Passed Kumatsu's assembly site at Kumba this morning & decided to go in to take a look at this new "baby" that's just about ready to join the action... Massive... just look at the size of the shovel .... I look like an ant inside that thing !!!
Sure is a monster Dalene. Wonder what it costs? R10million?? And how much iron ore it digs out in a shift?
Kind regards
Gordon
Hooey .. check those teeth ... Dalene about to be devoured by a modern T Rex ..
@ Gordon - you are about right with the price... when I said I wanted to borrow it for a few minutes to do a small gardening job the bloke said about 11,5 mil would do it... I did offer to pay him out of my back pocket on the spot - can you believe he thought I was joking! he he
I would not know about tonnage, but on the specs sheet I saw that the ground level scoop range apparrently goes as deep as 3m below actual track level and when fully raised the bucket extends to a height of 20m. The one bloke also said it takes just 3 scoops to fill up one of those massive hauling trucks - that's in the vicinity of about 120 tons .... Kumba and Anglo does not play with dingy toy stuff here! I am amazed each time when I see those big monster machines they work with !
@ Sandy - one bloke said I should be carefull, for they might raise the bucket any minute to test the lubrication stuff of the cylinders...... I had to assure him a few times that I don't exceed the weight limit.
@ Gordon...
Apparrently I lied through my teeth when I said 120 tons... that's exactly half of what the hauling trucks can take... that's the medium sized ones... the big big cahoonas load up to 290 tons... talked to a guy form Sishen Iron ore this morning - said they had to widen the roads in the mine by 28 m just to enable these trucks to pass each other in the mine area. This means that the shovel can load 80 tons of ore with one scoop. The guy whom I spoke to also said that, if needed, they can attatch a bigger scoop bucket to the shovel. Twin diesel engines with massive comuter drive systems - for now Anglo has selected only 6 guys from Kumba who will operate them.
He says I have to come see the new hauling truck that Hitricon has just brought in... hooray ~ and for sure my camera will be with me !
What? You lie through your teeth, I think not..... especially if you have not had any beer yet....
swink
This topic gets me a bit down, thinking how all powerful the CDM days were.... how this mine, this company.... had the 2nd largest earthmoving fleet in the world after the US government .... the vast workshops, and everywhere you looked there were CDM diamond stamps on the car and bakkie doors... SIgh! How did such a strong and powerful company, land up in such a cash strapped situation .... sad!
Just my 2 cents......
Mike, just for interest sake.... do they use dragline scoopers in the mine or do they also use shovels like here ? This bloke whom I spoke to says it's only the dragline scoops that currently outsize these pups in the mining industly all over the world.
Yes, it is sad to think how mighty CDM once was... they even supplied the police with cars to use in and around town... those old Land Rovers and Land Cruizers all belonged to the company way back then...
Do any of you watch the program on Discovery - Heart of the Machine ? Just love it when they show those mega machines and how they operate !!
Hi Dalene
Going to Kuruman for a week send me your cell no and directions to your place from Upington side, would like to pop in and say hi
Alfred
Dalene when I'm there I must see if I can get a visit to the mine the size of those machines amazing
you hot
Alfie, just don't go for any midnight swims with that lady!
image201
No they might put me in that big bucket and don't forget 80tons hasen't got a touch on me
202
@ Dalene, no scoops here anymore... you might find a few pics of the old ones from yonder years in Alfred's archive of Old Machines. At the coast we have standard Komatsu PC800 (pic1) and Caterpillar 385 (pic2) excavators. The buckets are in a 6m shipping container thats 2,2m wide (pic3). Teeny weeny in comparison to Kumba's monster.
Bigger machines are used up the river at Daberas, but I don't know which models.
Kleinzee still have a dragline that's in operation, saw it working last month (pic 4).
Komatsu are busy assembling a PC2000 here at Skorpion in Rosh Pinah that machine looks like a PC8000 one of their biggest in their fleet
Thanks Dalene
Great stuff and most interesting
Best regards
Gordon