UNDERGROUND LOAD & HAUL
Barrick recently confirmed trials of an Artisan
Vehicle Systems Z50 50 t battery-electric haul
truck have commenced at its Turquoise Ridge
gold operation, in Nevada
Sandvik says it has released a new solution that
will allow automated underground trucks to
continue seamlessly through ramp portals to the
surface to complete the dumping cycle. Having
offered a sneak peek of this product at the
Digitalization in Mining event in Brisbane,
Australia, in December 2019, the company has
now gone public with the launch. AutoMine ® for
Trucks is a first for autonomous ramp haulage
applications in the underground mining industry,
providing autonomous truck haulage not only in
underground environments but also now on the
surface, according to the company. “It turns
Sandvik’s intelligent mining trucks into unmanned
robots; robots that keep running,” Sandvik said.
For many years, mining operations across the
world have benefitted from Sandvik’s intelligent
AutoMine systems for autonomous and unmanned
truck haulage. “They help to reduce equipment
damage, repair work and add the highest levels of
efficiency and fleet utilisation, giving a lower cost
per tonne,” the company says. They are scalable
for different mining applications and can be
supervised from remote locations.
Riku Pulli, Vice President, BU Automation,
Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology, said:
“Continuously setting the industry standard, we
have now developed the industry-first, fully
autonomous underground trucks that can operate
in mining levels and mine declines including both
underground and surface sections. These trucks
are set to revolutionise the mining industry,
bringing significant improvements in mine’s
productivity and safety.”
A key requirement for an autonomous ramp
haulage application is to enable the capability for
trucks to operate autonomously not only
underground but also on the surface. With this
product release, Sandvik has unlocked this
capability for its customers, it says. The different
elements of the newly added capabilities have
been tested at many of mine sites with existing
experience of AutoMine for Trucks, a Sandvik
spokesperson
confirmed.
A core innovation
behind the new
capability is the smart
handover technology
that allows trucks to
switch from
underground to surface
navigation mode in real
time. This allows trucks
to continue through the
ramp portal seamlessly
to the surface to
complete the dumping cycle.
GHH’s comprehensive offering
The newly unified GHH Group is a major supplier
of loader and truck products to the underground
mining and tunnelling industry with production
facilities for these ranges of products in Germany
and South Africa. GHH Group also has numerous
agreements with a number of partner companies
around the world that expand the product offering
portfolio significantly and provide a total offering
solution to customers including drills, bolters,
long hole production rigs and utility vehicles.
Together with all its partners, GHH Group’s diesel
and electric loader offering boasts capacities of
between 1 and 21 t, with bucket sizes from 0.59 to
14 m 3 , while the trucks cover capacities from 20 to
45 t, and bowl sizes from 6.1 to 24 m 3 . GHH load
and haul machines are created to work in narrow
vein, low profile and mid-seam mass mining and
construction applications.
GHH has recently launched some new products
and upgraded some existing products to further
expand and strengthen the load and haul offering.
It told IM these have focussed not only on new
technology and new emissions regulations, but
taking safety principles in design to a new level
and focusing on data analytics. Reduced noise,
improved ergonomics, operator comfort and
reduced whole body vibration; ease of
maintenance and a low total cost of ownership,
have been central in the developments and played
a significant role throughout the design process.
The MK-42 is the most recent addition to the
GHH truck family, boasting a
maximum payload of 45 t, 460
kW engine in Stage V emission
class, with optional Tier 3 and
Tier 4 Final engines and
excellent ergonomics, operator
comfort and safety. It has been
designed for use in harsh
underground mining
environments, as the perfect
three pass loading partner to the GHH LF-14
loader. “The compact dimensions and largest
dumping angle in its class provide for excellent
manoeuvrability and high efficiencies in
productivity, through efficient cycle times. The MK-
42 has a streamlined, innovative Product Design,
with the Red Dot Design Award behind its name.
With key benefits like a built in operator training
seat in the cabin, for safety and productivity
improvements with ‘on the job’ training versus a
simulator, low maintenance repair costs and high
production efficiencies the MK-42 is one of the
most competitive trucks in its class. Exclusively for
Russia, GHH also markets a special version named
MK-A45 which is customised for specific options.”
GHH says it is also constantly improving its
products with the aim of striving to stay aligned
with latest safety requirements and innovations,
regulations and legislation and customer needs.
The MK-A20, 20 t truck is now available in Stage V,
and has two optional operators seating
arrangements – one for tunnelling and one for
mining. The MK-A35, which is a typical tunnelling
machine, although readily used in mining
applications with the low version machine, now
boasts a bi-directional driver seat and cabin and is
available with a Stage V engine.
From the diesel loader offering GHH has
recently launched the LF-14, 14 t loader, for mass
mining and tunnelling operations as well as the
LF-3, 3 t loader for narrow vein operations and the
SLP-8, 8 t loader for low profile mining. The LF-14
has both narrow and wider cabin options
providing versatility for use in specific applications
and to provide for improved visibility and operator
comfort. The LF-14 is available with Tier 3, 4 and
Stage V engine packages and has simplified, mine
proven electrics that are IP 67 rated for exposed
components.
The LF-3 is a competitive 3.5 t machine,
available with both air cooled and water cooled
engines, Tier 2 and Tier 3 compliance, with a
maximum of 72 kW and an operational altitude of
up to 4,500 m above sea level. “The LF-3 is
compact in size allowing for high manoeuvrability
and is a simple, reliable and robust machine with
the customers quoting that they are extremely
happy with the high availabilities.”
The SLP-8 is a true 8 t loader designed to
operate in 1.7 m high production or development
ends. With the 178 kW and claimed best power to
The GHH LF-14 is available with Tier 3, 4 and
Stage V engine packages and has simplified,
mine proven electrics that are IP 67 rated for
exposed components
12 International Mining | JUNE 2020