Modern Quarrying January-February 2015

MODERN QUARRYING

January - February 2015

ON THE

COVER

etailing the advantages of buying

BELAZ, Mynbou Rigs Afrika director

Dmitry Venchik says the machines

are typically 20-30% more economi-

cally efficient than competitive ma-

chines and yet comparable or even better in terms

of performance. “We believe that the BELAZ trucks

offer superior fuel efficiency with fuel consump-

tion being between 10-15% lower than those of its

competitors.”

The trucks have also been proven in some of

the harshest mining conditions in the world, oper-

ating equally well in the cold of Siberia, the high-

lands of South America and the heat and dust of

Sishen.

“They have been designed for easy mainte-

nance and operation as they have less dependence

on electronic systems than their competitors,

which we see as a direct advantage,” he says. “They

are manufactured in accordance with all the appro-

priate international standards and codes and the

Belarus factory is equipped with state-of-the-art

facilities to guarantee an advanced, high-quality

product.”

The range can be tailored to customer speci-

fications; in the case of the units leased by Tau for

Sishen several modifications were made including

engine cooling systems, custom-made buckets,

and enhancements to the cabs to ensure comfort

and safety.

This Jet Park-based company, while being rela-

tively small in industry terms, is well equipped to

maintain its machines. It holds a generous stock-

holding of parts in South Africa, and on the rare

occasions when a part is not available, Mynbou

Rigs Afrika is able to air-freight this in from its fac-

tory in Belarus.

In the case of Sishen, the company has its own

technicians on site, while also using sub-contrac-

tors such as MTU South Africa and others.

According to Venchik, while the BELAZ trucks

are not so numerous in South Africa, globally they

account for 30% of rigid dump truck sales. They

lead the market in Eastern Europe and are also

extremely popular in China, Mongolia and other

Asian countries. The trucks are manufactured in

Belarus, a country which was previously part of

the old USSR, but which has been independent

since the early 1990s. The manufacturer Belaz

(JSC Belarusian Autoworks), is based in Zhodino,

Belarus, where its factory produces around 2 000

units a year.

BELAZ first introduced its trucks in the early

1960s as small machines with 27 and 40 t payloads.

However, the range has broadened over the years

and today the company supplies mechanical drive

trucks in the 30-60 t payload class and electric drive

trucks in the 90-360 t payload class. Its 360 t (or

400 t) machine is equivalent to the top-of-the-line

machines from Caterpillar (with its Cat 797F and

BELAZ

set to increase

local

A 220 t capacity BELAZ-75302

truck, one of several BELAZ

machines supplied to mining

contractor Tau Mining by

Mynbou Rigs Afrika.

Mynbou Rigs Afrika, distributor of the BELAZ brand of heavy-duty

rigid dump trucks, has increased its offering to the local market with

its 450 t BELAZ-75710 haul truck, a follow on from its 220 t capacity

75302 units which are working very successfully in a challenging

environment at Sishen in the Northern Cape.