After being available for sale for almost 30 years, Swiss-based equipment manufacturer Liebherr has decided to retire production of the R 984 excavator.

One-third of these 120 t class machines were shipped within Europe, while another third were sent to Africa. The very last unit was delivered at the end of 2015 to Algeria for dredging works.

While customers can no longer buy a new R 984 excavator, Liebherr offers its successor models R 9100 and R 9150, both equipped with a Liebherr engine, to continue satisfying its customers’ demands.

The R 9150 has the largest bucket capacity in its class, combined with its high digging forces and optimal cycle time, the company notes that the R 9150 is the most powerful excavator in the small class mining market. By providing complete monitoring functionality and textual maintenance information, this system enables easy machine operation management and quick dysfunction diagnostics.

Launched on the market in 1986, the R 984 backhoe or face shovel, was equipped in its standard version with a 7 m³ bucket capacity. With more than 1 100 units sold worldwide, the R 984 mining excavator has earned a solid reputation as the most flexible digging and loading tool in the 120 t class, states Liebherr.

Used in the majority of cases for operations in openpit mines and quarries, it is not uncommon to see the R 984 in unusual configurations. Examples are operations in a steel mill where the R 984 C moves liquid steel slag at over 1 000 °C, or in the Port of Hamburg, Germany, where the R 984 B is equipped with a multi-tine grapple for scrap handling.

Another example is the R 984 C’s performance at El Cerrejón coal mine, in Colombia, owned by the Republic of Colombia. Characterised by a special long reach configuration, several of these machines have accumulated more than 60 000 hours. Liebherr notes that it is not a coincidence that the machine inherited the nickname of the “Swiss Army knife”.