SURFACE MINING TRUCKS
technology to know where you are in your battery level as well as where you are in the haul cycle is critical . Technology is the key to optimise battery performance , battery life , and production . And we have conversations every day with mining customers on these sorts of issues . Autonomy is going to be a part of the future for almost all major mines as well as many of the smaller ones , so it will go hand in hand with electrification .”
Autonomy ’ s head to head battles
Autonomous haulage itself is still largely a two horse race – and a very , very close one . Caterpillar in March 2022 announced that over 500 trucks using its Command for hauling technology had autonomously and safely hauled more than 4 billion tonnes ( 4.4 billion tons ) of material since 2013 and launch customer Fortescue at its Solomon Hub iron ore mine . Roughly 1.2 billion tonnes ( 1.3 billion tons ) of that total were autonomously hauled in 2021 alone . That is across 18 different sites . Komatsu is slightly ahead – though it rolled out its FrontRunner AHS sooner in 2008 with Codelco – however , its trucks have passed 4.7 billion tonnes of material movement leveraging Komatsu ’ s FrontRunner Autonomous Haulage System on more than 510 trucks . With 15 years of commercial operation and zero system-related injuries reported , its system also operates currently at 18 active sites across three continents , with the 19th site , Anglo American ’ s Los Bronces copper mine , starting operation in early May 2022 .
In Chile , copper mining major Codelco as stated has the distinction of the longest running autonomous mining truck fleet , consisting of 930E-AT haulers at Gabriela Mistral ( Gaby ) that have been operating since 2008 . But now the company is taking its AHS program into a new phase – four new Caterpillar AHS 797F trucks are being deployed at Division Ministro Hales ( DMH ), working with Cat dealer Finning , while another four AHS 930E trucks , this time from Komatsu , will be deployed at the Radomiro Tomic operation . Both divisions were fine-tuning engineering for the start of tests in May 2022 . Both mines are currently mainly using conventionally operated 320 ton and 400 ton class trucks including Cat 797 , Liebherr T282 and Komatsu 930E models . “ We will have two of the largest providers running , in parallel , autonomous truck pilots that will operate on an LTE network in these divisions , which brings important benefits in quality and coverage ,” said José Ramón Abatte , Codelco Manager of Technology and Automation Projects .
Hitachi and Liebherr are of course also well into the autonomy and zero emissions game . Hitachi and Wenco are offering an open
Recently surpassing the 4 billion tonne mark with no lost-time injuries , roughly 1.2 billion tonnes of material were autonomously hauled in 2021 alone using Caterpillar Command for hauling across 18 minesites
autonomy solution based on ISO 23725 , the first public interface between an AHS truck fleet and the FMS system , which is essentially allowing the mining industry for the first time to ‘ decouple ’ fleet management and autonomy , while Hitachi also has its own “ all-Hitachi ” AHS such as that deployed at Whitehaven Coal ’ s Maules Creek in Australia . Hitachi is also working on its battery trolley truck today , while Hitachi Energy is working on a “ truly interoperable ” 8 MW electric charging solution for large haul trucks , with plans to conduct field trials by 2023 , according to Matt Zafuto , VP , Industry Solutions , Hitachi Energy . “ This electric haul-truck solution brings together these areas of expertise and will push the electric mine forward by leaps and bounds . Our solution will provide 8 MW of power in three minutes of charging , about 14 times higher than any other solution available today .” Hitachi is talking to customers about mining fleet decarbonisation on two fronts – what can the company do for mines to mitigate emissions today and what can it do to achieve future 2025- 2030 and final 2050 targets . Brian Wells , Division Sales Manager , Hitachi Construction & Mining Division : “ Already today from Hitachi you can make choices to significantly reduce your carbon footprint – part of that is trolley truck technology
Loadpro trials continue in Indonesia
The innovative 60 t Loadpro X60 was developed in direct response from the industry to deliver a more efficient haulage truck to increase productivity and reduce haulage cost per tonne .
The company says the X60 delivers safety , performance and efficiency with high production but low operating costs . It is partiularly aimed at short and long pit to port hauls , long downhill loaded hauls with quicker cycle times and hauls requiring lower ground pressure on slippery , steeper gradients . Loadpro shipped nine of its X60 trucks to Kalimantan in Indonesia in recent years which are operating across two sites with another two trucks on their way . Loadpro Founder , Ron Schliebs : " We had some early reliability issues expected with prototypes and support issues where we could not support our trucks onsite due to covid . We have now sorted out all reliability issues and the trucks have shown high productivity and efficiency . It is very encouraging considering the trucks are working alongside off highway trucks in shorter hauls where we did not think the trucks would be so competitive . The trucks are now running over longer pit to port hauls in the application they were designed for , where we expect to see higher levels off efficiency over other trucks . Given that we are still testing prototype trucks a decision has been made to have each of the trucks reach 8,000 operating hours which is estimated will take another six months ." In a comparison with an equivalent payload rigid truck from a leading OEM , Schleibs says based on load tonnage data over four dayshifts in the same haul circuit with both units loaded to maximum that
the Loadpro productivity was 26 % higher . Plus for coal rehandling activities for pit to ROM for three months its fuel burn Loadpro ' s versatile X60 has nine units in Indonesia
( plus two on the way ) which have been running very was 48 % lower in litres / hour . successfully
54 International Mining | MAY 2022