220t capacities. The BELAZ trucks will
be marketed and service support will be provided by
new subsidiary, BELAZ Trucks Americas, which willbe headquartered in West Bloomfield, Michigan.
Initial efforts will be directed at a group of selectedustomers where the advantages of the BELAZ trucks
nd the capabilities of the support network can beuickly demonstrated.
Semyon Brayman, president of BELAZ Trucks
mericas, tells n ng agaz ne: We recognise that
o penetrate the North American mining market wemust offer trucks that use the latest technology to
provide excellent productivity, and that we must
onstruct a va ue pac age t at nc u es attract veruc pr c ng, so re a ty an an opt m se
perat ng cost per tonne. e ave strong pro ucts,
e ave a strong support networ an we are exc teo e a e to r ng truc s to ort mer ca.
any n t e n ustry w o ave not seen
rucks in action in its stronghold markets of Russia,
hina, Kazakhstan and Ukraine may wrongly considerhem to be outdated. However, todays latest BELAZ
iesel-electric models are equipped with Cummins or
MTU engines and General Electric drives, with a
performance on a par with any other haul truck onhe market.
Almost 1,000 of the latest-design mine trucks fromBELAZ have accumulated over 10.3 million hours of
odels and upgrades from the leading haul-truckanu acturers in 2008, Paul Moore provides exclusive news
o a major new market entry by BELAZ and an in-depthupdate on progress at three other established players
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EQUIPMENT TRUCK UPDATE
peration in some of the worlds most demanding
terrain. They are equipped with state-of-the art
technology, based on highly-engineered designs
rom t e tec no ogy centre, w c asapte components to customer nee s.
e new ort mer can mo e s w e
es gnate - t an t .
The NA designation signifies that the basicdvantages of the trucks have been enhanced with
omponents and materials specifically for Northmerica. Key areas of improvement include:
increased stability of movement while loaded;
tructural protection of vulnerable engineomponents; a rear-axle design that minimises
manual maintenance of brake gears; a heated body
esigned for ease of loading, and high-efficiency
lectro-dynamic brakes. The trucks also offermaintenance labour minimisation through optimal
location of assemblies reduced lubrication points and
the use of maintenance free materials.e stan ar eng n e or t e w e t e
er , an on t e t w e t eer . omp ete - r ve systems
will be standard on both models. Aside from the
re uce emss ons an ncrease orsepower
dvantages of the engine, as well as the proven
tate-of-the-art drive technology, the parts andervice for both are readily available from their
numerous authorised outlets.
In addition, the BELAZ 320t 75600 truck has beeneveloped and is operating in several locations in
Russia. The current plans are that this truck will also
be made available in the North American marketwhen field experience and market conditions dictate.
Wider aftermarket support for the trucks will be
provided by companies that have establishedpersonne an n rastructure at, or near, target m ne
tes. ome o t ese companes a rea y prov e parts
n servce support or ot er pro ucts use n t e
m n ng n ustry.e truc s w n t a y e assem e n e a rus
n s ppe to ort mer ca, ut, at some po nt n
the future, basic truck components may be fabricated
nd sent to North America where they will beombined with the engines, drive systems and perhaps
her components now manufactured in the US.
ATERPILLAR MOVES FORWARDIn a statement in August, Caterpillar said it is moving
rapidly forward with the new large mining truckshowcased at MINExpo 2008, which represent the
ompanys largest-ever investment in new miningechnology. According to the company, the
aterpillar 793F and 797F mechanical-drive trucks,
s well as the 795F AC electric-drive truck, are allchieving milestones.
Caterpillar states that it believes mechanical-drive
mining trucks will satisfy the needs of the vast
majority of mining operations, but as the onlymanufacturer of 181t and larger mining trucks with
both mechanical and electric-drive systems, it will be
e to o er truc s t at a ress a m n ng companypre erences.
t t e t me o t e ugust announcement, t e
an a accumu ate more t an ,f field testing, and proven their per formance
apa t e s an ura ty. e new aterp ar
ngine that powers them had racked up 130,000h of
field testing in mining trucks and more than 120,000hin power systems. Based on the success of these
field-follow programmes, both models will be in full
production and commercially available by the end of
his year, with the 793F available first.The C175 engine meets US EPA Tier 2 emissions
tandards and delivers 4,000hp in the 20-cylinderversion that powers the 797F. The 16-cylinder C175
powers the 795F AC with 3,400hp. It also powers the793F, with 2,650hp. According to Caterpillar, the
175 promises longer life between rebuilds, lower
ound levels, improved altitude capability andimproved fuel consumption compared to the 3500
eries engines it replaces.
By the end of September there were five 793F
ield-follow trucks operating in US copper and goldmines. They have accumulated about 30,000h of
peration and are said to be performing well. An
t ona our s ave een retro tte w t- eng nes an t e eng nes ave accumu ate
more t an , o runn ng t me.
e - o ow s ave a so per orme ver y wet severa app cat on s tes, nc u ng ow er ver
as n coa , t e erta o san s an n a out
merican copper operation. Nine 797F field-follow
rucks have accumulated a combined 50,000h ofperation. In addition, three other 797s have been
retrofitted with C175-20 engines and have
ccumulated more than 12,000h of operation.
According to Caterpillar, test results have shownhe expected increased production when compared
head-to-head with the previous 797B model and the175 20-cylinder engine is said to have performedomatsu 960E, Bingham Canyon
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very well. While no commercial orders have officially
been announced, several orders are in place, most
notably from an operation in South America.
s a ran new p at orm, t encorporates new tec no og es t roug out. n
xamp e s our- corner, en e ra ng an
retar ng us ng aterp ar o - m merse an coo e
sc ra es, as we as e ectr ca r etar ng, w cnhances safety and operator confidence.
Caterpillar engineers have also been testing two795F AC prototypes, including the truck shown at
MINExpo, at the Tinaja Hills testing site in Arizona.
The development programme has provided input forthe construction of a new 795F AC in Decatur, Illinois.
This new truck was recently shipped to a copper
mine in North America where it will serve as the first
field-follow 795F AC. The 313t-capacity 795F ACrepresents a n
