SA company develops people carrier for low-seam mining
South African vehicle manufacturing and modifications specialist Transerve has developed an underground people carrier that can transport people through tunnels as low as 140 cm, Transerve GM Tiaan van der Merwe tells Engineering News.
He explains that mines, particularly in South Africa, are shifting towards lower-seam mining operations, as higher seam areas have been heavily mined, with mostly thinner stratums of ore remaining.
This shift means tunnels have become much lower in height and, therefore, a much lower-riding people carrier is required.
Transerve began designing the vehicle, known as the Mol (an Afrikaans word meaning ‘mole”), in 2013 and it was released onto the market in June 2014. It is a self-propelled, diesel-fuelled vehicle, with a suspension as low as 20 cm from the ground, which can transport up to 13 people at a time.
The vehicle uses the drivetrain and chassis of a Toyota Hino 300, with the cab having been replaced with a body designed by Transerve.
The Mol was designed using a designing package from computer-aided design solutions provider Solidworks, Van der Merwe says.
In addition, all Transerve’s parts are produced using a laser-cutter, which allows for enhanced precision, he boasts.
Van der Merwe further points out that the Mol can be programmed so that it cannot exceed the recommended speed limit of the mine, adding that the maximum speed limit for any underground vehicle is set at between 15 km/h and 40 km/h, according to mine specifications.
Similarly, the Mol meets numerous requirements as set out in the South African National Standards (SANS) 1589/2012, such as having a derated engine (SANS 868-4) and being equipped with a fail-safe braking system and an underground monitoring system, Van der Merwe explains.
The fail-safe braking system used in the Mol is the sealed integrated braking system (SIBS) produced by Australian brake manufacturing and distributing company Advanced Braking Technology, for which Transerve is the official supplier in South Africa.
“The SIBS system is a single-rotor, enclosed, wet braking system that reduces brake- operating temperatures and wear; it also totally eliminates the generation of fine dust particle emissions.”
Diesel specialist Alan Black performs all derating operations for Transerve, which are done to control engine and exhaust temperatures to meet the requirements of the Department of Mineral Resources.
In addition, the Mol is fitted with a fire-suppression system, which is automatically triggered in the presence of fire.
He adds that the carrier is an improvement on its predecessor, the Mad Max 18 – a carriage that had to be pulled by an underground tractor – which was released at the beginning of 2011.
Van der Merwe says the Mad Max 18 is inefficient because the tractor can be used elsewhere and, when used elsewhere, the trailer cannot be used.
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