Posted by Paul Moore on 4th September 2024
Chinese language building and mining gear large XCMG has already made important inroads in mining with its extensive physique vehicles, together with typical diesel, hybrid and full battery variations in international locations like Brazil, Indonesia, Guinea and elsewhere and with excessive profile Tier 1 miners like Vale. This features a fleet of 30 items of its XGE105 electrical extensive physique mining vehicles just lately shipped to Guinea for Profitable Consortium Simandou (WCS), which is growing Blocks 1 and a pair of of the large Simandou iron ore mission in Guinea.
This was adopted by a cope with Rio Tinto-led SimFer, growing Blocks 3 and 4 of Simandou, to supply a whole set of core mining gear, together with dozens of XDE240 230 t class giant diesel-electric drive inflexible mining vehicles. This would be the most vital XCMG inflexible mining truck order exterior of China thus far.
XCMG Chile’s Carlos San Martin and IM Editorial Director Paul Moore at Exponor 2024
However momentum is already constructing and a transfer to introduce its bigger inflexible vehicles into international mining has already begun in different mining international locations. In July, Serbia Zijin Copper started receiving a fleet of latest XDE150 mining vehicles, including to bigger XDE260 vehicles that had been delivered in 2022. In Ecuador, EcuaCorriente’s Mirador copper mine has had a fleet of XDE130 vehicles for a number of years.
Now XCMG is getting extra vehicles in-country within the huge hitter mining international locations as properly. Earlier this 12 months, IM Editorial Director Paul Moore noticed its XDE130 AC diesel-electric drive truck, the primary in Chile, on present on the Exponor 2024 occasion in Antofagasta. XCMG Chile’s Carlos San Martin advised IM that this unit would go into service initially with a mining contractor in Chile. He added: “We’re a really huge firm in China however as we speak in Chile we’re small. Beginning with our items within the mining contracting house, the massive miners right here can get to see the efficiency of our vehicles as most of them use contractors along with having their owned fleets. Plus the 120 t class XDE130 is a really enticing dimension class for contractors and mid sized miners – because it hauls extra tonnes than the everyday 92 t class Caterpillar 777.”
Over in Australia, the primary ever items there of the XDE130 AC vehicles just lately arrived. There, XCMG can be hoping to get a foothold within the contracting and earthmoving market with this mannequin. These will not be the primary inflexible XCMG vehicles in Australia, as a fleet of XDE120 vehicles has been working since 2019, but it surely represents a brand new push with a barely bigger and far up to date mannequin. XCMG Australia said: “These powerhouse machines are engineered to redefine effectivity and efficiency within the mining business. With a payload capability of 120 t, the XDE130 combines cutting-edge electrical drive expertise with strong building to deal with even the hardest mining circumstances.”
Whereas Chinese language mining truck OEMs have previously been typically dismissed out there as missing in service help or efficiency or each, huge strides ahead have been made and the mining business is at all times in search of extra choices. Plus, crucially, the Chinese language mining truck OEMs have already got very shut relationships with the massive Chinese language battery corporations like CATL and others via the massive extensive physique truck BEV fleets already working, which is prone to enhance their affect as the massive miners look to satisfy web zero targets with battery inflexible vehicles.
