Komatsu has announced the official handover of a P&H 4800XPC rope shovel to Anglo American, at the Mogalakwena platinum mine in Mokopane, South Africa. This is the largest rope shovel in the world and only the second of its kind, the first one having gone to work at Teck’s Fording River coal mine in Canada.
Consisting of 63,770 parts, the shovel took 47,711 man hours to assemble on site (excluding manufacturing). Komatsu says the shovel is the most technologically advanced rope shovel ever and is environmentally friendly: with GHG emissions of 90 g of CO2 per for every ton moved, compared to 273 g of CO2 for a diesel power hydraulic excavator, and 136 g for an electric hydraulic excavator.
In a post on April 2, Noordman Willie, Senior General Manager at Anglo Platinum said: “Today is a significant day in history for Mogalakwena Mine. We walked our P&H 4800 rope shovel to the pit. It will improve our cost position and bring confidence to our LOAP [life of asset planning]. Thank you to our valued business partners Hlela Mining and Projects and Komatsu for safe on time delivery of the project. Well done team.”
Charl Coetzer, Strategic Account Manager, Mining at Komatsu South Africa told IM last year: “The 4800XPC AC leverages new Adaptive Controls technology with optimised machine structures to enable its larger payload and increase efficiencies. Adaptive Controls is a series of control functions that optimise shovel power usage in different phases of the dig cycle ie crowd, hoist and swing, leading to improved shovel performance while lessening the effect of operating impacts on the machine. Adaptive Controls combined with a stable, optimised structural platform in conjunction with efficient sight lines and refined ergonomics contribute to improved operator effectiveness and reduced operator fatigue. Through the application of innovative engineering and advanced technologies, Komatsu has designed the 4800XPC to be the industry’s most productive electric mining shovel.”
The rope shovel, numbered RS 126 at Mogalakwena, is just one example of latest technology being introduced at the mine – it was also the venue for the first nuGen™ FCEV truck deployment in 2022 – a Komatsu 930E 290 t truck – which was converted to hybrid hydrogen fuel cell and battery power by First Mode.
