UTILITY VEHICLES
Focus on TCO
A more holistic approach from industry to TCO metrics will benefit the production support and utility machines sector, Dan Gleeson reports
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With commodity prices at elevated levels, there is a rush to get hold of production equipment that enables miners to make the most of these favourable market dynamics.
What shouldn’ t be forgotten during this time is the utility and production support equipment that often underpins the uptime numbers of these units.
IM speaks to some of the sector’ s major players to find out more.
Leveraging a successful legacy
The same design ethos that made the original Elphinstone underground trucks and loaders successful many years ago is being appreciated by the Australia-based utility vehicle provider’ s customers today, according to Managing Director, Warren Young.
“ Just like Caterpillar’ s own products and Elphinstone’ s original products, our support vehicles today are designed for long-term use and can be re-manufactured, reducing total operating costs – and impact on the environmental footprint,” he told IM.
This design philosophy has been developed through voice of our customer interactions, leading to machines being developed to suit their applications, so that they are able to extract maximum value from both the mine and machines themselves.“ Customers, particularly in the more highly regulated regions of the world, are
38 seeking safer, more reliable and robust utility vehicles, resulting in increased hours of operation, in turn reducing the total cost of ownership( TCO),” Young said.
In addition to this TCO focus – which comes alongside the ever-present requirement for machines to be safe to operate and maintain – there is an evolving trend surrounding operator comfort.
Young explains:“ I can remember a time when machines without suspension were the norm, along with open operator stations, but now, operator experience and an ergonomic, comfortable machine that rides smoothly has become an important differentiator for us, both on the E15( a modular, configurable 15 t nominal base platform with interchangeable machine parts) and other products.”
Elphinstone also embeds all its machines with innovative systems such as machine interlocks, centralised isolation points, fire systems, emergency stops at ground level and machine diagnostics, with onboard live machine health information accessible in the cabin.
The push for decarbonisation across the mining industry is another trend Young highlighted in the utility vehicle space, noting that the company is investing in electrification solutions to reduce emissions in line with company goals, as well as provide a much safer and more healthy work environment for underground miners.
When asked about the platforms within the company’ s portfolio that boast the highest utilisation, Young replied:“ In Australia, feedback from our customers points to the performance of our agitators – WR820 10 cu. m, E10 6 cu. m( formerly WR810), and E15 7 cu. m are reportedly outperforming the competition particularly in regard to capacity, productivity, serviceability( ground-level access, operation and maintenance) and reliability.”
He added:“ The first platform we developed, the E10( formerly the WR810) has performed very well and led to the further development of the E15, which is the most sought after model in our range now.”
Elphinstone’ s oldest E10, sold through Caterpillar dealer Finning in 2019, was the Elphinstone WR810 Fuel & Lube at Newmont’ s Cerro Negro mine. This unit has now accrued over 22,000 machine hours, which, Young says, is testament to the robust design and construction of the base platform common across the E10 and E15 range of applications.
Young’ s colleague, Tim Mitchell( Global Sales & Marketing Manager), said the E10 was initially designed as a highly configurable 10 t base platform with a centre-mounted cab seating three people – the operator positioned forward in a central driving position with 180-degree view.
It was configured with various rear chassis designs to accommodate the customer’ s application requirements, which included a scissor lift, 6 cu. m agitator, water cannon, fuel & lube and delivery truck( flat deck or flat deck with crane).
“ Over time, customer needs evolved with the height of the machine being a driving factor, hence the E15 front-mounted threeseat cabin was developed on the same front chassis as the E10, resulting in common powertrains and components across the E10 /
Elphinstone’ s E15 7 cu. m Agitator is finding significant market traction at home and overseas when it comes to sales, the company says
International Mining | MAY 2026