Mine truck market in high gear
May 26 - June 1, 2008
LAST year mining companies around the world invested more than $US3 billion in large mining trucks, continuing their love affair with the mechanical giants. The global population of the machines has exploded in the past five years. Will the rampant growth trend continue and, if so, how long will it last?
Tackling a thirst for fuel
May 12 - 18, 2008
VOLVO Construction Equipment and Komatsu are making revolutionary steps in the off-highway equipment market with the impending launch of their hybrid machines, a wheeled loader and a crawler excavator, respectively. Other companies look certain to follow with hybrid machines in the near future and Kobelco for one has been testing a number of prototype excavators for some time.
Komatsu joins heavies
May 26 - June 1, 2008
JAPANESE equipment manufacturer Komatsu has formally launched an ultra-class rear-dump truck, the 327-tonne-payload 960E-1 AC-electric drive unit, after three years of testing in North American coal and copper mines.
LeTourneau up for grabs
May 12 - 18, 2008
THE sometimes-coveted mining equipment line of Rowan Companies Inc unit LeTourneau Technologies finally looks like it could be sold. While mining equipment makers haven’t been queuing up to take on their oil-drilling cousins in a bidding duel for all of LeTourneau, there appears to be strong interest in a subsequent “monetisation” of the mining part of the business.
Never say never again
May 5 - 11, 2008
ARGUABLY the most hotly awaited machine making its debut at the upcoming Minexpo exhibition is Caterpillar’s diesel electric mining truck. The development of a diesel/AC electric drive haul truck represents a major change in direction for the world’s biggest mining equipment maker.
Cat defends mining agreements
April 21 - 27, 2008
STUNG by steep rises in material prices, which were reflected in generally higher costs in the first quarter of 2008, machinery giant Caterpillar has defended the use of global supply agreements with major mining companies which it says are adequately allowing it to pass on the increased cost of manufacturing equipment.
Terex raises 2008 sales target
April 21 - 27, 2008
TEREX Corporation has followed market leader Caterpillar in announcing stronger first quarter earnings and machinery sales, with non-US growth countering a weak domestic market except in Terex’s case for its aerial platform business.
Tunnel entry is murky
March 31 - April 6, 2008
MINING and construction machinery giant Caterpillar has described newly acquired Lovat Inc of Canada as a good strategic fit and an entry point into the “rapidly expanding tunnel boring machine business”, but declined to provide any data in support of the growth tag.
Golden circle
March 24 - 30, 2008
MAJOR gold producer Barrick Gold Corporation has transferred its long-term ‘experiment’ with Sandvik’s 60-tonne-payload underground mine truck to the Darlot mine, 125km north of Leonora in Western Australia.
Longwall Joy
March 17 - 23, 2008
XSTRATA Coal’s Beltana operation in the New South Wales Hunter Valley could test the longwall production benchmark set by China’s Shenhua Energy following delivery of a $A150 million state-of-the-art automated longwall system by US-based manufacturer Joy Mining Machinery.
