HEAVY ENGINEERING & WEAR PARTS
fingertips of any on-site staff dealing with assembly and disassembly for tooth changeouts or welding adapters . Many of the new features are possible due to
VEEMET ’ s innovative design , MTG explains .
“ The new , V-shaped fitting with an 80 % larger contact area provides more resistance against direct , inverse , lateral and torsional loads ,” it said . “ This increased stability contributes to less plastic deformation and makes it possible to reduce the nose size by 5 % and to allow longer grooves at the bottom of the self-sharpening teeth which benefits their penetration capabilities .”
Another important factor is the optimised locking that facilitates assembly and disassembly , and reduces tooth change-outs to only two safe , quick and easy steps , according to MTG . Newly designed retainers become part of the tooth , reducing locking references .
“ Additionally , the new and more compact way of retainer integration provides more contact area for reinforced pins ,” MTG said . “ This reduces the possibility of pin bending by 52 %. The locking comes with a pin that can be inserted from both sides to enable flexibility for combining the lip shrouds and to always enable good accessibility . Especially for compact terrain , there are also dual-pins available in common mining sizes .”
Schlam goes the extra mile for Kazakh miner
Schlam ’ s Hercules truck bodies have a global reputation for robustness , light weight design , resilience and long life – traits that go a long way to securing new and repeat orders .
The company recently went above and beyond , delivering multiple Hercules dump truck bodies across China , to the Kazakh border ; a journey that took 20 days to cover a total of 6,000 km .
All that travel was worth it , with the customer , KAZ Minerals , now having put the first batch of Schlam truck bodies for its CAT 789D haul truck fleet into operation .
The CAT 789D , which comes with a 194-t-rated payload as standard , represented a new class of machine for KAZ Minerals , with the copper miner looking to compliment these trucks with a dump body that would allow it to maximise productivity and deliver a low total cost of ownership , according to Schlam .
Schlam , having worked in the Kazakh market since 2016 , represented an established name in the country . It has delivered its products to local miners on numerous occasions , and it was sure the Hercules body was the right fit for KAZ Minerals . The company selected units from its heated body range to ensure the loads don ’ t freeze to the truck bodies in the winter conditions – which often get to -30 ° C .
Schlam says the Hercules is lighter , stronger , more durable , requires less maintenance and can carry more dirt than the rest of the dump bodies on the market . The curved design reduces stress throughout the dump body , enabling Schlam engineers to go thinner and lighter while maintaining structural integrity when building the bodies . This , according to the company , could result in an up to 10 % boost in payload per trip compared with standard steel bodies .
To date , KAZ Minerals has taken delivery of multiple units , with Schlam delivering to both of its large open-pit copper mines in Kazakhstan : Aktogay and Bozshakol .
Raising the bar with rubber
Whether hauling 40 or 400 tons ( 363 t ), the most critical aspect of moving material is equipment availability . High impact and abrasive wear are inherently problematic in hauling rock and ore , and many truck boxes / trays today are lined in steel or other abrasive resistant metals to address these issues .
Rubber is a superior alternative to steel , providing a multitude of additional benefits including rapid installation , extended asset life , noise reduction and enhanced driver comfort , according to GRT-Valley Rubber .
Over the past 20 years , the company has designed and manufactured Rubber Haul Truck Bed Lining ( RTBL ) systems that , it says , have provided customers with significantly improved fleet availability and reduced maintenance costs over the lifespan of the truck .
“ Rubber lining systems are designed for years of abuse , with many systems operating beyond five years from their first installation , a stark comparison to the steel liners it typically replaces ,” the company said .
Currently GRT-Valley Rubber is installing RTBLs across multiple sites within the mining sector . One notable example is in North America , where a customer lined its Komatsu 785HD haul truck fleet with 1 in ( 25 mm ) engineered steel alloy , believing it to be the only product suitable to
Over the past 20 years , GRT-Valley Rubber has designed and manufactured Rubber Haul Truck Bed Lining systems that , it says , have provided customers with significantly improved fleet availability and reduced maintenance costs over the lifespan of the truck endure long term . This lining lasted 2-3 years but required constant maintenance due to the extremely abrasive ore it transported , according to the company .
GRT-Valley Rubber installed the operation ’ s first 4 in RTBL set in October 2020 . Now 60 % of this location ’ s trucks have rubber liners and , by the end of the year , 100 % of the fleet will be rubber lined , according to the company .
“ The life expectancy of the RTBL is five years or greater by comparison ,” GRT-Valley Rubber said . “ The total cost of the rubber liners is less than the labour cost for steel installation , and liner change-out takes less than one shift , thus , potentially reducing the operator ’ s cost of ownership by hundreds of thousands of dollars across the fleet .”
In 2021 , GRT-Valley Rubber developed a new “ reduced weight ” RTBL offer for the “ mine-class ” or large haul truck sector . This new liner offers operators increased haul capacity in RTBL-lined haul trucks , according to the company . It has been able to accomplish this without reducing the overall performance of wear life of the RTBL , while offering increased haulage in critical applications . Customers are experiencing the dual advantage of the performance benefit of RTBL with the increase in production , it says .
The mining-class haul truck market is just one area that GRT-Valley Rubber is making serious inroads in ; another is in the articulated dump truck ( ADT ) arena .
It explained : “ Since the introduction of RTBL nearly 30 years ago , lining articulating haul trucks has proven difficult due to the unique geometry of the beds . Lining options have been limited and could potentially increase carry back .”
In 2022 , GRT-Valley Rubber introduced a new RTBL design specifically for ADTs . The initial installations in a granite quarry in North America proved highly successful in terms of wear life and elimination of the carry back problem , it says . Since then , sites across the country have taken advantage of the new liner package with continued success .
The benefits of rubber lining systems throughout the mining industry have proved themselves to extend beyond better impact and abrasion resistance , with improved operator experience , as well as noise reduction within the cabin . In an attempt to verify the performance benefits of RTBL versus steel lining , GRT-Valley Rubber partnered with Matrix Design Group on “ Overwatch ”: a haul truck monitoring technology . Early data from the Overwatch system has verified the significant performance benefits of RTBL , the company says , with a reduction in impact forces of up to 60 %, reduction of negative driver impacts or gyroscopic motion on drivers by as much as half , and a 20-dB reduction in in-cab
48 International Mining | JUNE 2023