Bis is already offering clients a “step change in flexibility and efficiency” with its Rexx haul truck, but Chief Development Officer, Todd Peate, says the company has plans to offer hybrid, electric and automated versions of the 160 t payload vehicle as it looks to offer customers a further boost in productivity and their environmental footprint.

Speaking in a blog post on Bis’ website, Peate said the launch of Rexx, a solution that can come out of pit and travel up to 30 km while reducing fuel consumption up to 40%, is a fantastic example of a lower cost approach to running mining fleets.

Rexx was launched in 2018, with Peate saying six customers have been running detailed trials of this solution during 2019 and 2020 as part of fleet replenishment and cost optimisation project assessments.

Among these are trials at Gold Fields’ Granny Smith mine and Glencore’s Murrin Murrin operation, both in Western Australia.

“Rexx speaks directly to improvements in environmental footprint and productivity for our customers,” he said, adding that, in Bis’ short- to medium-term roadmap, variants will be available in both hybrid and electric forms, with the existing solution capable to be retrofitted with automation capability.

“With the success of Rexx and feedback from the market, we have a roadmap for a product family that will see Rexx continue to grow well into the back end of this decade and beyond,” he said.

Meanwhile, in other areas, Bis is developing a “category disruptor” in the underground market in the early part of 2021, Peate said.

He concluded with the news: “From an automation point of view, we’ll be bringing something to the market very soon in the form of an offering that has potential application for not only our equipment, but for all equipment in the industry.

“Stay tuned!”