Tag Archives: Quellaveco

FAM ship loader keeps copper ore moving at Anglo American Quellaveco

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FAM, a member of the BEUMER Group, is helping Anglo American keep copper ore moving continuously at the Quellaveco mine in Peru, with a closed-loop ship loading system.

One of the world’s largest and best-known deposits with estimated reserves of 1,100 Mt of copper ore, Quellaveco is located near the port city of Ilo – just under 37 km northeast of Moquegua in southern Peru.

Jointly developed by Anglo American and Mitsubishi Corporation, the goal is to mine 1.1 Mt/y of copper. The mine hit commercial production in September last year.

To ship this amount of raw material to target countries, Peru is investing heavily in the country’s infrastructure – for example, in a new port terminal located just under 20 km south of the city of Ilo, BEUMER Group says. The terminal is operated by the energy company, ENGIE. In search of a suitable partner to supply the ship loading system, the project managers selected FAM Minerals & Mining GmbH, a Germany-based manufacturer of conveyor systems. Since the summer of 2022, FAM has been wholly owned by the BEUMER Group, headquartered in Beckum, Germany.

The Quellaveco open-pit mine relies on a high level of automation to protect workers and minimise dust pollution. The copper ore is transported via a conveyor belt to the truck loading station. Sensors signal when a truck arrives for transport. The gate opens automatically and closes again behind the truck. An extraction system is activated to prevent dust from escaping during loading. Once the raw material has been loaded and hermetically sealed on the truck, the gate opens again. Now the truck continues to a tyre wash facility. “The facility is automatically activated via sensors – until the tyres are 100% clean,” Martín Cabrera, Port Project Manager at Anglo American, said.

No dust formation is to be expected when the copper ore is received, stored and shipped. To be on the safe side, however, the plant operator has installed systems that can capture the particles. “These efficient systems work similarly to large vacuum cleaners,” Karen Huaraca, Anglo American’s Environmental Officer, explains. “They filter the dust and then release the clean air into the environment.”

All the information collected by the sensors is sent to the operations centre in real time, enabling the plant to be controlled automatically. This facility is about 90 km from Quellaveco.

The trucks transport the raw materials to the port. There, the copper ore is stored in a warehouse, which has a capacity of more than 80,000 t. A conveyor system conveys the material from the mainland and transfers it to the new SL1320.51/30 ship loader. The loader has a swivelling superstructure. At the end of the boom is the loading device with a belt conveyor. The material slides down a telescopic tube into the cargo hold. This means there are no major environmental emissions during loading. The telescopic tube can be swivelled hydraulically to reach every corner of the cargo hold. The ship loader has a conveying capacity of around 1,320 t/h.

FAM successfully commissioned the system at the end of 2022. The supplier also handled the installation of all the mechanical components, as well as the electrical and control engineering, project planning, production, transportation and consulting.

FAM Project Leader, Alexander Kammerer, said: “This project was challenging in many ways. We had to deal with both high seismic loads and COVID-19 pandemic delays. But thanks to the support of our colleagues from FAM América Latina Maquinarias Limitada in Chile, we succeeded in implementing the project within the given parameters.”

Sakatti-FutureSmart Mining

Anglo American highlights next FutureSmart Mining advances at Woodsmith, Sakatti

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Anglo American has provided its latest sustainability performance update, highlighting a number of technological advancements the company is looking to take at its in-development Woodsmith polyhalite mine in the UK and its exploration asset, Sakatti, in Finland.

Anglo American says it has an integrated approach to sustainability in project development, helping secure its ability to deliver responsible long-term growth in future-enabling metals and minerals.

The company is moving towards its goal of carbon neutral operations by 2040, evolving its pathways as it progresses, learns and as technologies develop.

At the end of 2022, its Scope 1 and 2 emissions were 21% below the peak levels of 2019 – a significant reduction that, Anglo American says, reflects its transition to 100% renewable electricity supply across its South America operations, with Australia to follow in 2025.

In southern Africa, it is working in partnership with EDF Renewables to build a 3-5 GW renewable energy ecosystem of wind and solar generation capacity, designed to tackle its largest remaining source of Scope 2 emissions and support energy reliability and grid resilience while catalysing broad socio-economic opportunities.

While Scope 3 emissions reduction is largely dependent on the decarbonisation of Anglo American’s value chains and the steel industry, in particular, it is progressing towards its ambition to halve these emissions by 2040.

