MINING ENGINES
engines, however. A fleet of 140
240 ton class Komatsu 830
haul trucks operates at Vale’s
Carajas iron ore mine in Brazil.
In 2016, two of Vale’s Komatsu
830E truck engines approached
their maximum number of
operating hours before
overhaul. The risk of a
breakdown was growing every
day. Both Komatsu 830E trucks
were powered by an MTU
competitor’s engine. Always on
and with lower maintenance costs,” says Etrusco.
“The biggest advantage is lower fuel
consumption. With the new engines, the trucks
are close to 10% more fuel-efficient. For an
operation of such a large scale, those savings are
going to really add up.” “The second repowered
truck started operating on December 15, and
after 135 days of continuous activity, our engine
completed exactly 3,000 hours. These numbers
gave us a daily average of 22.2 hours a day,
which is an extraordinary fleet availability,” says
Etrusco. Two more repowers with MTU engines
were then scheduled in 2017.
the lookout for a better way,
As well as being cleaner, the Tier 4 MTU engine
generation for mine vehicles uses far less fuel
than older engines
total emissions generated during the mining
process. For example, if vehicles repowered with
clean engines output fewer emissions, the mine
may be allowed to operate more vehicles. That
means clean engines not only improve
profitability, they also boost productivity.
Repowering existing haul trucks has yet
another benefit. It means the new engines can be
operated to match their ideal performance curve.
For example, a truck used to haul copper- or
gold-bearing ores from a mine has a significantly
higher load factor than a coal-mining truck.
Operating all haul trucks with the same engine
model at the same rated power (as often
happens) is uneconomical. Repowering provides
the chance to match the engine perfectly to its
application, achieving even further fuel savings.
“Several mine operators seized the chance to
test the new MTU engines before the official
sales kick-off. Four years ago, for example, MTU
replaced the 16V Series 4000 Tier 1 engine in a
Komatsu 930 haul truck with a modern Tier 4
engine in the same series. The mine operator ran
the tests to find out more about the latest Tier 4
engine technology before the new emissions
regulations kicked in. The aim was to accurately
gauge how the new units would influence mine
operation and maintenance processes. The MTU
engineers involved used the opportunity to get a
more accurate picture of the performance
capabilities of their Tier 4 technology in a tough
mining environment.” Instead of using a 16-
cylinder engine, they fitted a 12-cylinder Series
4000 unit – and the move proved successful. The
Type 12V 4000 Tier 4 engine delivere