Spotlight Feature Articles Joy Global Undergroud Load and Haul June 16 | Page 2

UG LOAD AND HAUL Paul Moore looks in detail at underground trucks and LHDs, including what the main issues are and how these are interpreted in product development by the major OEMs Availability with attitude T he underground load and haul market is highly competitive; still dominated by diesel machines but with increasing interest in electric and particularly battery models. However, in the current market, many customers just want higher reliability and to some extent simpler machines to make it easier to maintain their fleet. Christian Riedel, Head of Product Strategy at GHH states: “Our client’s KPI cost per tonne is under increasing pressure and the most effective way to keep this number low is to keep mechanical availability as high as possible. We can guarantee that by means of both, our machine design and service. The robust design of our machines has never been valued higher by our customers and they are reassured by our ‘keep it safe and simple’ approach.” At the same time they also want good data acquisition to be able to properly measure health and performance so some of the most technology averse customers are now wanting some on-board analysis capabilities. Aftermarket and rebuilds are also an important focus in the current market. Sandvik as an example says it is currently putting strong focus on aftermarket and support functions to ensure high utilisation and service level. Markus Eklind, Product Line Manager – Underground Material Handling at Atlas Copco states: “In general the mines are looking for products that transport more tonnes per energy unit, provide a safe workplace for mine International Mining | JUNE 2016 personnel and benefit the overall productivity of the mine at a lower running cost. We also see that in challenging times like this customers are asking for complete packages including financing solutions or rental and aftermarket services.” Ever cleaner engines are reducing ventilation requirements and thus theoretically part of the need for electric LHDs. It is also true that with low fuel prices the drive for change is much less. But from the TCO perspective in the long run the electric machines may still be the better option. Looking at total sales across all OEMs, the tethered range still accounts for less than 3% and the battery underground load and haul market remains at an early stage with relatively few installations. Atlas Copco states: “It’s clear that more and more thoughts are around a diesel free underground mine and for a new large scale underground mine project it is a viable option given today’s technology matureness. If that includes tethered loaders or battery depends on the size of loader and loading cycles.” Tier 4 engine integration and introduction and lowering of emissions further remains a key market driver, but it is important to also remember that the mining markets can be divided into a few T4 and many T3 or even less regulated markets. Looking into the near future this will not change although some lesser regulated states are finally following up with their own legislation. Riedel states: “The Sandvik's automation offering is scalable for different types and sizes of mining operations biggest hurdle for Tier 4 engine use in many countries is fuel quality (especially sulphur content) although at the same time the new engines have substantial advantages for clients.” GHH has opted, for example, to be flexible with T3 being the smallest common denominator. “Other regions will continue to use non-certified engines ( such as air cooled) for reasons of simplicity and even poorer fuel quality.”  Automation is coming of age across both full autonomous and “light” options but automation is often discussed ahead of radio remote, which remains a mainstay. For example, in the last decade Atlas Copco has seen Radio Remote Control being selected as an option on 40% of all its loaders globally and almost 100% in certain markets. “In recent years we see that in certain markets the customers are demanding remote control ability above line-of-sight. These types of remote operation possibilities offer greater flexibility and a lower infrastructure demand than autonomous operation.” Sandvik On automation, Sandvik believes that there is a need and demand for both “full automation” and “light automation” while the decision on the approach depends on each customer’s mining method and application. Tomi Pikala,