Modern Mining August 2024

Joy 10SC32 Shuttle Car.

hinder efficiency and escalate to added costs and additional maintenance of other support vehicles,” explains Papenfus. The Continuous Miner assistant programme promotes safety, ensures predictable cutting cycles, even surfaces and efficient shuttle-car loading. During normal operation, the operator navigates and controls the machine’s cutting cycles using the remote control. “Komatsu’s innovations and technologies help our customers unlock value from their equipment to reach their stated production targets while ensuring that the equipment itself operates at peak performance,” concludes Gaylard. 

programme reduces the number of inputs required from the operator and, in turn, reduces the strain on the operator and frees him or her up to focus on safety, better controlling and observing the overall mining process. “Simultaneously controlling the cutting cycles and keeping an eye on the path ahead can be difficult as it requires constant concentration, which often results in fatigue. Moreover, irregular surfaces, caused by varying roof and floor control, and over and under sumping cause uneven shuttle car loading, spillage, and fines. Unplanned time delays and irregular path patterns are also factors that

operations have orebodies that are able to deliver an output of a million tonnes per annum. Despite our best interventions, some mines will just not be able to achieve a million tonnes per annum; however, with improved efficiencies, we may be able to achieve an end goal of half a million tonnes per annum. Customers are also partnering with us to achieve a target of half a million tonnes per section,” adds Papenfus. Further to this, Komatsu has been testing the Continuous Miner assistant programme which is similar to “cruise control” on a vehicle, to help the operator with cutting cycles. Essentially, the

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