Tom McCulley, CEO of Anglo American’s Crop Nutrients business, provided several references to Quellaveco, Anglo American’s most technologically-advanced mine that uses automation, a remote operations centre and high levels of digitalisation, when looking at its FutureSmart Mining™ plans at Woodsmith, a 5 Mt/y operation that could ramp up to 13 Mt/y.

McCulley, who also led development of Quellaveco, said Woodsmith will be developed as a benchmark for sustainable mining. This includes plans for the mine to be a low carbon, low water and low waste operation, with no tailings generation and with a minimum impact design.

“We hope this can show a way of how mining can be done in the future,” McCulley said of this approach at Woodsmith.

When it comes to Sakatti, Alison Atkinson, Projects & Development Director, said the development could end up being “our next greenfield project”.

The project is a rich multi-metal deposit with not only copper, nickel and cobalt resources, but also platinum, palladium, gold and silver.

“High concentrations of metal combined with consistency of the mineralisation between the boreholes make Sakatti a unique deposit,” Anglo American says of the project. Its resources are estimated to be sufficient for mining operations to last more than 20 years.

Atkinson said Sakatti is being designed as the next generation of FutureSmart Mining, building on what it has learned from Quellaveco and Woodsmith, particularly when it comes to ensuring there is minimal surface footprint and “using technology and innovations to deliver even better sustainability outcomes”.

She added: “Sakatti is set to be a remotely operated, low carbon-underground mine with an electric mining fleet using technology and mining methods that will create zero waste and enable high degrees of water recycling, contributing to a sustainable supply of critical minerals.”

The company also sees the potential to use sorting technologies for coarse particle rejection and material recovery opportunities.

Anglo American kicks off commercial ops at Quellaveco copper mine

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Anglo American has announced the start of commercial copper operations at its Quellaveco project in Peru, following the successful testing of operations and final regulatory clearance.

Quellaveco is expected to produce 300,000 t/y of copper-equivalent volume on average over its first ten years.

The milestone follows unloading of first ore to the primary crusher in June and the production of first copper in July.

Duncan Wanblad, Chief Executive of Anglo American, said: “Our delivery of Quellaveco, a major new world-class copper mine, is testament to the incredible efforts of our workforce and our commitment to our stakeholders in Peru over many years. Quellaveco, alone, is expected to lift our total global output by 10% in copper-equivalent terms and take our total copper production close to 1 Mt/y. At a highly competitive operating cost, Quellaveco exemplifies the asset and return profile that is central to our portfolio quality and our ability to provide customers with a reliable and sustainable supply of future-enabling metals.”

Ruben Fernandes, CEO of Anglo American’s Base Metals business, added: “We designed Quellaveco as one of Anglo American’s and South America’s most technologically advanced mines, incorporating autonomous drilling and haulage fleets – a first in Peru – a remote operations centre, as well as a number of Anglo American’s digital and advanced processing technologies. Drawing its electricity supply entirely from renewables, Quellaveco is setting an example of a low emission mine producing a critical metal for decarbonising the global economy – copper. In Quellaveco, we can see FutureSmart Mining™ in action.”

Anglo American expects that Quellaveco will ramp up fully over the next 9-12 months. Following a thorough commissioning and testing period, and receipt of final regulatory clearance, production guidance for Quellaveco in 2022 is revised to 80,000-100,000 t of copper (previously 100,000-150,000 t) at a C1 unit cost of $1.50/lb, previously $1.35/Ib. Production guidance for Quellaveco in 2023 and 2024 is unchanged at 320,000-370,000 t of copper.

Anglo American produces first copper concentrate from Quellaveco

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Anglo American plc has announced first production of copper concentrate from its Quellaveco project in Peru – a major milestone as Quellaveco nears completion ahead of receiving final regulatory clearance for commercial operations to begin.

Tom McCulley, who has led Anglo American’s development of Quellaveco, said: “First copper production at Quellaveco is a key milestone in our delivery of this world-class asset, on time and on budget. The fact that we are today producing copper less than four years after project approval, including through two years of considerable pandemic-related disruption, is testament to the strength of our commitment to our workforce, local communities, the Moquegua region and government stakeholders in Peru. This first production of copper concentrate marks the beginning of the normal period of testing the processing plant with ore and the ramping up of mining activities to demonstrate readiness for operations.”

Adolfo Heeren, CEO of Anglo American in Peru, added: “Quellaveco is a project for all of Peru and especially for the Moquegua region. Once in full operation, Quellaveco alone will increase Peru’s copper production by around 10%, and deliver sustainable benefits for decades to come, including 2,500 direct jobs, the incorporation of local suppliers into our supply chain, the increase of water sources for human consumption and irrigation, digital connectivity, the expansion of agricultural areas and tax revenues. By working together in partnership, we will deliver enduring positive outcomes for all our stakeholders.”

