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From exploration to recultivation: safe, robust and economic MAN trucks score points in the mining industry
MAN vehicles are omnipresent throughout the entire life cycle of a mining area: from the exploration stage and setting up the operating facilities, through the actual mining of the mineral resources, to the recultivation phase. With the diversity of its product range, MAN is positioned as a provider of complete solutions to mining enterprises worldwide.
The life cycle of a mining area begins with exploration. The search for mineral resources often takes place in sparsely populated regions with low infrastructure density. Prospectors and geologists set out in rugged, off-road vehicles. A variety of geophysical methods and exploratory drilling techniques are used for detailed exploration of the viability and the scope of the potential mining area. All-wheel drive MAN vehicles from the series TGM, TGS and TGS WW are on offer for the transport of equipment, drilling rigs and their accessories. Since their work is carried out far from service centres, the entrepreneurs place great emphasis on reliability and robustness in the choice of vehicle. Drilling rigs are usually mounted on all-wheel-drive trucks. The drive power of the drilling rigs and auxiliary equipment can be drawn from high-performance power take-offs of vehicle engines. MAN works in close collaboration with leading body builders to provide a commercially viable and permanently functional working device.
If the decision to set up a mining facility is taken, the second step in the life cycle is the setting up of the mining site. The establishment of an effective infrastructure consisting of wagon trails, roads, railway tracks, bridges and airfields involves a wide range of transportation tasks. The same applies to the construction of administrative buildings and staff accommodation and facilities for processing the mineral resources. Three-way tippers and dump trucks, concrete mixers and trucks are used to transport the material. MAN provides vehicles that are suitable for the respective tasks, from two to five axles, with road drives and all-wheel-drives. They are from the series TGL, TGM, TGS and TGS WW, as well as CLA. Heavy-duty transport vehicles bring mining machinery and equipment to the site. MAN has acquired an outstanding reputation for reliability and performance in this field of heavy duty transport vehicles. This is why the MAN TGX range includes heavy-duty semi-trailer tractors with a maximum output of 680 HP (500 kW) and a total gross weight of 250 tonnes.
The third and most complex section of the life cycle is the winding down phase. Huge quantities of overburden, waste rock and materials containing natural resources occur here. They all have to be transported from where they were excavated to where they are further processed or to the spoil heap, often along steep, unpaved roads. Trucks offer more flexible usage options than mine rail roads or conveyor systems and are significantly less expensive in terms of procurement costs than articulated or heavy-duty dumpers. Dumpers or rear tippers on three- or four-axle chassis are used for this purpose. The demands are daunting: Tough multi-shift operation at maximum daily output, strict safety requirements, maximum loading, off-road use and high dust factor. That is why mining vehicles have to be very rugged with big payloads and powerful engines, while at the same time being economical to run.
The reliability and safety of the fleet is of great importance for entrepreneurs, because vehicle downtime results in losses in terms of the volume transported. In order to meet the stringent requirements of mining operations in terms of short downtimes, MAN offers service facilities tailored to local needs, extending even up to mobile solutions for servicing of the fleet.
However, MAN trucks are not only used in the mining industry, for the transportation from the point of extraction to the point of further processing. The minerals have to be moved between processing stations such as crusher, screener and mixer units as well as stockpiles and subsequently transported to railway stations or harbours for shipping. Depending on the weight and physical form of the cargo, the distance and the condition of the roads, vehicles designed specifically for maximum transport load and speed are utilised. For these purposes, mining companies put together trains consisting of semi-trailers and trailers, which can carry very high overall loads. In multiple-shift operation, these vehicles run almost round the clock. The companies depend on the ruggedness and reliability of their fleets. MAN trucks have successfully proved themselves for many years in the mining industry.
There are many more tasks in the framework of mining operations where trucks are used, for example, as water tankers to sprinkle the paths to minimise dust swirled up or as pump trucks for drilling sludge. Heavy-duty platform trucks deal with the transport of machines and materials. Container vehicles can be used as mobile workshops, service vehicles supply the mining machinery with fuel and lubricants. Employees are transported to their place of work in buses or personnel transporters. The fire protection service provides fire-fighting vehicles on off-road chassis.
The last section of the life-cycle of a mining site is the decommissioning of the mining site, as well as its recultivation. Large quantities of earth and soil have to be moved to shape the post-mining landscape as well as to stabilise the slopes in abandoned open-cast mining areas and on slag heaps. The implementation of afforestation operations and agricultural land also requires transportation of soil in very large quantities. These are typical tasks for tippers and pump trucks in spray-seeding areas for recultivation. MAN vehicles are suitable for this purpose too.
To cope with this diverse range of applications, MAN offers suitable chassis in its range of vehicles with the CLA, TGM, TGS and TGS.WW series. The MAN CLA series, which is manufactured in India, comprises vehicles with gross weights from 15 to 31 tonnes equipped with engines delivering from 220 HP (162 kW) to 280 HP (206 kW), complying with the Euro II or Euro III emission standards. The MAN TGM, TGS and TGS WW series produced in Europe are more powerful and offer more variants. Two to five axles, engines from 250 HP (184 kW) to 540 HP (397 kW), compliance with emission standards from Euro II onwards and gross weights from 12 to 50 tonnes characterise this series. The climatic conditions make further demands on the vehicle configuration because surface mining is conducted from the Arctic to the tropics.
MAN TGS WW as a 50-ton rear tipper at bauma 2013
MAN will exhibit a TGS.WW 50.440 8 x 4 BB, precision matched to the requirements of Chilean open cast copper mining at the bauma 2013 trade fair. Chassis and body are perfectly matched to each other for this application. In connection with a reinforced auxiliary frame, the four-axle rear tipper is designed for a total permissible weight of 50 tons. The volume of the tipper trough is 20 cubic meters. The floor panel and side walls are made of highly wear-resistant steel.
MAN's engineers have configured the vehicle to carry out the tasks required in this sector: Its powerful yet economical six-cylinder in-line engine is Euro-IV emissions standard compliant and has an output of 440 HP (324 kW). The power generated by this engine is transmitted via MAN TipMatic® automated transmission to the two driven rear axles with their 24-inch twin tyres.
The Transport Efficiency Program by MAN Truck & Bus
The amount of transport and traffic on Europe's roads continues to rise. At the same time, the long-term dwindling of energy resources is making transport increasingly more expensive.As one of the world’s leading manufacturers of buses and trucks, MAN Truck & Bus makes an important contribution to the continued improvement of transport efficiency. MAN offers a comprehensive efficiency program to reduce total cost of ownership. Transport efficiency, consolidated in the fields of technology, service, the driver and future expertise protects the environment and is added value for our customers.
The MAN Group is one of Europe's leading industrial players in transport-related engineering, with revenue of approximately €15.8 billion in 2012. MAN is a supplier of trucks, buses, diesel engines, turbomachinery and special transmissions and has around 54,300 employees worldwide. MAN's business areas are all leaders in their markets.
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