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| From biglorrieblog, one of Doug Gould's 2AB quads working at a gold mine Kalgoorlie in Western Oz. |
South Africa's longest road trains are short compared to the four-truck monster the Ozzies pull at a gold mine in Kalgoorie, Down Under.
The Ozzie drivers have learned to turst Kenworth T-650 8x4 tractors, but light on diesel they are not. Hence transport company McAleese last month tested its Scania R 620 heavy-haulage truck at a gold mine in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.
Danny Denton from McAleese Resources told Prime Mover magazine the Scania R 620 delivered "great fuel economy and performance", as well as the comfort and quietness of the cab.
“I have been quite impressed by the performance of the Scania,” he said. “It pulls well when loaded and is a lot more comfy than you would think.”
The test was initiated by Scania Australia’s Mining Services Division, who recently specified a R 620 V8 demonstrator-unit, rated at 200 tonnes.
The vehicle offered a 140-tonne payload when pulling four side-tipping ore trailers and the idea was to show Australian mine drivers that Scania vehicles were up to the job.
Rene van Oppen, Business Manager for the Scania Mining Services Division, said the R 620 V8 is the kind of truck miners want. “We’re sure there are many mining operators who would like to experience … but also the ability to improve driver working conditions and comfort which can have a positive impact on safety,” he said. “All operators are keen to improve efficiency and uptime rates, as well as reduce their running costs and this truck can do that.”