Quellaveco is an open-pit copper mine located in the Moquegua region in the south of Peru. Construction started in 2018, with estimated total capex of $5.5 billion, which includes the $600 million additional cost of managing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic since 2020. In 2021, Anglo American also approved the construction of a Coarse Particle Recovery plant to allow retreatment of coarse particles from flotation tailings to further enhance copper recovery rates. Other technology innovations include the use of autonomous haulage operations – with a fleet of Caterpillar 794 ACs – and autonomous drilling operations – with Epiroc Pit Viper 351s. These are being overseen by an Integrated Operations Centre which recently started up.

Quellaveco is expected to produce 300,000 t/y of copper-equivalent on average over the first 10 years of operation, at a highly competitive C1 unit cost of circa $0.95/lb over the first five years once the operation reaches full production capacity.

Quellaveco has an estimated 1,700 Mt of reserves, 8.9 Mt of contained copper at 0.53% TCu, and a 36-year reserve life, with potential for further expansion given its estimated additional resources at 1,600 Mt, containing 6.1 Mt copper (at 0.38% TCu).

Anglo American expects that Quellaveco will reach design production capacity in 12 months. Production guidance for 2022 is 100,000–150,000 t of copper at a C1 unit cost of circa $1.35/lb. Production guidance for 2023 and 2024 is 320,000–370,000 t.

Quellaveco is owned 60:40 between Anglo American and Mitsubishi Corporation.

Integrated Operations Centre goes live at Anglo American’s Quellaveco copper mine

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Anglo American has announced that the Integrated Operations Centre (CIO) at its in-development Quellaveco copper project in Peru is now ready to start operating the concentrator plant.

From there, all the processes of the mine will be controlled, with predictive intelligence applied to improve safety and productivity.

Earlier this month, Anglo American unloaded the first ore to the primary crusher at Quellaveco, marking a crucial milestone in commissioning tests prior to the start of operations.

Thanks to this milestone at the CIO and the successful introduced of first ore to the primary crusher, Quellaveco is now able to move onto the wet commissioning phase.

Cinthya Lozano Ganvine, CIO Superintendent, said: “To get here, we previously took the digital mine concept to an engineering design, and then we went on to planning and execution, with the support of experts. We have implemented platforms with virtual and physical servers, capable of processing and storing information for data science and advanced control, as well as a robust infrastructure for networks and high availability of the systems that control the processes in each part of the project.”

Just two weeks ago, the first truckload of ore was unloaded at the primary crusher. Once deemed successful, the testing then moved onto the conveyor belt and the ore stockpile and, a week later, commissioning tests of the SAG mills and ball mills began. All these processes are controlled from the CIO, activating, stabilising, or recalibrating the operation of the equipment, according to production objectives.

In addition, the huge amounts of data that will arrive from the sensors installed throughout the production chain will be processed at the CIO. With this data, predictive intelligence will be applied to anticipate any potentially problematic events. This technology allows operators to model likely scenarios and make adjustments to improve mine safety and productivity.

Quellaveco smart sensors can record data according to the needs of each area, according to Anglo. There are sensors for temperature, vibration, flow, humidity, pressure and oil quality. There are even sensors that measure earthquakes, among other events. With the data they generate, decision making is improved.

“But in addition to cutting-edge technology, the human component is crucial at Quellaveco,” the company said.

At the CIO, approximately 80 people will be controlling and monitoring the entire production chain 24 hours a day, seven days a week. These professionals receive constant training on data analysis to gain in-depth knowledge of the systems of each of the processes.

Close to 30% of the CIO team is made up of women, a figure that is well above the national average for female participation in the mining sector, Anglo says.

Quellaveco is in the Moquegua region and, at full capacity, will process 127,500 t/d of material. It will, Anglo American says, be the first 100% digital mine in the country, introducing new technology and processes to the national mining industry, such as autonomous mine haulage, that will improve performance in safety, production and sustainability.

Anglo American kicks off commissioning at Quellaveco copper project

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Anglo American has unloaded the first ore to the primary crusher at the Quellaveco copper project in Peru, marking a crucial milestone in commissioning tests prior to the start of operations.

Autonomous truck No. 19 – a Caterpillar 794 AC whose hopper sports the colours of diversity – was chosen to unload the ore at the $5.5 billion operation.

