A little late with our round up of day three, we had a little bit of travelling to do to get back to Kalgoorlie! Into the last day of MINExpo International 2016 there seems to be no lull with the attendees and exhibitors. Having spent the previous evening mulling over all the information on underground machinery we were suitable impressed with where underground machinery is heading. There were some unique prototypes displayed which are a result of heavy investment in R&D by the leading underground machinery manufactures.
Day three was a great opportunity to revisit these machines to find in more detail with the manufactures directly. There were two prototypes that took our attention at the exhibition.
Joy Global displayed their 22HD Hybrid Diesel LHD which compares with the Sandvik LH621 or CAT R3000 / R2900G XTRA. Featuring a first for underground machinery it has an electric powered wheel drive. The engine drives an electric generator, powering the wheel drive motors. Braking force also produces electricity, this regeneration of power increases the machines energy efficiency, cutting down emissions.
GE had their prototype 7T-BLHD displayed, which is a completely battery powered, silent bogger equivalent in size to the CAT R1300G. Ran on three interchangeable lead acid battery packs, each battery back has 8 hours run time with 3 hour charge time. A quick hitch enables a quick interchange for the battery backs making it convenient to manage when operating underground. The machine has only 3 grease points, with low maintenance self-sealed and self-lubricating pivot points the GE is the most low-maintenance, low run cost and environmentally friendly bogger prototype on the market.
New style Sandvik DU412i long haul rig has a unique horseshoe drill placing therefore is more operator and maintenance friendly! The rig has center-articulated, carrier-mounted drill ideal for highly accurate production drilling. There are of course many many more things to talk about, so stay tuned, in the coming days we’ll be sharing more of our highlights!
