HIGH PROFILE
BELAZ electric drive trucks have been
well received in Indonesia, and have
proven themselves in fuel efficiency and
availability against mechanical drive
trucks at the same operation
All round availability
Paul Moore spoke to BELAZ about progress with new
fleets worldwide, including Indonesia, South Africa,
Poland and Morocco
I
ndonesia’s coal mining industry has one of
the world’s largest mining truck fleets,
particularly in the smaller payload classes in
mechanical drive; and BELAZ, the first to bring
smaller electric drive trucks to the global market,
believes that they have a lot of potential in Asia.
As an example, the PT Bukit Asam (Persero)
owned and operated Tanjung Enim coal
operation in Indonesia now has 40 units of
BELAZ 75135 DC electric drive trucks with a 110 t
capacity.
In March 2017 the local dealer stated: “PT
Pusaka Bumi Transportasi as the dealer of BELAZ
brand in the Republic of Indonesia would like to
express its highest satisfaction by co-operation
with (the) regional dealer of OJSC BELAZ -
Management Company of holding “BELAZ
HOLDING” in South East Asia - BELAZIA Pte Ltd
(Singapore) in terms of effective collaboration in
sales and aftersales service in (the) Indonesian
market. Due to high quality of (the) BELAZ
equipment and professionalism of (the) service
departments of PT PBT and BELAZIA Pte Ltd, 25
units of BELAZ 75135 dump trucks being
operated at the coal mine site of the largest
state-owned Indonesia coal producer PT Bukit
Asam (Persero) Tbk located in Tanjung Emin,
South Sumatra, Indonesia, have average
mechanical availability over 95%.” In terms of
comparing the BELAZ trucks with the 90 t
mechanical drive trucks at the site, the
statement also says that in the same conditions
and on the same roads, the average BELAZ fuel
consumption is 56 litres per hour while that of
the mechanical drive truck of competitors is
significantly higher. The customer has also
confirmed the data. Following this letter another
48 International Mining | NOVEMBER 2017
15 BELAZ units were commissioned, bringing the
fleet total to 40.
At this particular minesite there are no
extreme slopes and the roads are mostly flat
with slopes of 5% or below, so long uphills were
not the factor in the choice of electric drive in
this case. The distance from pit to unloading
area varies from 1-1.5 km.
In terms of the Asian coal mines and any
increasing use of electric trucks where
traditionally, mechanical trucks dominate,
Dzmitry Shershan, Director of BELAZIA states:
“The most popular payload classes of dump
trucks in the region are 60 and 100 short tons.
That is a traditional trend which has been lasting
for decades due to the location of the assembly
plants of Komatsu in Indonesia and CAT in India.
These equipment types are therefore well known
by the local mining clients as well as their
service departments. But as long as we have in
our range electric trucks starting from 100 short
tons capacity (60 tons in the future), our goal is
to further prove the efficiency of this design,
which may create a new trend in our favour in
the local Asian markets as well as worldwide.”
BELAZIA also states that the trucks have held
up well to the wet climate in the region, as
indicated by the availability figures. In total in
Indonesia around 100 specialists (local and
expats) are involved in the service and
maintenance of the 40 BELAZ 75135 dump
trucks. “All the necessary special equipment and
tools were supplied directly to the mine site as
well as spare parts for the second year of
operation including strategic storage upfront in
order to guarantee the best performance of the
trucks, and the setting up of a temporary
workshop for routine basic maintenance. All the
time we are providing training for the local
service team at the minesite, at another training
centre of the end user, at BELAZ itself in Belarus,
and we have organised visits for Indonesian
engineers to Russia in order to transfer
knowledge from other experienced users of
BELAZ equipment.”
Phosphate in Morocco
In Morocco, OCP is well known to IM readers as
one of the biggest phosphate rock miners in the
world. The mining group is now using both
BELAZ dozers and a 100 t water sprinkler and
has additionally recently acquired 10 units of
BELAZ 75180 trucks with 180 t capacity that were
in the process of assembly in October 2017.
Hamid Belfkira at the BELAZ Morocco dealer,
Soberma told IM: “Three of the trucks are
already assembled and they are in operation
now. The feedback we get from OCP is that the
units have a very comfortable cabin, with
efficient air conditioning. A multifunctional
electronic dashboard also facilitates the
operation of the truck. The truck is noted for
stability and reliability while being powerful and
good value for money versus the competition.
The trucks achieved 300 hours without any
shutdowns; and OCP is also looking into
equipping the trucks with autonomy.” VIST
Group, BELAZ, Soberma and OCP are all working
on this autonomy project.
The BELAZ dozers are used in earthworks on
slopes exceeding the limits allowed by dump
trucks and are able to keep operating in the very
high temperatures experienced that can exceed
50°C. “The BELAZ dozers are very robust and
have given satisfaction and reliability.”
Finally, the BELAZ water sprinkler sold
through Soberma to OCP has been noted for the
comfort of the air-conditioned cabin and the
operator ergonomics. “It should also be stressed