Mining Excavators Go Large, Go Electric

E&MJ rounds up key developments from the hydraulic excavator market 

By Carly Leonida, European Editor

The first half of 2024 has been awash with announcements of new hydraulic excavator models, technologies and installations.

In May 2024, Komatsu Germany Mining Division (KGM) and SMS Equipment unveiled the company’s latest and largest hydraulic mining excavator to date, the PC9000. This is optimized to suit Komatsu’s 830E through 980E mining truck sizes, improving cycle times and lowering the overall cost-per-ton of material moved. Features include a larger bucket and higher digging forces to improve cycle times. KGM said the PC9000’s extended reach is “aimed at supporting customers’ growing autonomous haulage systems while a redesigned hydraulic system leads to lower emissions.”

Peter Buhles, vice president sales and service at KGM added: “The PC9000 marks an exciting evolution of our surface mining lineup… We gathered input from our global customers and distributors to create a machine that responds to the mining industry’s emerging needs and is suitable for any type of surface mining application.”

The inaugural machine is slated to be delivered to a Canadian mining operation.

KGM also launched a new Valve Adjustment Device for hydraulic mining excavators, named K-VAD, in January 2024. This is designed to increase workplace safety by enabling remote operation of main and secondary relief valves from within the operator cabin, eliminating the need for service engineers to work next to high-pressure areas.

K-VAD is supplied as a complete tool kit and can be operated via a laptop, tablet, or smartphone. The set includes everything needed for valve adjustment: pressure sensors, adjustment motors with tool heads and Allen keys. The device enables the control of up to six tool heads and can display up to four pressures. Engine power checks can also be carried out with the K-VAD tool.

“The K-VAD user interface and the controller’s firmware have been exclusively developed in-house by the Mining Division of Komatsu Germany, emphasizing the company’s commitment to ongoing innovation,” the company said in its press release. “Future updates, including the automation of the adjustment process, are in the pipeline, along with the development of new tool heads for adjusting additional hydraulic circuits.”

The K-VAD is applicable for all Komatsu hydraulic mining excavators from the PC3000 upwards.

Oceana Inaugurates Electric Shovel at Macraes

“Last week, we were proud to host New Zealand’s Minister for Resources, the Hon. Shane Jones, on site at our Macraes operation to dedicate our new electric-hydraulic shovel,” said OceanaGold in an April 2024 Linkedin post. “Powered by 100% renewable energy, the shovel will reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 3,600 metric tons per year (mt/y) of carbon, equivalent to taking 1,800 vehicles off the road.”

The new Hitachi EX3600 electric-hydraulic shovel was successfully commissioned and put into production during the first quarter of 2024. According to OceanaGold, the shovel moved 1.1 million tons (mt) of material in March at a significantly lower cost-per-ton compared to the company’s diesel excavators.

“What we’re hoping to achieve with this machine is an average production of somewhere between 2,500 and 3,000 mt/h, and an average of 1 million mt per month,” Pieter Doelman, open-pit mine manager at Macraes, explained in a video on the company’s YouTube channel. “The implementation of this electric shovel, for us at OceanaGold, is a very significant step to achieving that sustainable mining future and our stated goal of being net carbon zero by 2050, and with a 30% reduction [in greenhouse gas emissions] by 2030.

“Our expectation with this machine is that it’ll be completely carbon neutral, from a loading point of view. That’s because the New Zealand electricity grid is, on average, a little bit over 80% from renewable sources. But at practical level, at the bottom of the South Island, it’s 100% renewable, because all of the power generation assets in the South Island are all renewable, whether that be hydro or wind.”

He continued: “I think there is a conceivable future where mines can power every bit of loading equipment with electricity. But this is a really important first step for us here at Macraes and for the wider company.

“One of the things that we think we’ll be able to achieve with this machine is to show people that it is possible to install such a machine into an existing mine and also be productive as well. This project is just one of a series of examples of constant innovation that we’ve had here within the Macraes mine, and also within OceanaGold as a whole.”

Hitachi and Rio Test Operator Assist System

In March 2024, Hitachi Construction Machinery (HCM) announced it had developed an Operator Assist System aimed at supporting the digging and loading operations of ultra-large hydraulic mining excavators and would conduct a verification test at one of Rio Tinto’s mine sites in Australia starting from late March.

All functions of the Operator Assist System enable retrofitting support for the EX-7 series of ultra-large hydraulic excavator models, from the EX2000-7 through to EX8000-7 (operation weight of 200- to 800-mt) backhoe front specification machines to provide added value to customers for machines that they already own.

