the largest machines in mining - australian mining
Komatsu fields the largest dozer found in mining, producing the D-575A-3 Super Dozer (SD). As its name implies, it is currently the largest dozer in production, and has been since it began operations in 1991. It tips the scales at 152.6 tonnes, and when equipped with a standard blade can move nearly 70 cubic metres of material per pass. However this capability is dramatically increased with its optional blade that lets it move nearly 100 cubic meters of material per pass
The LeTourneau L-2350 is the undisputed king of wheel loaders and holds the Guinness World Record to prove it. The loader has an operational weight of 234 tonnes, and 1715 kW of power, and is able to carry a 65 tonne payload in its 40.52 cubic metre bucket. However, this machine is set to move even more material, after LeTourneau unveiled its prototype L-2350 with a 53.52 cubic metre bucket at MINExpo in Las Vegas in 2012
It weighed 12 000 tonnes, and had a bucket capacity of 170 cubic metres. It measured 67.82 metres in height, had a boom of 94 metres, and a width of 46.18 metres. It was powered by 18 750kW and 10 466kW DC electric motors
In operation for more than two decades, Big Muskie shifted more than 465 million cubic metres of overburden. Increasing electricity costs, efficiency issues, and tighter environmental regulations made Big Muskie unprofitable to operate, and it eventually shut down in 1991. It had an ignoble end, and was broken down and scrapped in 1999
Herrenknecht takes poll position for the world’s largest tunnel borer with the EPB Shield S-300. This monster was designed to build some of the largest tunnels in the world and has a central cutting wheel that is 7 metres in diameter, which is surrounded by another outer cutting wheel that provides a total maximum excavation diameter of nearly 15 metres. Requiring only a few operators, it is a much safer alternative to underground blasting
australia's biggest new gold mine gruyere officially opens
Until the deposit was discovered beneath the desert sands in October 2013, the remote region had seen very little mineral exploration and only a handful of geologists believed there was significant potential for the precious metal
But as the open-pit mine at Gruyere has grown out of the dusty bush landscape over the past two years, so too has the hope that rich new discoveries will be made now there is the infrastructure available
The construction phase of the Gruyere project involved building a sealed airstrip to fly in the 350-strong workforce, a new mining camp and a 200-kilometre-long gas pipeline to bring natural gas inland from WA's north-west shelf to power the gigantic processing plant
WA's Mines Minister, Bill Johnston, said the state has been reaping the rewards of near-record prices for the precious metal, saying the Gruyere development was an example of the "entrepreneurial spirit" in the mining industry
$100m expansion of australia's deepest gold mine, gwalia
"I'm really excited about the future at Gwalia, even though it's getting deeper and we won't see the grade of yesteryear, but it will be achieving its best margins for a long time in the coming years and it will certainly be stable," Mr Jetson said
An innovative aspect of the Gwalia extension project was construction of a $20-million plant to crush waste rock underground, mix it with cement and backfill into old workings so trucks no longer carry waste to the surface.
"Obviously the coronavirus has now been with us for some months and I guess the message is getting through, particularly in places like the States, that it's truly serious, given the sadness and the numbers of people affected and even dying."
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