Back in April 2022, Uzbek engineering group and mining contractor Enter Engineering, which is headquartered in Tashkent, announced the expansion of its fleet for the construction of the new MOF-3 copper concentrating complex, plus the associated mine and related infrastructure facilities. MOF-3 is one of the most significant mining related projects in Central Asia, and is part of Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Company (AMMC).
Enter Engineering is working at MOF-3 together with Russia’s Uralmashplant, part of UZTM. Enter Engineering and UZTM are jointly building the mineral processing plant with Enter carrying out the design and construction of the facility, and UZTM supplying process equipment. UZTM is manufacturing over 100 pieces of equipment for MOF-3 with a capacity of 60 Mt/y, including large-capacity grinding mills, crushing and handling plants, secondary cone crushers, grinding rolls, screens of various types and other equipment. Enter is handling the contract mining at the project, including the development of the new Yoshlik-1 mine and integrating it with the existing Kalmakyr copper mine.
The new heavy equipment fleet committed to for MOF-3 included 15 XCMG XE700 70 t hydraulic backhoe excavators with a 4 m³ bucket and a further 40 units with a 6.5 m³ bucket capacity. Four SD60 crawler bulldozers, from Shantui Construction Machinery, with a weight of 70 t and dump volume of 18.5 m³ per unit were also acquired with plans to add 30 more units. For transportation of large volumes, some 150 SKT105S mine dump trucks were to be purchased from SANY International Development Ltd. These have a 35-44 m³, body volume and total weight of 105 t with a capacity of 75 tons (68 t). So far over 60 have been delivered and are in use. Enter is also using a fleet of XCMG XDR80T trucks.
But the contractor has ambitious plans to increase the truck model capacity at MOF-3. Kurshid Ikromov, Deputy Director of the Mining Machinery Dept at Enter Engineering said in February 2023: “We are currently using 64 SANY SKT105 mining trucks, each with a capacity of 75 tons. We also brought in a SANY SET150 dump truck with a carrying capacity of 150 tons [136 t] and a body volume of 78 m³, two months ago. Its the only dump truck of its kind in the world. In the future, we plan to bring in larger 220 to 230 ton dump trucks.”
The SET150S hybrid mining truck model can be equipped with the Weichai WP17 or Deutz TCD 18.0 or Volvo Penta TAD 1643 engine depending on the market. The hybrid power system also includes a CRRC TEC electric drive system with battery pack, developed together with SANY. The truck as well as being delivered to Enter Engineering is also being tested in a Russian coal mine in the Kuzbass region. It was initially tested in the Wenshan zinc mine in Yunnan Province, China.
It has an isolated hydraulic system is equipped with two large capacity energy accumulators. Even under extreme conditions, such as the engine loses power, the full hydraulic accumulators can also supply emergent steer to provide operating safety backup. The SET150S also has two completely independent braking systems, with the main brake being electric. The energy management system fully absorbs braking energy and allows it to stop easily. There is also a spare set of hydraulic brakes, which can ensure that the vehicle has a high level of safety in any situation.
SANY states on its mining truck progress in its 2022 interim report, including electric models: “We are building the top brand for wide-bodied vehicles. The medium-capacity SKT105S is selling in bulk, while 18 different models including SKT105SY and SKT105A are simultaneously under development to satisfy the needs in different work conditions. In the meantime, the development for hybrid, pure electric and battery-replaceable wide-bodied vehicles accelerated. The prototypes of SKT130, SKT130Pro and SKT160 have completed test production, while the first SET150 electric dump truck was sold to Central Asia and is selling in bulk. The SKT105EC electric widebodied vehicle with integrated charging and replacement was launched, gaining 15 orders.”
