LOAD & HAUL
on all levels for this to succeed as everyone is tied to the success.” Best sits comfortably behind the wheel of a Sandvik TH663. At 11.58m (38ft) from end to end, the truck is almost exactly the same length as the Allan Payne design yacht he grew up on as an adolescent before he eventually settled in Perth and started work in the mining industry. Best and many of his colleagues fly to Plutonic from the Western Australia capital for a week of 12-hour shifts, sleeping in an accommodation village 2km from Plutonic’s 3Mtpa processing plant. “Tese new trucks definitely help pay the bills,” Best says. “Tey’re a lot faster and a lot more comfortable to drive. Te gearing systems are much easier to work with.” Craig Jones says the new fleet
of trucks has helped Northern Star increase productivity at Plutonic by 30 to 40%.“Te introduction of the new trucks at Plutonic has seen a marked
improvement in efficiency and operator comfort,” Jones says. “I would expect Sandvik to remain at the forefront of mobile mining equipment and continue to supply the industry with machinery that can deliver in the harsh environments we operate in.” l
Eric Gourley is with Sandvik. Find the original version of his article at
www.minestories.com
PLUTONIC GOLD MINE L
ocated 180km north-east of outback town Meekatharra
(“place of little water” in Aboriginal language Yamatji), Plutonic began production in 1990 as an open pit operation. Underground mining commenced in 1995, and all
gold has been produced from underground workings since 2005. Northern Star acquired Plutonic from Barrick Gold in February 2014. Historically, the Plutonic mine has produced more than 5.4 million ounces of gold. l
For more information ✔ at
www.engineerlive.com/ime
kluu.fi
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