UNDERGROUND LOAD & HAUL
Sandvik’s digital solutions, including
AutoMine, OptiMine and “My Sandvik” are
working in hundreds of mines around the world.
The AutoMine product family allows customers
to scale up automation at their own pace,
covering all aspects of automation, from remote
and autonomous operation of a single piece of
equipment to multi-machine control and full-fleet
automation using automatic mission and traffic
control capabilities. AutoMine installations have
logged more than 2.5 million hours with zero lost
time injuries, according to the company.
OptiMine, meanwhile, is a suite of digital tools
for analysing and optimising mining production
and processes. It integrates all relevant data into
one source, delivering both real-time and
predictive insights to improve operations,
Sandvik said. OptiMine is open and scalable,
giving customers the flexibility to build at their
own speed and incorporate other equipment,
systems and networks.
equipment. Robert Droogleever, Cat’s General
Manager, Underground, said the company was
targeting deep mines in Canada with the battery-
electric R1700, but he also saw demand for the
machine coming from countries such as Peru and
Australia. The testing on the proof-of-concept
R1300 took place at a Glencore underground
mine in Sudbury, Canada, with the machine
running in trials alongside the diesel equivalent.
Cat believes that battery-powered LHDs have
the potential to significantly impact the
economics of underground-mining and the
viability of opening new mines. Benefits can
include reducing ventilation infrastructure
requirements and costs; generating less heat
and dust that must be removed with additional
air conditioning; and lowering the overall
operating costs of the mine. “For a battery
electric driven LHD to realise these types of
benefits, it must balance high production
capability with extended run times between
battery charges. To this end, Caterpillar has
Caterpillar continues evolution
chosen to make the new R1700 its first battery
Following the development of a proof-of-concept
electric platform while using fast, onboard
battery-electric LHD in 2017, Caterpillar
charging to facilitate high production levels. The
confirmed at the Bauma 2019 fair in Munich that
new Cat ® R1700 XE will be well positioned and
its first environmentally-friendly commercial
engineered to accomplish these critical design
machine will be a version of the recently released
parameters.”
R1700 loader, the R1700 XE. The company hasn’t
The Cat R1700 was introduced in 2018 as a
yet given a release date but has said the 15 t LHD
ground up redesign providing customers with
will be the first in its line of battery-electric
game-changing productivity improvements.
These improvements
primarily come from its
efficient new electro-
hydraulic system, which
saves fuel and provides
a 65% increase in lift
force – leading to
significantly improved
digging performance in
the pile. “The R1700 XE
combines these new
features with a
Caterpillar-developed
lithium-ion battery
operating and charging
system. “The company’s
exclusive MEC-500 fast
charging system allows
rapid, on-board battery
Bits
Mining
Rods
Construction
charging with little to no
Couplings
Quarrying
impact to existing
Shanks
Tunneling
electrical infrastructure.
DTH
Water-well
Our charging system
®
R o c k M o r e ®
eliminates both battery
International
handling during
Rock Drilling Tools
recharging (with its
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Judenburg, Austria
potential safety hazards)
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and the necessity to
maintain change-out
battery inventories.”
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18 International Mining | JUNE 2019
In designing the R1700 XE, Caterpillar “is
relying on a long history and wealth of
experience in designing electrified machines and
power generation components and solutions.
These include over 350 patents spread across
such products as the electric-drive D7E and D6
XE crawler dozers, 988K XE wheel loader, and
794 AC and 795F AC mining trucks. The R1700 XE
program also uses components from the Cat
Microgrid solution. For underground mining
specifically, this electrification experience was
backed up by the development of a proof-of-
concept machine whereby Caterpillar converted a
conventional mechanical Cat LHD into a battery-
electric platform. Concurrent to this program was
the testing of the new MEC 500 charging system
– both of which saw substantial testing at
Caterpillar’s Peoria Proving Grounds followed by
weeks of operation and testing at a customer
mine in Canada.”
Results were impressive, says Cat. “Compared
with base-line numbers for a diesel-powered
R1300, the battery-powered model exhibited
more than a 10-fold decrease in total energy
costs; nearly an 8-fold decrease in generated
heat; significantly less noise at the operator’s
ear; instant torque from the electric motors;
reduced dust levels attributed to not having a
conventional diesel-related radiator fan; and
reduced tyre wear.”
Caterpillar has used the insight gained from its
proof-of-concept testing to design the R1700 XE
and the MEC 500 charging system as a safe,
profitable and productive option for mines going
to electric fleets.
Paus LHDs get complete revision
Moving on to other important players in the
market, the complete Paus LHD loader range has
now been revised. “With the PFL 8, PFL 12, PFL 20
and PFL 30 loaders, customers now can choose
from tried-and-tested, size-optimised vehicles for
use in both hard rock mining and soft rock
mining and especially in narrow vein mines.” In
diesel or electric all are also ‘ready for remote’
says Paus.
The company told IM: “Safety, ergonomics,
ease of maintenance, availability and efficiency
are the main criteria for the development of Paus
loaders. The more than 50 years of experience of
Paus vehicles from underground mining and
tunnelling, excavation of caverns all over the
world are reflected in the design of the vehicles.
The vehicles optimised for these special
conditions enable highly efficient extraction even
in room and pillar mining. The result are
application-oriented solutions that meet the
specific requirements of mining and tunnelling,
among others.”
The payloads of the loaders range between 1.5
t for the PFL 8 and 6 t for the PFL 30. The