UTILITY VEHICLES
Left : The MUV5 light duty service support and supervisor vehicle from GHH partner Titan . Below : The Titan BKT scaler
Utility vehicles are critical in any mining operation and GHH told IM it is able to support everything from low profile to narrow vein to mid seam mass mining with various types of utility equipment from light duty vehicles to general transporters , scissor lifts , ANFO chargers , personnel carriers , shotcrete and concrete mixers , fuel and lube bowsers , light duty vehicles and many more .
When it comes to low profile machines , UVB in Botswana , in partnership with GHH , has recently launched the UV60D , a 6 t payload , cassette carrier utility vehicle . “ Following on from the success of the UV40D and UV80D , the mid-size utility vehicle has a low height of 1,405 mm with good ground clearance of 310 mm , making it a great support vehicle for low profile mining operations .”
The UV60D has excellent manoeuvrability with an ergonomic ROPS , FOPS safety canopy with good visibility , camera systems and safety interlocks with an optional enclosed cabin with heating and air conditioning . It also has various cassette options available including general purpose , ANFO explosives , diesel , lube , multipurpose , maintenance , scissor lift , bowser , engine oil and hydraulic oil as well as customisable cassettes . “ With southern Africa being the global hub for low profile mining , the location of UVB and GHHMM puts us at the forefront of being able to develop the most fitfor-purpose utility vehicles by partnering with customers and developing products tailored for specific operations .”
Another innovative UVB product is the Road Preparation Vehicle ( RPV ), which can be used as a mechanical scaler , rock breaker and road preparation vehicle . “ Customers are finding this especially interesting since it can be a completely new vehicle or a previously , no longer utilised LHD , can be used as a base vehicle for a conversion with the relevant boom . The end user can buy a complete new unit or make use of their ‘ end of life ’ loaders that can be adapted to accept the boom and related mechanisms . This unit is fitted with a powerful and adjustable Montabert hydraulic hammer , a scaling GET tool included as standard and with a robust grader type pusher
blade that can be adjusted hydraulically from the operators ’ cabin to assist with preparing roadways .”
An additional development by the UVB team from Botswana , in partnership with the GHHMM team in RSA , is a low profile personnel carrier designed and manufactured for the low profile PGM and chrome mines in southern Africa . The MV-UT19P is a rigid frame personnel carrier that can carry up to 19 passengers including the driver . The vehicle has a well proven drive train based on the MV-U40D range of utility vehicles .
“ The vehicle is equipped with folding seats which can be removed , allowing this vehicle to perform in multiple roles other than just transporting personnel . The newer busses are now fitted with an Electromagnetic Driveline Retarder , controlled by the driver and uses a lever switch on the dashboard to select the rate of retardation . This innovation will dramatically increase safety and reduce Service Brake wear on those vehicles that often need to negotiate steep declines with heavy payloads .”
From an ergonomic perspective the Minebus has t-back seats , with individual lap straps or optional 3 point seat belts , allowing for passengers to sit without having to remove their rescue packs or cap lamp battery . There is also vehicle suspension allowing for a comfortable ride as well as an integrated silencer to ensure maximum noise reduction for the passengers . The fitted cameras allow for increased visibility for the operator .
A recent development , from GHH ’ s partner in Turkey , Titan Ltd , is the MUV5 , a light duty service support and supervisor vehicle . A number of them are already successfully running in countries around the world . The MUV5 underground multipurpose machine can be equipped with auxiliary equipment necessary for underground operations like a compressor driven from the diesel engine , welding plant , electric winch , and manipulation crane with load capacity up to 1,000 kg , high pressure washer , boxes for hand instruments as well as a scissor lift platform .
“ The cabin of MUV5 was developed and certified according to standards ROPS / FOPS level 2 . Additional safety systems can also be
fitted according to customer requirements like underrun protection system , system for control of gas ( mine atmosphere ) video registration system etc . Additionally , the machine is equipment for data collection and can support digital analytics solutions . The MUV also has a number of variants like personnel carriers and scissor lift platforms . These variants offer the functionality of their respective full-size counterparts in our fleet in a more compact form , for operations requiring a faster response time or don ’ t require the full capacity of our 24-person personnel carrier or the BMP 2X3 is more cost effective .”
Another recent development from Titan is a scaler , the BKT , suitable for underground use . “ This scaler will speed up the rock clearing operations with top level safety , where loose or fractred rock formations pose operational and safety risks . The BKT Scaler will also be used in refining and flattening the blast face in underground mines , decreasing the downtime between sequential blasts while keeping the operator safe within its Level 2 ROPS / FOPS certified cabin .”
In the constant drive to keep products up to date with the latest customer requirements , standards and regulations and safety standards GHH says it is constantly working on improving designs . For example the design of the cable pusher attachment for the ANFO charger machines has recently been improved and it now provides better ground clearance and takes up less space .
The large design team , supporting the utility vehicle product development it says allows the products to be able to satisfy exact customer needs with technical efficiency , and allows it to offer the machines and such solutions at relatively low cost , thanks to operational efficiency . “ The utility vehicle machines also have very competitive lead times , now that Titan Ltd have invested in new manufacturing tools and machinery , such as automated welding robots , cutting down crucial production time significantly and allowing for far better quality control and delivery throughput .”
Considering the start-up investments in utility vehicles , GHH argues that its units are very competitive , “ but where we pride ourselves on differentiating from the rest is the excellent
52 International Mining | MARCH 2023