MINING TRUCKS
There will soon be over 200 Komatsu 980E
trucks running in North and South America
Fort Hills), Antamina and Toquepala in Peru, plus
Spence and Collahuasi in Chile amongst others.
On the model’s development, the company told
IM: “Prior to development, Komatsu obtained
voice of customer data from major mining
customers utilising 400 ton trucks and the
response was common among all: ‘Komatsu needs
to develop a 400 ton truck with the performance
and availability of the 930E.’ And that’s what we
did. Customers in North America and Latin
America have praised the products mechanical
availability, fuel efficiency and ease of
maintenance.”
There are also several fleets of 980Es utilising,
or is in the process of converting to, AHS
technology in North and South America. Komatsu
also has well over 200 units of autonomous 830Es
and 930Es operating in North America, South
America and Australia. Komatsu autonomous
equipment has moved 2 billion tons of material
since the first AHS test in 2007.
The list of AHS references includes in the oil
sands Fort Hills operation (Suncor 54.11%), plus
Suncor’s own Base mine, then in coal the Teck
Elkview operation, the Vale Carajas iron ore
complex in Brazil, the original deployment site of
Codelco’s Gabriela Mistral copper mine in Chile,
BHP Goonyella plus a series of RTIO ops in WA
including Hope Downs 4, West Angelas,
Nammuldi/Silvergrass, Brockman 4 and Hope
Downs 1.
Komatsu also has a rich history with trolley
assist that has spanned almost four decades
including as part of its truck business predecessor,
Haulpak. Komatsu currently offers trolley assist on
all of its electric drive mining trucks namely the
730E, 830E, 860E, 930E, 960E and 980E.
Traditionally, the 960E and 860E and latterly the
36 International Mining | APRIL 2020
730E have all been
trucks of choice for
trolley applications
in Africa, notably at
sites such as
Rossing Uranium
and Kumba’s Sishen
iron ore mine. The
company added that
in the last few years,
it has seen demand
increase for trolley
equipped 830Es and
930Es “with the
latest order heading
to Europe as we
speak.” This refers
to a new 830E-5
trolley fleet at
Boliden’s Kevitsa
operation in Finland. In accordance with Boliden's
development goals, the new fleet of 17 Komatsu
dump trucks will include specific structural
capabilities to allow them to be converted to full
electrical “trolley” operation in just four weeks.
“In addition to conserving energy, a central
advantage of the trolley is to provide trucks with
twice the speed of a diesel-electric model when
driving uphill with a full payload.” Elsewhere a
notable Komatsu trolley fleet is at FQM Sentinel in
Zambia, where 860Es and 960Es operate in a
mixed fleet with Liebherr T 284s.
Long term, Komatsu says size class demand has
progressed differently in each mining region.
Australia has primarily maintained 250/320 t sizes
with contractors opting for 200 t/240 t trucks.
“Size class preference in Australia is mainly due to
the mining application’s characteristics compared
to other mining regions. Conversely, Latin
America’s truck of choice has always been the
930E-4SE due to its speed and availability
advantages over the competition. However, since
the release of the 980E-5, we have seen many
customers begin moving from the 930E-4SE to the
980E for its payload and superior availability
compared to the competition. North America has
always been a mix of size classes depending on
the region. Western US Coal prefers larger trucks
while western US gold and copper mines have
settled in to the 250/320 t size class. Looking to
the south central and eastern regions in the US,
mining customers are beginning to move from 150
t to 200 t trucks if the haul roads allow.”
It is also worth explaining the current Komatsu
electric drive truck nomenclature. The 730E is
unique in its naming convention due to the timing
of its release and its history. Komatsu is in the
process of releasing all new products that have
the latest in mining technology and meet Tier IV
regulations. In an effort to maintain a common
theme among this new generation of equipment,
Komatsu determined all models would receive a 5
as its dash change. The 730E-8 was released in
2013 well before the Tier IV requirements and
therefore didn’t receive the 5-dash change.
Komatsu had transformed the product line with a
730E-7, progressing to a 730E-8 in 2013 and this
year 2020 it has released the 730E-10 equipped
with Dual Choppers, a Tier IV final engine and
improvements to its drive system and payload
When asked if greater take up of AHS will also
lead to a greater demand for the 200 to 240 t truck
class, Komatsu told IM: “While autonomous is an
attractive option for most miners, technology is
but one variable in the equipment planning
process. Ultimately, equipment sizing depends on
the mines current stage of development, haul road
size, depth and production goals. Komatsu is
working to offer autonomous as an option across
the full suite of our electric drive product line. Like
most manufacturers, our product development
priority relies heavily on the industries needs and
demand. Autonomous was originally developed
for the 830E and 930E larger due to equipment
demand in those size classes. A similar scenario
occurred with the development of the autonomous
980E. We will continue to monitor the equipment
market for trends that indicate an immediate need
for AHS on our smaller equipment.”
On market trends, after 2012, mining companies
began to tighten their spending and focused on
their important and immediate equipment needs.
Komatsu states: “Since then, capital budgeting
decisions have become better planned and more
structured while the determination of replacing
fleets vs incremental replacement continues to
depend on each mining company’s capital
structure at that point in time. Komatsu’s financial
arm has significantly grown since 2012 and
continues to work with our customers to provide
financing to help each customer reach their
equipment needs when they need them. Komatsu
offers equipment financing for most of the
opportunities in which we participate. Equipment
financing isn’t always something the customer
requires but can be an attractive alternative in lieu
of other financing options and is dependent on the
customers immediate needs and capital structure
at the time of purchase. Equipment leases and
rentals are less common for larger mining
equipment while financing remains a significant
part of our electric drive truck proposals.”
Finally, on its drive to lower emissions, Komatsu
says that as the industry leader in electric drive
trucks, it has been working on alternative power
sources since the 1980s and has made significant
strides in this sector as power technology has
improved. “From trolley assist to hybrid
technology, Komatsu has conducted research and
development on our equipment to bring these
concepts to reality. Like all of Komatsu’s
equipment we will provide the highest quality