The ore entered Line 1 of the primary crusher where it was reduced to a size of 6.5 in (165.1 mm). Subsequently, it was taken from the mine area through a system of conveyor belts that extend more than 6 km to the coarse ore stockpile in the Papujune concentrator plant. Here, some 30,000 t of crushed ore was deposited. From there, it moved to the grinding area, where commissioning tests for the Line 1 SAG and ball mill began.

Tom McCulley, former CEO of Anglo American in Peru, was present at this important milestone for the upcoming start of operations. “Today, Quellaveco reached its most significant milestone with the shipment of the first ore to the processing plant. I want to thank all the 30,000 Peruvians who were with us during the construction stage.”

The commissioning tests are designed to ensure the optimal operation of the equipment and to verify the proper transfer of the ore from the time it is extracted in the pit to the processing plant, where the copper concentrate will soon be produced.

Quellaveco is in the Moquegua region and, at full capacity, will process 127,500 t/d of material. It will, Anglo American says, be the first 100% digital mine in the country, introducing new technology and processes to the national mining industry, such as autonomous mine haulage, that will improve performance in safety, production and sustainability.

Anglo’s digital vision for Quellaveco takes shape with Epiroc autonomous drill rig arrivals

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Anglo American’s automation plans for its Quellaveco mine in Peru are starting to take shape, with its first automated trucks having started up in “pre-mining” mode last year and now automation-ready drills on site ahead of first ore production later this year.

The company’s most digital and autonomous mine yet, Quellaveco is expected to produce 300,000 t/y of copper over the first 10 years of the mine from an orebody that currently has around 1,300 Mt of reserves.

In the company’s December quarter production results today, it said construction of the project was progressing to plan, with first ore mined in October and first copper concentrate production expected in the middle of 2022.

In the first half of 2021, the operation started up four of a planned fleet of 27 autonomous Cat 794AC haul trucks as one element in a range of technologies that will help to make Quellaveco Anglo American’s first 100% digital mine.

Anglo American plans to deploy a fleet of 27 autonomous Cat 794AC haul trucks at Quellaveco

Now, the company has drill rigs on site that, by the end of this year, should be fully integrated into its in-country remote operations centre. The rigs – six fully autonomous Epiroc Pit Viper 351s and three tele-remote SmartRoc D65s – will eventually be overseen from this remote operations centre.

IM put some questions to Tito Cacho, General Manager of Quellaveco, to find out more about these rigs and what led to the planned automation leap at the mine.

IM: How did your experience with Epiroc on developing and implementing a new tele-remote drilling project at Los Bronces influence the decision to implement a fully autonomous drill fleet at Quellaveco? Did many of the people that implemented the Los Bronces project come over to Quellaveco?

TC: One of the objectives of Anglo American has been building a modern and fully digital mine at Quellaveco, incorporating the latest technologies to make this an even safer, productive and sustainable mining operation. A team of Anglo American engineers that were involved in the Los Bronces implementation have assisted in some aspects of the project in Quellaveco, bringing the benefits from our experience gained in Chile.

IM: What qualities does Quellaveco as an asset have in terms of applying autonomous drilling (aside from the fact it is a ‘greenfield mine’ you can design around automation)?

TC: We believe that Quellaveco will set a new standard. Through our experience with automation, the industry is driving towards safer and more reliable operations. This can make a significant difference not only to the mining operations itself but for our stakeholders who increasingly demand more sustainable operations.

Our team has been developing processes and procedures to build autonomy into the operational culture from day one. We are developing multifunctional skills in our operators and technicians, so that they learn about new roles and equipment operation, giving us the flexibility for people to work in any part of the process. The enthusiasm and willingness to learn and work with this new technology that we have seen in all the groups in Quellaveco has been an incredible asset.

IM: What other benefits stood out to you when evaluating fully autonomous drilling at the asset (safety, productivity, etc)?

TC: Safety is the primary benefit, and, as you know, is our most important value at Anglo American. We can distance an operator from areas of risk and put them in an environment that is safer, with less exposure to dust, noise and vibration. The operator becomes an autonomous drilling controller and is more comfortable and in a better ergonomic position. In addition, we have been able to improve the use, efficiency and precision of the equipment, and the ability to control multiple machines per person are notable benefits over manual operation.

Anglo plans to deploy six fully autonomous Epiroc Pit Viper 351s at the operation

IM: How easy is it to implement fully autonomous drilling operations in Peru from a regulatory perspective? How does it compare with other countries?

