51 / 64
July 2015
MODERN MINING
49
OFF-HIGHWAY TRUCKS
AND EXCAVATORS
feature
A Bell B60D at work at a
mine in the Rustenburg
area.
Bell has retained the proven B50D ‘front
end’ in the B60 although with a new engine and
transmission. While the B50D and B60 share
the same capacity V-8 turbocharged Mercedes
Benz M502LA engine, the power output has
been increased from 380 kW to 420 kW in the
B60. Bell Equipment’s designers have also
opted for a 7-speed Allison transmission rather
than the 6-speed transmission of the B50D.
At the ‘back end’, the back axle is a dedicated
70-ton truck-and-haulage axle from Kessler of
Germany while the bin is much wider than a
typical ADT bin to achieve the 60-ton capacity
and increased loading target.
An interesting point is whether the B60
represents a ‘ceiling’ for the ADT. “I’m not an
engineer so probably I’m not the right person
to ask,” responds Gillham. “Certainly Bell has
no plans to go beyond the B60 at this point but
I would guess that if we can go to 60 tons, then
65 tons or 70 tons would not be impossible. It’s
all about the application and what the customer
needs. Whatever the case, the ADT concept is
firmly on the map and has proved to be a game-
changer in mining. There’s no question that
ADTs have transformed the face of the indus-
try, bringing new economies and efficiencies to
the mining of deposits of every type and also
– and this is an important point – allowing the
exploitation of smaller deposits which would
probably have proved unviable to mine in the
pre-ADT era.
“Finally – and I’m talking here with my Bell
‘hat’ on – I think South Africans can take pride
in the fact that the ADT industry is one area
where South Africa often leads the world. Not
too many South African companies can claim
to be leaders in their field globally but Bell
Equipment is definitely one of them.”
Photos (unless otherwise acknowledged) courtesy of Bell
Equipment