One of CAR’s previous editors, Cedric Wright, reports from Australia…
BRISBANE – South Africa’s open-cast mines are to be used as test bed for a revolutionary monster mining truck now under construction in Europe.
The vehicle – which looks like something from science fiction – is a 20-wheeled, all-wheel drive, all-wheel steering monster developed by a company known as European Truck Factory (ETF), drawing components from various sources. Most components come from Germany, including a 1 920 kW MTU Mercedes-Benz diesel engine. The truck comes in two models, capable of hauling loads of between 170 and 240 metric tonnes of ore, and even of operating as road trains of up to four units.
Both MT 170 and MT 240 models are equipped with oscillating axles and hydro-pneumatic suspension giving 950 mm of independent wheel travel to reduce body stress. They have a low-mounted, forward control cab for improved visibility, low load height and a central tyre-inflation system. The load beds can be configured to tip to the rear (as in conventional mining trucks) or to the side.
In what is billed as a challenge to traditional major players in the mining industry, such as CAT and Komatsu, ETF will ship its first working truck to South Africa in December, and have it hauling dirt in January.
The EFT trucks will not be sold to mining companies, but will be rented, with payment only for the hours they operate. But to justify the EFT investment, mine operators must sign up for “the life cycle” of the individual truck.
