Capital Equipment News September 2017

COVER STORY

AT THE FOREFRONT OF A PARADIGM SHIFT

In a fundamental change in approach that dispelled the conventional ‘bigger is always better’ mentality, PPC Slurry took a decision in 2015 to replace a fleet of its rigid dump trucks – a hauling solution it had run for over 100 years at its limestone operation – with four Scania mining tippers to load run-of-mine material from the face to the processing plants. Two years on, the decision is paying substantial dividends through several cost advantages, writes Munesu Shoko.

PPC Slurry has deployed a total of four Scania mining tippers to haul ROM material from the face to the processing plants at its limestone operation.

C hange, in any form, is often diffi- cult. Many businesses often find themselves resisting change, per- haps because of the perceived risk or fear associated with it. In mining and quarrying, tippers have always been regarded as ideal for light duty applications such as re-handling of ore and hauling of crushed material from the crushing plants to stock- piles. For long, tipper vehicles have been excepted from some arduous applications such as hauling run-of-mine (ROM) mate- rial from the rock face to the processing plants, where yellow metal haulers have always been the preferred solution, es- pecially reinforced by the ‘bigger is always better’ mentality. For PPC Slurry, the decision to ditch its conventional yellow metal rigid dump trucks (RDTs) it had trusted for over 100 years to haul ROM material from the quarry face to the processing plants, and opting for Scania mining tippers for an application “We needed to look at something else. We decided on a construction- type of a vehicle, but one that would be able to carry larger payloads that we wanted to.”

often regarded a no go area for this type of vehicles, called for a complete “paradigm shift”. “To change to Scania, after running a specific brand of RDTs for over a century, took a complete change of mind-set for us as management, as well as our people,” says Andre Niemand, technical advisor: Mining at PPC Slurry. Key considerations Several factors were behind PPC Slurry’s big shift from conventional yellow metal haulers to Scania mining tippers. The unavailability of tyres for this range of RDTs became a turning point for an operation where downtime, due to any standing equipment, is out of question. Tyre companies that previously supplied tyres for this range of haulers had ceased to import them. Slurry started looking for alternative suppliers, but the TKPH of the alternative tyre range was very low, and during hot seasons, tyre bursts became the order of the day. For an operation that has embarked on a major expansion programme, looking for a cost-effective hauling solution as part of the larger cost-cutting initiatives to support the financing of its ongoing expansion project was another major driver in relooking the hauling gear. As part of its strategic approach that aims to double its business every 10 years through a diversified product and solution strategy, PPC recently invested a whopping

With its 2 x 900 kg front axles, a 32 000 kg Bogie GVM and a 50 t chassis, the Scania G410CB8x4EHZ has a payload of 34 t.

R1,7 billion to upgrade Slurry’s Kiln 9, which is scheduled for its first clinker production at the start of 2018. The brownfield project, which kicked off in October 2015, will increase cement production at Slurry from 1,2 million tonnes per year (mt/y) to 1,9 mt/y. To be able to finance such a capital-in- tensive project, a number of cost cutting initiatives were identified. Transport – which

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS SEPTEMBER 2017 4