Five 240 t Liebherr T 264 off-highway haul trucks were commissioned in early 2020 for use at the Dawson metallurgical coal mine in Queensland, Australia. The trucks were provided through MacKellar Mining, a mining contractor customer of Liebherr since 2016.

Although MacKellar runs Liebherr excavators and dozers at other sites, these 240 t trucks are the first Liebherr mining machines at Anglo American’s Dawson mine, and MacKellar’s first fleet of Liebherr trucks. Located in Central Queensland, Dawson is an open cut metallurgical coal mine, and a joint venture between Anglo American (51%) and Mitsui Holdings (49%).

Liebherr describes itself as “an original equipment manufacturer of high-quality mining trucks, setting industry standards for over 20 years.” The Liebherr T 264 trucks are among an upgraded generation which includes a payload capacity of 240 t/265 tons, with power ratings up to 2,013 kW/2,700 hp.

For increased safety, the new front wheel design and upgraded braking system shorten reaction times, particularly when travelling downhill. Upgraded wheel motors and the rear gear ratio boosts torque and acceleration to provide similar cycle times with 10% increased payload.

Liebherr told IM: “The 240 tonne payload is a standard payload for the T 264. The ability to achieve that is a proven frame design based on the T 284, that can handle the GVW and payload, and the limits of the 50/80R57 tyres. In addition to that the upgraded wheel motors and rear gear ratio boosts torque and acceleration to provide similar cycle times alongside the payload increase.”

MacKellar is a mining and civil earthmoving company, founded in Australia in 1966. A contractor operating multiple projects across Australia, MacKellar runs 320 machines throughout the country. Their partnership with Liebherr began with the commissioning of MacKellar’s first Liebherr machine in April 2016, an R 996B 672 t/740 ton excavator.

Following the proven success of the first Liebherr R 996B excavator MacKellar added four more with the most recent being commissioned in April 2020. MacKellar also owns two R 9400 345 t/380 ton excavators, a 70 t/77 ton PR 776 mining dozer, and has more Liebherr equipment on order for the remainder of 2020.

The Liebherr mining division includes factories in the US (Newport News), France (Colmar), and Austria (Telfs), which manufacture mining trucks, mining excavators, and mining dozers, respectively. “As two family-owned and managed companies in the mining industry, Liebherr and MacKellar have built a reliable and prosperous partnership.”