China’s Qingdao Fambition Heavy Machinery Ltd, often referred to just as Fambition, has been one of the best known names among the country’s underground mining equipment manufacturers for some years, but the company really took a step forward late last year when it delivered four 10 t (4 m3 bucket) class FL10V LHDs to Codelco in Chile. Two of these machines have gone to work in the El Teniente Division underground copper mine and the other two at the Salvador Division underground copper mine.
They arrived in October and November of 2019 and are the first Chinese LHDs to be used by Codelco. The FL10V is an LHD using FAMBITION™ technology that is designed for large scale underground metallic mine production, requiring a minimum drift width of 4.2 m. All key components are international well-known brands including a DEUTZ engine, Kessler drivetrain, Dana converter drives and Parker hydraulic system which uses load sensing variable piston pump for higher efficiency and lower energy consumption. It applies CAN-bus technology with an onboard display to show real time operating parameters with self-diagnostics and troubleshooting.
Peru-based Chao Zhang, who heads up Americas sales for the company, told IM that Fambition was chosen against other manufacturers, including other Chinese manufacturers, as it could offer the size class needed that matched the performance of the traditional major manufacturers but at a more competitive price and at the same time properly supported on the ground. Fambition has set up a new warehouse and office in Rancagua and has a team of 10 people in the country including full time technicians at the mine.
El Teniente’s Maintenance Superintendent, Hernán Figueroa, pointed out at the handover ceremony of the first two machines that Codelco is very interested in generating business with China, as, at the end of the day, China is also the main client for its copper metal. From a machine point of view, he said Codelco made this purchase because it believes that “they are quite competitive from the technical and economic point of view in our tasks. We have good expectations. The components are of good quality, the engine, the transmission, the axle, and we believe that it can be a reliable machine and that it can give a good result.”
Rodrigo Quiroz, Superintendent of Mine Engineering, said: “This equipment, on average, is 20% cheaper in investment and what we want to prove is the added lower cost of maintenance and operation, where thanks to the agreements and commitments made we expect attractive results.” He also wants progress in terms of technology from Fambition going forward. “The arrival of the Chinese LHDs is the first step in a path that in the future should focus on electrical technology. It is part of a range of initiatives to move there and we have asked Fambition that if you want to continue with us you must push automation and electromobility. Thus, these machines in the future will be electric and autonomous, operated from Rancagua or from an office outside of the underground mine.”
And a final note is that Fambition is not limited to Chile in the region, it has also recently set up an office in Lima, Peru, in late 2019 with its own support team. Fambition has already had some LHD sales in Peru and says it looks forward to further building relationships with customers in the country as well as in the wider Americas region.