FUELS & LUBRICANTS
machine hours gained back per year. And this
does not include additional productivity benefits
from avoiding the unscheduled refuellings that
results from underfilled tanks. Average fuel
transaction size increased by 12% for one
loaeder and 27% for the other immediately
following the refuelling system upgrade.
Following the success of the field trial and
subsequent multi-tank installations of FillSafe
Zero, the solutions deployed for the Cowal gold
mine have now been distilled into standardised
and integrated Banlaw refuelling and overfill
protection products.
ExxonMobil’s energy efficiency
IM spoke to ExxonMobil’s EAME Offer Advisor
Sarp Degirmenci. The company has been offering
its ‘Energy & Fuel Efficiency Study’ in North
America for many years where highly trained
ExxonMobil representatives work with the mining
company to explore how synthetic lubricant
usage could help maximise energy efficiency to
minimise power related costs and lessen carbon
footprint as well as extending fluid life compared
to conventional lubricants. A mining company in
Minnesota operates 48 Cat 793 production haul
trucks. The mine was interested in improving
haul truck availability by 2% as well as lowering
fuel and operating costs. The Mobil Serv SM
Technical team program was recommended by
ExxonMobil engineers to the mining company to
optimise its preventative maintenance strategy
and conduct a fuel efficiency demonstration
study. As part of ExxonMobil’s Planned Technical
Services program, the team analysed historical
data from the past three years, current
preventative maintenance strategies as well as
oil and filter analysis data. It then recommended
a change in preventative maintenance strategies,
filtration technology improvements and that the
company switch to Mobil Delvac™ 1 FDAO
synthetic gear oil. A fuel efficiency demonstration
was also recommended to validate the fuel
economy improvements.
Since implementing the preventative
maintenance strategy recommendations and
upgrading to Mobil Delvac 1 FDAO synthetic gear
oil in the drive train of its Cat haul trucks, the
mining company confirms that haul truck
availability improved by 2% and fuel economy by
2.4%. As a result of these benefits, the company
reports reducing consumption by 30,000 litres
and tripling its oil drain intervals.
Starting in 2019, ExxonMobil is now able to
offer this service in Russia as the first country in
EAME where it will be available.
“Mobil Serv℠ Lubricant Analysis (MSLA)
service from ExxonMobil takes predictive
maintenance to a new level by helping users
detect problems, such as contamination, deposit
build-up and wear, before they become a
International Mining | JULY 2019
problem. Plus, with 25 testing options available,
users can pick and choose the right test package
for their operation.”
Aneesh Khan & Company (AKC Mining) is a
major mine developer-cum-operator in central
India. The company was using a conventional EP-
2 grease for lubrication of the bush-pins on its
Volvo and TATA Hitachi excavators. The need for
extensive re-greasing, once in a shift, and
premature pin failures was causing a loss in
productivity.
ExxonMobil therefore carried out on-site
inspections of the failed bush-pins and re-
greasing practices. “Along with amended
greasing procedures, our engineers
recommended the use of Mobilgrease XHP™ 322
Mine, an advanced lithium-complex, soap-based
grease with an ISO VG 320 base oil, fortified with
a high quality molybdenum disulphide additive.
As a result, the re-greasing intervals were
extended from once in a shift (every 6-8 hours) to
once in two days (48 hours). This led to an
increase in excavator up-time by more than two
hours a day along with superior protection of
the bush-pins, lower grease consumption,
which offered a potential annual saving of
$1,141,038.”
In new products the company is introducing
Mobil SHC Grease 68 Moly to EAME, with the
target markets being Russia, Kazakhstan,
Ukraine, Norway, Sweden and Finland. Mobil SHC
Grease 68 Moly is designed to be dispensable in
central grease systems at temperatures as low as
-50°C. This product is designed for central
greasing systems of mining equipment.
Total FE lubricants for mining
Total was among the first to introduce Fuel-
Economy or Fuel-Efficient (FE) lubricants. The
journey started with passenger vehicles in 1993
with technology improvements being applied to
lubricants for transport (1997) and mining
ExxonMobil has also helped a Russian limestone
quarry extend its hydraulic oil drain intervals by
25% by switching its Hitachi excavators to Mobil
DTE 10 Excel™ 46 hydraulic oil
lubricants (2007). Total also developed its own
in-house testing methodology in order to verify
fuel economy results of Total’s lubricants. Today,
there are standardised international procedures
such as the globally harmonised Worldwide
Heavy Duty Transient Cycle (WHTC) for both hot
and cold start requirements; as well as the
Worldwide Heavy Duty Steady-state Cycle
(WHSC) in order to verify fuel economy
performances.
In its history of FE lubricant development,
Total says it analysed substantial data in on-road
and off-road application tests resulting in
extensive knowledge being gained around wear
control on ultra-low viscosity lubricants (HTHS of
2.9 cP and lower). This has resulted in TOTAL
being able to formulate FE lubricants with
equivalent oil film thickness independent (to
some extent) of the HTHS values.
This knowledge, combined with base oil and
additive technology has led to TOTAL having
launched the TOTAL RUBIA WORKS 4000 FE 10W-
30 (API CK-4) especially designed for the mining
industry. These lubricants have passed stringent
performance requirements, such as Caterpillar
CAT ECF-3, Cummins CES 20086 and JASO DH-2
for Japanese engines like Komatsu. In addition,
independent bench testing on TOTAL RUBIA
WORKS 4000 FE SAE 10W-30 using an off-road
machine has indicated fuel economy savings of
1.89 % with excellent repeatability of test results.
This figure is proven by a fuel economy
certificate issued by Danielson Services
Laboratory in France.
To help identify economical savings associated
with the use of TOTAL RUBIA WORKS 4000 FE
SAE 10W-30, the following is provided in a simple