Haulage Trucks

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This is a working haulage truck. These haulage trucks are 44 feet (14 meters) long, 24 feet (7.3 meters) wide and 23 feet (7 meters) high; they are approximately the size of a two-story building and roof. All mine equipment is controlled from a central office and each piece of equipment has a keyboard to stay in contact. They are also connected with GPS for both control and safety. Would you want to drive one of these out of a 1.4 KM (4/5 mile) deep mine pit during the 6 months of winter with 4-1/4 meters (14 feet) of snow?

The view from the back of a parked 270 tonne Komatsu 830E haulage truck. The truck was put into service just a few weeks prior to this photo. This truck weighs over 385,000 KG (425 tons) and is worth $3 million each. It is powered with a 2,500-horsepower Cummins V16 diesel engine. Each rear wheel structure is equipped with a traction motor which converts electrical energy from the alternator back to mechanical energy.

To the right is an IOCC 240 tonne haulage truck. To the left is a 100 tonne haulage truck that belongs to a contractor working in the mine. It looks almost like a Daddy truck with his toddler truck following.

Since these trucks work 24 hours a day and 365 days a year, they are known to break down. If it breaks down, the truck dumps part of its load so if it starts rolling downhill it will be anchored.

The bigger the truck, the bigger the blind spots. The haulage operater apparently did not see the one-ton pick-up or it's orange flag. Nobody was injured in this accident. Wonder which operator was more embarrassed when they called the mine control center?

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