MINING TRUCKS
The first mining trucks of model BELAZ-7555В with payload capacity of 55 t have been working at the Shivee Ovoo coal mine since 2014 and their success led to the winning of a tender for delivery of further trucks in January 2016, namely two more BELAZ-7555B but also three BELAZ- 75137 with payload capacity of 130 t.
The latest and smallest electrical truck from BELAZ – the 75581 – was recently shown at the MONGOLIA MINING 2016 exhibition in April and is being used in Vietnam. This model will also be on show at MINExpo in September in Las Vegas.
The BELAZ-7558 series with payload capacity of 90 t has been added to with the new model BELAZ 75583, equipped with a new engine option using the Cummins KTA 38-C. The new configuration truck has been delivered to the LLC Region 42 operation in Russia, which has the biggest fleet of BELAZ 90 t trucks globally.
Finally, the biggest mining dump truck in the world, the BELAZ-75710 continues its trial operations at Siberian coal mine SDS Chernigovets. In one year the truck has transported 5.2 Mt and driven 61,000 km. BELAZ says its efficiency has been proven not only with the volume of the material transported. Due to the optimum combination of two diesel engines the truck has shown around a 15 % fuel saving, Based on the performance results from the first truck BELAZ has now manufactured a second with some improvements to the steering system and suspension. Additional testing of the truck systems and assembly units was also carried out. The second 75710 is being tested and a third truck is now being assembled, showing very much that the truck was not just a one unit project.
Liebherr advancing on all fronts
Liebherr is making important strides in mining trucks in areas such as autonomy and broadening its product range. As stated, a 100 t class is expected to be launched at MINExpo but no details are yet available. This will add to the 363 t T284 and 221 t T264.
Liebherr’ s development program towards autonomous haulage is currently underway. Initial prototype testing is on-going in 2016 at its proving grounds and the company told IM it plans to begin field trials in 2018. Maximilian Roessler, Manager- Business Development & Marketing told IM:“ It is Liebherr’ s intent to provide an open architecture allowing customers flexibility with respect to the level of third party content and integration from Liebherr. This approach will allow the customer to use Liebherr products along with other OEM equipment and choose the most suitable suppliers for 3rd party solutions. In this way, Liebherr will offer the most flexible and cost effective way to achieve an autonomous haulage solution.” Full scale
production is planned by 2020 and retrofit kits could be made available for existing haulage equipment.
As also mentioned in late 2016, Liebherr will be operating T284 trucks on a trolley circuit. Depending on the performance of the system, Liebherr will target a trolley assist option available, from the factory, in 2018. This option will consist of the full truck trolley controls( rectifier, breakers, etc), pantograph structure and the pantographs.
Moving on to Tier 4, current Liebherr mining trucks meet Tier 2 emissions standards. US EPA Tier 4 emissions regulations require a significant reduction in NOx and particulate matter( PM) from the tailpipe of diesel engines compared to Tier 2. Liebherr has the option through TPEM( Transition Program for Engine Manufacturers) to“ flex” engines with Tier 2 certifications until the beginning of 2018. Full Tier 4 compliance will be a requirement by 2018. However, Liebherr says it will have the first full Tier 4 product available in Q1 2017, namely the T284( up to 4,023 hp) with MTU EGR options. The Tier 4 T264 will be available in Q1 2018 with Cummins SCR and MTU EGR options.
Finally on machine health and data transfer, every Liebherr truck broadcasts, in real-time, alarms and machinery health information on a dedicated customer interface port. Communication to third party fleet monitoring or machinery health systems is done through an industry accepted, open protocol called CANopen.“ Using an open protocol allows our customers to use commercial off-the-shelf hardware and software to read and interpret the information provided by the truck ' s electrical system. Custom or proprietary communication methods are not necessary when connecting to Liebherr trucks. Liebherr also provides documentation and guidance on the use and description of the individual signals that are available. By design, our truck provides the same information to any other third party system to allow our customers the flexibility to choose the technology or vendor that best suits their business or operational needs.”
A new system that automatically transfers, stores and presents data on a centralised Mining Web Portal is in development stage. The system will provide end customers with capabilities that can support them on utilising Liebherr mining products more efficiently and to be used internally within Liebherr for product
The T284 will be Tier 4 compliant by Q1 2017
improvement, enhanced product support and parts forecasting. The system will also include remote diagnostics from maintenance centres and wireless diagnostics from around the OHT. The data can be transferred from the machine to the Mining Portal either utilising the customer network or by a cellular data connection. Some of the capabilities of the Mining Portal are: visualisation of faults and process data in real time; historical analysis of faults and process data; e-mail notification of faults and conditions; performance monitoring including productivity, time distribution and fuel consumption analysis; component and system diagnostic and failure prediction; operator misuse of the machine; amongst others.“ As an OEM, Liebherr is uniquely qualified to provide high value algorithms which provide customers additional value over third party systems.”
Caterpillar 794AC and 785G
Caterpillar’ s pedigree in mining trucks is known the world over. It has over 50 years of truck experience and is the number one manufacturer by volume; with over 15,000 trucks sold worldwide, and with 80 % of all Cat mining trucks sold still in operation.
But its range continues to evolve to meet market needs. Caterpillar has been testing the 290 t 794AC( labelled at the site as former name MT5300D AC) truck at Rio Tinto’ s KUC Bingham Canyon copper mine in the US for over two years against the Komatsu 930E, which were seen during a recent visit there by IM.“ We have received good feedback so far with truck performance, fuel consumption, and driver comfort.” Cat has also been testing the truck at a second location in Arizona with good results. The company is planning to target additional controlled introduction at other sites to demonstrate superior product and performance to gain further advances in the ultra class segment along with the 797.
The 291 t( at rated GWM) 794AC now has 1.8 million plus chassis hours in total. The drivetrain has more than 2.5 million hours of drivetrain
42 International Mining | MAY 2016