Plant Equipment and Hire January 2019 | Page 21

PRODUCT FOCUS TECHNICAL DATA B30E 4 × 4 B60E 4 × 4 Power 240kW 430kW Torque 1 300Nm 2 750Nm Empty weight 21 517kg 42 476kg Payload 28 000kg 55 000kg Bin capacity SAE 2:1 18.3m³ 35m³ Tyre size (front) 23.5R25 875/65R29 Tyre size (rear) 29.5R25 24.00R35 Transmission Allison 6-speed Allison 7-speed Brake system Wet brakes Wet brakes Next year, the company will also introduce the B45E 4 × 4 to its range. Although they are not planning on bringing this truck to southern Africa, Castle believes there are good opportunities in Europe in medium to large quarries and mining operations that typically require payloads around the 40-tonne mark. The B45E 4 × 4, with twin tyres on the rear axle, will also be well suited to large infrastructure projects where sites require vehicles with tighter turning circles. ■ CASE STUDY: TROLLOPE CALCULATES THE BENEFITS OF OPERATING BELL B60s The virtual evolution of the Bell B60D was obvious to Trollope Mining Services’ production team. I n mid-2015, when Trollope Mining Services became the first contract mining company in the world to acquire and deploy three Bell B60D ADTs in one fell swoop, with a fourth machine added later, it did raise a few eyebrows. Here, Trollope Mining offers some customer feedback on their experiences with Bell Equipment’s B60 4 × 4 ADT. Back then, what many of those incredulous folks did not know or realise, www.plantonline.co.za was that the virtual evolution of the Bell B60D had happened before the eyes of Trollope Mining Services’ production team. Bell Equipment’s design engineers on the world’s first such large ADT had tested and retested the machine on mining sites where the former had mining contracts. Trollope Mining Services had the four Bell B60D ADTs running on a coal mining operation close to Piet Retief in the south- east of Mpumalanga where there were some steep ramps and, at times, wet and slippery underfoot conditions. This then started the erstwhile naysayers muttering that this Bell B60D ADT, having evolved from a traditional ADT, minus one axle, had to have superior traction in wet underfoot conditions and that had to be the secret of its success — its traction. But there had to be more … Fast-forward to 2018 and Trollope Mining Services lands another new JANUARY 2019 21