“Through the application of the Operator Assist System, mine sites will benefit from reduced operator burden, improved mine site safety, increased productivity and reduced fuel consumption,” said HCM. “The conducting of testing on a site operated by the mining giant [Rio Tinto] will demonstrate the practical application of the Operator Assist System and will help to improve the accuracy of the system going forward.”

Mines producing iron ore, copper and other mineral resources are required to provide stable operations 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and the operators of ultra-large hydraulic excavators at these sites are tasked with efficiently digging material and repeatedly loading it onto dump trucks, while avoiding contact and collisions with surrounding machinery. HCM said that developing solutions which proactively support operators by reducing their workload, while enhancing site safety and productivity is a critical issue for the mining industry to explore.

In line with this, the operating system’s Loading Assist function automatically controls the front attachment when loading material onto dump trucks to help avoid collisions. Additionally, the dedicated monitor installed in the operator cab of the excavator displays information, such as the bucket payload and the hydraulic cylinder load of the front attachment, which helps the operator maneuver and assess the status of the machine. The Digging Assist function assesses the situation from the load on the hydraulic cylinder and the operation of the front attachment, detected by sensors to automatically improve control of the hydraulic excavator operation according to the situation.

The verification test will be performed at one of Rio Tinto’s iron-ore mines in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Sensors, monitors and other equipment will be attached to a backhoe EX3600-7 ultra-large hydraulic excavator (operating weight of 360 mt) to conduct a performance verification of digging and loading tasks by the Operator Assist System and verification of the usability of the monitor display installed in the operator cab.

Based on the verifications, and through insights gained via collaboration with customers, including Rio Tinto, HCM aims to achieve practical application of the Operator Assist System in stages from 2025.

Rio Tinto has been a longstanding partner of HCM and, since August 2023, the companies have been jointly conducting durability testing of the boom and arm for ultra-large hydraulic excavators.

“Going forward, the HCM Group will strive to solve customer issues as ‘a true solutions provider’ to help increase safety and productivity and reduce the life cycle cost of customer machinery through collaboration with customers,” said HCM.

Liebherr R 1950 Gets to Work in Canada

In early January, Liebherr-Canada handed over an R 9150 mining excavator to a new customer — L. Fournier & Fils — a leading general contractor in Canada that works in the industrial, civil, and mining sectors. This R 9150 is the first
Liebherr excavator commissioned in Eastern Canada and is now operating in the Abitibi-Temiskaming region at the North American Lithium operation, which is part of the largest spodumene lithium-ore reserve in North America.

The companies met at the 2023 CIM Expo in Montreal, Canada, and L. Fournier & Fils became a customer seven months later following a visit to Liebherr’s Fort McKay service centre and the Acheson sales and Reman center in Alberta in October 2023. The tour included a visit to a nearby limestone quarry to see one of the site’s R 9150s in action, and a meeting with members of Liebherr-Canada’s customer service team to discuss how they would support the customer with comprehensive machine inspections, troubleshooting, and problem resolution strategies.

The R 9150 is now running around the clock and, to ensure maximum uptime, one of Liebherr-Canada’s mining service technicians is providing full-time support to the customer. An inventory of consignment parts and components will also be maintained at the North American Lithium site.

Liebherr and Fortescue’s Electric Collab

January also saw Liebherr Mining and Fortescue successfully convert a 400-mt R 9400 excavator from a diesel to an electric powertrain. The repowered machine was commissioned at Fortescue’s Christmas Creek mine site in Western Australia.

Liebherr said this is the first time in its 40+ years of working with electric excavators that the company has repowered one of its excavators from diesel to electric configuration during the standard service life of the machine.

Oliver Weiss, executive vice president of R&D, engineering and manufacturing for Liebherr Mining, explained: “The modular design of Liebherr equipment makes it possible to repower existing diesel excavators to new zero-emission configurations, such as electric powertrains. This means that the diesel equipment customers buy today is also futureproofed for many years to come. The fact that we can ease the transition from traditional to decarbonized mining fleets for our customers is one of the key strategies of the Liebherr Zero Emission Mining Program.”

A hydrogen Offboard Power Unit (OPU) designed and developed by Fortescue was used to power the newly converted R 9400 E which is currently undergoing site-based testing within Fortescue’s purpose-built zero emission testing area at Christmas Creek.

Fortescue’s Cloudbreak mine site in Western Australia also commissioned the first of three new Liebherr R 9400 E electric excavators in December 2023, making it the owner of the first newly built, operational electric excavator in the country. The R 9400 E backhoe is powered by a 6.6kV substation and more than 2 km of high-voltage trailing cable. It’s also equipped with a Liebherr cable reeler, enabling increased maneuverability and optimized safety on site.