TC: Anglo American’s approach is engaging with regulatory authorities from the beginning, and that is what we have done in Peru. We believe our stakeholders see the advantages of having a modern and fully digital mine operating in the country, from a safety, efficiency and sustainability perspective.

IM: How many rigs out of the “multiple” drill rigs you ordered from Epiroc will be autonomous? What does the timeline look like from here in terms of them reaching their capacity? When will their control and oversight be integrated into the remote operations centre?

TC: Quellaveco will have six Pit Viper 351s that operate fully autonomously and three SmartRoc D65s that operate in tele-remote (operator controlled from a distance with some autonomous functions). We aim to integrate full control and oversight of the drill fleet into the remote operations centre by the second half of this year.

Anglo American and ENGIE agree on ‘green’ electricity supply for Quellaveco

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Anglo American and ENGIE’s Peru-based subsidiary have signed an agreement to convert the current contracted energy supply for the Quellaveco copper project to 100% renewable sources, in addition to agreeing on another eight years of energy supply for the mine, starting in 2029, from “green energy” inputs.

The agreement will see Quellaveco, a copper project being developed by Anglo and Mitsubishi Corp, become the first mining operation to promote the construction of a non-conventional renewable energy plant, according to ENGIE.

As part of the pact, ENGIE Energía Perú has agreed to convert the total electricity supply for Quellaveco (187 MW) to 100% green energy, with 150 MW of supply over eight years from 2029 also coming from green energy sources.

ENGIE Energía Perú will source the renewable energy from its Punta Lomitas wind power plant, an in-development wind farm with a joint nominal capacity of 260 MW located in Ocucaje-Ica and a 60 km transmission line connecting the plant with the National Interconnected Electric System. The project has been granted a generation and transmission concession by the Ministry of Energy and Mines, and construction is expected to start in the second half of 2021, the company says.

Tom McCulley, CEO of Anglo American in Peru, said: “We are working from different areas to contribute to a healthy environment. Our goal is to transform the very nature of the industry to ensure a safer, cleaner and more sustainable future.

“By resorting to the use of higher precision technologies, such as those that Quellaveco will have, as well as by focusing on consuming less energy and less water, we will reduce our environmental footprint for every kilogram of copper that we produce, starting in 2022.”

Rik De Buyserie, CEO of ENGIE Energía Peru, added: “Thanks to the renewable energy certificates delivered by the Punta Lomitas Power Plant to supply the demand for the Quellaveco project, we are proud and committed to accompany our client Anglo American and mining in Peru, on their path to carbon neutrality.”

Quellaveco, owned 60% by Anglo and 40% by Mitsubishi Corp, comes with a production blueprint of 300,000 t/y of copper over the first 10 years of the mine, with first production expected in 2022.

Anglo’s Quellaveco to receive the coarse particle recovery treatment

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Anglo American has approved the construction of a coarse particle recovery (CPR) plant at its in-development Quellaveco copper project in Peru.

The announcement came within the company’s 2020 financial results, which showed Anglo generated underlying EBITDA of $9.8 billion and a profit attributable to equity shareholders of $2.1 billion for the year.

CPR, Anglo says, is one of many significant breakthrough technology initiatives that has the potential to increase throughput and productivity, while simultaneously reducing environmental footprint, through rejection of coarse gangue (near-worthless waste material), dry stacking of sand waste, minimising the production of traditional tailings and reducing overall water consumption.

The CPR plant signoff at Quellaveco follows a full-scale demo plant installation at the company’s El Soldado mine in Chile – which is ramping up to full capacity by mid-2021 – and the decision to construct a full-scale system at the Mogalakwena North PGM concentrator in South Africa.

The El Soldado plant used the HydroFloat™ CPR technology from Eriez’s Flotation Division. Here, a single 5 m diameter HydroFloat cell, the largest in the world, treats 100% of mill throughput, with the objective of proving the waste rejection process at full scale.

Anglo said of the Quellaveco CPR plant: “This breakthrough technology will initially allow retreatment of coarse particles from flotation tailings to improve recoveries by circa-3% on average over the life of the mine. This investment will also enable future throughput expansion which will bring a reduction in energy and water consumption per unit of production.”

The capital expenditure of the CPR project is around $130 million, with commissioning of the new plant expected in 2022. DRA Global previously carried out a feasibility study for the CPR plant at Quellaveco.

In terms of Quellaveco project progress, Anglo said today that, despite the COVID-19-related slowdown, first production was still expected in 2022. This was, in part, due to the excellent progress achieved prior to the national lockdown, and based on optimised construction and commissioning plans, Anglo said.

