48 / 64
46
MODERN MINING
July 2015
OFF-HIGHWAY TRUCKS
AND EXCAVATORS
feature
T
here is an obvious dividing line
between ADTs and rigid trucks
based purely on payload capacity.
Currently the world’s biggest ADT
is the Bell B60, which – as its des-
ignation suggests – can take a 60-ton (54-tonne)
load. While this capacity has taken the ADT
concept into new territory, it nevertheless falls
well short of what is required in large open-
pit-mines, where 100-ton, 150-ton and 200-ton
machines are the norm. Capacities go up even
higher than this and trucks of 240 tons and
above are the machines of choice in the new
generation of ‘super-pits’ around the world
(several of which are in Southern Africa). Most
of the big rigid dump truck manufacturers have
ranges which now top out at 400-ton payload
capacity and one – Belaz in Eastern Europe –
even produces a 450-ton machine.
Says Gillham: “Where the interesting overlap
occurs is in the space which was once catered
for by rigid trucks in the 35-ton to 60-ton class.
This market has now been taken over by ADTs.
You can still see rigids of this size at mines
but they are increasingly rare and have suf-
fered a significant loss of market share. The
primary reason for this is that the ADT – with
its all-wheel drive and articulated joint – is
an incredibly versatile machine. It can handle
both short and relatively long hauls, good and
Several decades ago, mine owners andmining contractors had little
choice in the equipment used to haul material in open-pit operations. In
essence, they were limited to using either rigid frame trucks (rigids) or – in
the right conditions – scrapers. Nowadays there is a third option – the
articulated dump truck or ADT, first introduced in the 1960s. Initially
mainly deployed in civil earthworks applications, the ADT has been
increasingly used inmining since roughly the 1980s. To learnmore about
this versatile tool, which is now the dominant hauler in small tomedium-
sized open-pit mines,
ModernMining’s
Arthur Tassell recently spoke to
Terry Gillham (right), Director: Sales andMarketing of Bell Equipment,
one of the world’s leadingmanufacturers of ADTs and almost certainly
the market leader for this class of machine in Southern Africa.
Versatile ADTs
now dominant in
The Bell B60 is the biggest
ADT in the world. These
three Bell B60Ds are working
at an open-pit coal mine
in South Africa but full
commercial production of
the B60 is only due to start
with the E-series in 2017.