Modern Mining March 2016

COVER STORY

New Cat 6020B hydraulic shovel offers simplicity, safety and reliability

capability, e.g. 30 tonnes for the Cat 6030. (FS, where configured, stands for ‘Face Shovel’.) The ‘B’ designation on the machine’s nomenclature is significant and marks a new wave of Caterpillar research and develop- ment (R&D). All future new hydraulic models designed and built by Caterpillar will have a ‘B’ in their model number. This has a histori- cal significance and traces back to Caterpillar’s acquisition of Bucyrus, a leading US original equipment manufacturer, in July 2011. “With the Bucyrus deal, Caterpillar acquired a host of additional product lines, including hydraulic shovels. At the time, these shovels were either branded as Bucyrus or Terex (forming part of Terex Mining). Since then, new machines leaving the factory have subsequently been rebranded as Cat. And ongoing R&D has converted each model to a 100 % Cat product,” explains Wouter Kraan,

Four global pilot studies, combined with around five years of engineering design, have yielded an exceptional Cat hydrau- lic shovel in the 22-tonne payload class: a clean sheet design that delivers. Landing in Africa for the first time in January 2016 following its worldwide release in late 2015, the new Cat 6020B hydraulic mining shovel is positioned to become the next class leader in a very competitive market niche.

R eplacing the Cat 6018, the Cat 6020B slots into what Caterpillar refers to as its Versatility class, joining the Cat 6015B/6015 FS units. For clarity, there are three Caterpillar shovel classes. The other two comprise the Ultra Class (the Cat 6090 FS); and the Productivity Class (Cat 6030/6030 FS – 6060/6060 FS models). The last two digits equate approximately to the shovel’s payload

18  MODERN MINING  March 2016