WORKHORSE The Terex trucks used by Atlantis Mining each run two 9.5-hour shifts in a 24-hour period, five days a week, as well as two Saturday shifts of eight hours
Heavy equipment manufacturer Terex Trucks claims its simplicity of design and “unwavering customer service and support” have kept South African miner Atlantis Mining loyal to the equipment brand.
Atlantis Mining MD Mark Johnstone says he has always been partial to the Scotland-based Terex Trucks brand owing to his Highlands lineage. The company’s association with Terex trucks dates back to the mid-1980s when Atlantis Mining procured its first Terex 2366 and 2566 dump trucks.
The “consistently good performance” of the haulers, coupled with Atlantis Mining’s long-standing relationship with Babcock since 2000, when the company was appointed sole distributor for Volvo Construction Equipment in Southern Africa, has ensured that Atlantis Mining continues to expand its fleet of Terex trucks.
Babcock was appointed the official Southern African distributor of Terex Trucks in October 2015 following the acquisition of Terex Trucks by Volvo Construction Equipment in June 2014.
Atlantis Mining recently bought three TR60 rigid dump trucks, which will complement its existing fleet of 16 Terex trucks, some of which have clocked up over 25 000 working hours and are still performing well. The new TR60s are currently in operation at the Vaalbult colliery, in Mpumalanga, where they are being used primarily for the removal of blasted rock and hard overburden.
Johnstone says that the large bins and the high-payload make them ideally suited to this type of work. “Currently, we have sixteen TR60s in operation and they are all going strong,” says Johnstone. The trucks each run two 9.5-hour shifts in a 24-hour period, five days a week. The trucks are also used in quarry operations as part of two eight-hour shifts on Saturdays.
The TR60s have a comfortable cab that helps reduce driver fatigue, air conditioning, a radio and all the modern features that [faciliate] operator ease. “In addition, Terex Trucks keeps things simple, so the trucks are easy to maintain and can be repaired by a mechanic rather than requiring an electrician and a laptop,” he states.
He adds that the simplicity of the trucks means that minor breakdowns can be dealt with in-house and without the need for in-depth training, while more serious cases can be addressed quickly by a Babcock technician who is readily available on site.