Key activities in 2021 include the start of pre-stripping, which will see the first greenfield use of automated hauling technology in Peru; progressing construction of the primary crusher and ore transport conveyor tunnel to the plant; completion of the 95 km freshwater pipeline that will deliver water from the water source area to the Quellaveco site; completing installation of the shells and motors for both milling lines; and completion of the tailings starter dam.

The mine, owned 60% by Anglo and 40% by Mitsubishi Corp, comes with a production blueprint of 300,000 t/y over the first 10 years of the mine.

Cat revamps 6060 hydraulic mining shovel

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Caterpillar has launched its next generation 6060 hydraulic mining shovel, which, it says, features multiple design enhancements and new components that advance machine performance, durability, serviceability, and operator comfort.

The new 6060, which replaces the 6060B in the hydraulic mining shovel lineup, features updated engines, optimised hydraulics, heavy-duty structures and undercarriage, Cat electronics and a state-of-the-art cab, according to the company. It is also fully integrated into Caterpillar product support systems for efficient Cat dealer services.

One of these new-generation shovels is set to operate at Anglo American’s in-development Quellaveco mine, in Peru, as part of a fleet that includes autonomous 794 AC trucks.

The 600-t class mining shovel has a bucket payload of about 61 t/pass in both face shovel and backhoe configurations. This makes it an efficient four-pass match with the 231-t payload Cat 793 mining truck and five-pass match with the 291-t payload Cat 794 AC mining truck.

Twin Cat 3512E engines are optimised for high performance, fuel efficient operation and increased durability, according to the company.

For North America, the engines are equipped with a maintenance-free diesel oxidation catalyst emissions control system, do not use diesel exhaust fluid and comply with US EPA Tier 4 Final regulations, Cat says. The updated engine design boosts reliability and extends time between overhauls by 10%.

The combination of this updated engine and optimised hydraulics enables 10-15% percent better fuel efficiency compared with the previous face shovel model, with 3-5% greater efficiency for the backhoe configuration, Cat says. For reduced maintenance, engine oil and filter change intervals are doubled to 1,000 hours.

Structural, undercarriage and slew ring upgrades help maximise uptime and productivity and lower cost per tonne, according to Cat. To boost longevity, the Cat undercarriage features heavy-duty rollers, idlers and tracks, along with a revised track tensioning system. The superstructure frame, face shovel and backhoe attachment structures, meanwhile, have been redesigned to reduce structural repair and extend service life via increased plate thicknesses and geometrical improvements. The slew ring design extends component life with a triple-race roller bearing and sealed internal gearing.

“The 6060 features a new, state-of-the-art cab and operator station with industry-leading visibility provided by the large floor window and expansive windshield and side windows,” Cat said. “Unrestricted lines of sight to the crawler tracks and pit floor aid the operator when repositioning the shovel and when loading trucks.”

A pneumatically cushioned operator seat can be heated and ventilated. It also has integrated joysticks and is multi-adjustable to offer optimal ergonomics.

This cab also includes two additional seats: a full-size seat and laptop desk for a trainer and a fold-up seat for an observer. The three-seat cab design is the first in this size class of shovels, Cat says.

Improved sound suppression on the power module keeps spectator sound levels low, while the sound suppressed cab provides a quiet working environment for the operator, according to the company.

The first of several features within the available Operator Assist suite, Enhanced Motion Control is standard on the shovel. This improves machine controllability and loading efficiency while reducing linkage and cylinder mechanical contact, according to Cat.

The machine’s five-circuit hydraulics design allows simultaneous control over two cylinder motions, two travel motions and swing to boost digging and loading efficiency, the company added.

The next-generation design helps improve service and maintenance efficiency by offering more room inside the service compartment and easy ground-level accessibility to the service station, Cat says.

Integration of Cat hoses in the design allows for local hose sourcing, while improved hose and component organisation further reduces machine downtime.

Sensors located throughout the 6060 monitor operating data, record faults and give audible and visual notifications of issues to the operator. Product Link™ Elite, which is standard for the first time on the 6060, enables data communication for remote machine health monitoring.

The 6060 comes ready to accept Cat MineStar™ Solutions, a suite of mining technologies geared to enhance mine safety, improve efficiency and reduce operating costs.

In addition to the next generation diesel-powered 6060, Caterpillar continues to offer the electrically powered 6060 AC FS (face shovel) for mines optimised for such machines.