Sandvik launched its new range of LHDs at a South Africam platinum conference – that country’s platinum mines being a prime market target. Recognising the influence of delegates who attended the previous South African Institute of Mining Metallurgy’s annual International Platinum Conferences, Sandvik chose this year’s Sun City venue to launch a new range of low profile LHDs.
With mining men and women from all over the world attending the conference, this seemed the most appropriate opportunity and place for the world-wide launch of the new machines. “The initial response of attendance, from invitees and conference delegates has far exceeded our expectations,” said Sandvik spokesperson Sara Thorley.
“The development of these loaders is part of Sandvik’s continuous product improvement cycle. Sandvik’s partnerships with strategic customers and involvement in their operations has provided a unique historical database regarding machines performance.
Introducing the loaders, Thorley commented “Whilst retaining the original proven concepts of the low profile loaders, Sandvik has reviewed and analysed this historical data and identified where both areas for excellence and improvement lie. This along with incorporation of technological advances and increased focus on safety and reliability in mining, provided a foundation on which to build. In-line with Sandvik’s global initiative to drive standardisation and modulatisation in our different equipment Product-Lines, Sandvik is proud to launch the new range of low profile loaders.”
These loaders are particularly well-suited to low profile room-and-pillar mining operations as well as support of extra-low profile reef mining, which are both commonly used mining methods in platinum and chrome mining. The efficiency of the operating machinery in low profile mining is key to the process and the overall productivity.
“At Sandvik, we are constantly looking at better, more efficient ways of breaking and moving material in the knowledge that shaving only micro-seconds from the operating cycle can result in impressive improvements to production.”
The performance of LHDs in removing material from the face to crushers or conveying systems is judged on the time it takes to load the bucket as well as the filling factor achieved by the vehicle used to do the loading.
Sandvik’s newly introduced machines are designed to work in low-profile room and pillar operations and support extra-low-profile mining operations. With both machines, productivity and machine performance are enhanced. The Sandvik LH208L is an ‘8-t LHD’ with a tramming capacity of 7,750 kg, a standard bucket of 3.1 m3 and a height with a canopy of 1,582 mm. The Sandvik LH205L-M is a ‘5-t LHD’ with a tramming capacity of 5,500 kg, a standard bucket of 2.2 m3 and a height with a canopy of 1,600 mm.
“Our objective was to provide customers for low-profile equipment with the highest levels of productivity and the benefits of improved levels of reliability, serviceability and maintainability. A lot of fresh thinking was incorporated into the design of the two machines and a great deal of effort went into improving ergonomics, for maintainability, in the overall layout as well as innovations which will greatly improve operator comfort” said Thorley
“Using either of the machines, our customers will experience increased safety, improved reliability, simplified maintenance, reduced operating costs and further improved productivity”