UTILITY & ANCILLARY
Fit for purpose
The utility and ancillary market in mining machines has
matured, with many more mines investing for the long term in
equipment that was designed for mining conditions not just
adapted from a standard construction class model, reports
Paul Moore
raditionally many underground mines have
“made do” by adapting existing equipment
to carry out important tasks such as
scaling, bolting and road maintenance. But
increasingly there is a recognition that investing
in dedicated fit for purpose utility and ancillary
machines, especially where they have been
designed with the underground environment in
mind, is the best option for reliability despite a
higher initial cost. This trend runs parallel with
greater interest in reduced emissions solutions
for utility machines, some of which is covered in
this month’s Battery Electric Vehicles report.
Underground graders offer a great example of
this and a number of mines are now investing in
these machines. Elphinstone’s first fit for
purpose K Series, the UG20K Motor Grader was
shipped to a mining customer in Argentina in
2019. The machine was also exhibited on the
Ferreyros CAT stand at Perumin 2019. This follows
the first fit for purpose UG20M Motor Grader
shipment to a mining customer in Mongolia in
2018. The company says that on these two
models LED cabin lights and assorted cabin
features exemplify Elphinstone’s commitment to
operator comfort and safety.
The Elphinstone UG20K Underground Motor
Grader utilises the Cat ® 120K2 base machine with
custom modifications designed for underground
conditions. “Offering multiple cab configurations,
the UG20K offers a safe, comfortable and
efficient solution for your underground road
maintenance.” The Elphinstone UG20M
Underground Motor Grader utilises the Cat ®
120M2 (Tier 4) base machine. The UG20M grader
has all the modern features of the M series Motor
T
50 International Mining | MARCH 2020
Grader but is modified by Elphinstone specifically
for underground mining.
Moving from Australia to Scandinavia, the
Nordic countries’ only motor grader
manufacturer Veekmas Ltd, based in Finland, has
renewed its smallest UG motor graders models
Veekmas FG 5 C and Veekmas FG 7 C. These low-
profile UG motor grader models have been
especially and originally designed for
underground use and have not been modified
from traditional motor grader models.
Besides its three traditional motor grader
models designed for construction and snow/ice
removal, the company offers three different sizes
of specialised low-profile motor grader models
for underground hard rock mines worldwide. The
Veekmas FG 5 C and Veekmas FG 7 C now have
electrically controlled joysticks and an advanced
CAN bus controlled IQAN control and monitoring
system which allows different driver settings for
each driver and/or different working conditions.
The output control of the electronically
pre-controlled hydraulic system is continuous
and takes place using proportional valves. The
speed of the hydraulics can be adjusted
seamlessly. The control movements of the
hydraulic operations are especially accurate as
the proportional movements of the joysticks are
adjusted direct on IQAN touch display by
changing the current values. As needed, the
values and the settings can also be adjusted from
the factory. Also the localisation of errors is
facilitated.
Veekmas tells IM: “The operator friendliness
has been improved because of new controls and
electrically controlled joysticks which are located
Elphinstone underground grader UG20K on
display on the Ferreyos CAT stand at the
Perumin show in 2019
ergonomically. The joystick steering facility can
be used when operating the machine on working
gears. The operator can use a steering wheel,
too. The system allows versatile blade control
automation and automatic middle blade lifting
when reversing. Frame steering follows
automatically front wheel steering, and the frame
steering returns automatically to middle
position. The new hand type gas control can be
used as a cruise control. Both the models have
now also an electrical anti-slip regulation
automatism on front axles. Furthermore, the
Veekmas FG 5 C and Veekmas FG 7 C now have
increased weight for better performance.” All
Veekmas UG motor grader models have
advanced automatic hydraulically operated blade
shock absorbers to give the motor graders
increased ability to avoid impact damage
normally associated with hard mining
circumstances. It means that the middle blade
moves up to 10 cm upwards without jumping the
motor grader itself when driven over materials
too hard to grade down at the desired level, for
example, rocks that protrude over the road level.
When needed, the system can be switched off.
Moving back to Australia and the newest
release from Bis’ innovation pipeline, the Razor –
a cutting edge underground grader – the
company says sparked strong interest from
Australia’s mining community within weeks of
launching. Bis recently confirmed that
Whitehaven Coal has already secured a Razor for
their operation, with another underground miner
taking a further two. The demand for Bis’ newest
technology offering follows a successful product
launch and customer roadshow across
Queensland and New South Wales in November.
“We are delighted in the industry response for
Razor, and I am pleased that two long-term
customers of Bis are the first to secure the
technology. Razor was designed with miners, for
miners — offering a step change in efficiency and
importantly, operator safety,” Bis CEO Brad
Rogers said.
The key features of Razor include superior
engine power and grader mass that has been
optimised to increase tractive effort by over 30%.
Bis designed the grader with safety front-of-
mind, resulting in a modular drivers’ cabin which
improves ergonomics and a safer, more reliable,
braking system.
“Bis is a Resources Logistics business that is
differentiated in the market by our range of
patented mining solutions. We harness the talent
and experience of our team and design
innovations and invest in new technology which
delivers efficiency improvements for our
customers. We have a pipeline of innovations