“The commissioning of this fully electric excavator is a massive achievement by the team and is the first of its kind in Australia for the mining industry,” said Dino Otranto, CEO, Fortescue Metals Group. “It’s a true demonstration of industry collaboration where we’ve been fortunate enough to work with industry experts who have been using trailing cable for decades, and then repurpose this in our own operations as part of our decarbonization journey. Already, our Chichester operations, which include Cloudbreak, run partially off solar enabling this first excavator to be powered using renewable electricity. Once we decarbonize our electricity grid, all these excavators will be operating on renewable electricity in the future.”

In a March 2024 update, Fortescue said that the excavator had reached the milestone of 1 million mt of material moved since it became operational.

“Now operating at full speed, its performance continues to steadily improve with the excavator at times performing better than its diesel equivalent,” the company said in a press release. “The team’s focus is now on ensuring its consistent performance.”

Dino Otranto added: “We will have two additional electric excavators commissioned by the end of April. Once we decarbonize our entire fleet, around 95 million liters of diesel will be removed from our operations every year, or more than a quarter of a million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.”

Caterpillar Revamps the 6020

Caterpillar has recently revamped its 6020 B hydraulic mining shovel, renaming it the 6020. The updated model features the Cat C32 B engine (its predecessor was fitted with the C32), and a longer undercarriage life thanks to a new floating push tube which delivers even idler slide wear and extended component life, a low-wear drive system which is induction hardened and boasts a high quantity of sprocket teeth, and an optional rough terrain undercarriage protection kit.

On its website, the company stated: “When we invited our customers to help us design the first of our “Next Generation” Cat hydraulic shovels, they gave us three top priorities: make it safe, keep it simple and make it reliable. We responded by developing the Cat 6020, which delivers the simplicity and versatility you desire, with valuable modern design features that set it apart from the competition.”

The 6020 offers class-leading visibility and a cab designed for comfort, safety and efficiency. A walk-through and exchangeable power module contributes to easier serviceability. Caterpillar added that the 6020 is more fuel efficient than other shovels in its class, delivering efficiency and cost advantages. And the proven C 32 B engine meets emission standards without the need for diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), saving time and cost during maintenance.

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Liebherr Validates R 9300 With Karunia in Indonesia

As part of a partnership agreement between Indonesian mining contractor, Karunia, and Liebherr Mining for the development and validation of the R 9300 mining excavator, Karunia has been operating one R 9300 pre-series unit, in backhoe configuration, since September 2022.

The R 9300 made its debut at the 2022 Bauma exhibition in Germany. The new excavator has now replaced the R 9250 in the 250-mt class in Liebherr’s portfolio. Because the R 9300 is a Generation 8 machine, it benefits from Liebherrs latest innovations to increase the excavator’s operational performance on site while also making the machine compatible with new mining technologies, such as automation and zero emission energy sources.

Throughout the operation of the pre-series unit, Karunia has provided Liebherr with insight into the overall performance of the excavator as well as the functionality of the technologies fitted into the machine. The R 9300 is being used to remove overburden and load material into 100- and 130-mt mining trucks. On site, the excavator loads 100-mt trucks in four passes and 130-mt trucks in five passes, with a 17.5 m³ bucket (at 1.5 t/m³ density).

The Liebherr Mining application engineering team, together with an operator instructor, conducted a production study at the Tabang mine site in March 2023. The objective was to measure the instantaneous production of the new R 9300.

For the duration of the study, the R 9300 operated on a bench of overburden and was equipped with a 17.5 m³ bucket. The excavator loaded a fleet comprised of both 100- and 130-mt trucks. A total of thirty trucks — eight 100-mt and 22 130-mt — were recorded.

The productivity achieved by the R 9300 was 1,371 bank m³ per hour (3,017 mt/h) which Liebherr said is a remarkable achievement for a 250-mt hydraulic excavator. This production figure was reached thanks to the R 9300’s fast cycle times (26 seconds on average), combined with good exchange time between trucks (48 seconds on average). Karunia also expressed its satisfaction about both Liebherr Assistance Systems installed on the R 9300.

“The customer greatly valued the systems’ user-friendly interface, the accuracy of the data, and the ability to generate reports with the figures the systems provided,” Liebherr reported in its customer magazine. “In particular, the Truck Loading Assistant provided Karunia with reliable information to help limit the number of under- and overloaded trucks.”

The information reported by Karunia from the R 9300’s seven months on site, and collected from the production study, confirmed that the R 9300 exceeds the company’s onsite requirements. Karunia has since increased the R 9300’s production target by 12% and has purchased four additional units to assist with increased activity at the Tabang mine.