Hitachi, excavator--Super-size Hitachi excavator delivered

CablePrice has officially handed over delivery of a new 359-tonne giant mining excavator to OceanaGold at Macraes Flat gold mine in Central Otago

 Previous, Stop, Play, Next, ZoomAmong those present for the handshake ceremony was Hitachi director Kiichi Uchibayashi, from Japan, and CablePrice Managing Director Sean Hashimoto.

The new ultra-large digger will be the frontline machine, replacing a 348-tonne Hitachi EX3600-5 purchased by OceanaGold in 2005 that has clocked up over 30,000 hours of operation. In announcing their purchase in April, General Manager of the Macraes operation, Bernie O’Leary, said “the EX3600-5 excavator has a proven track record of high productivities and being operator friendly, and we look forward to taking possession of a big brother to the existing EX3600-6”.

The new Hitachi EX3600-6 arrived via ship into Lyttleton port onboard the vessel Madame Butterfly on the 25th July from the Hitachinaka port outside Tokyo, Japan, where the Hitachi mining factory is located. The shipment consisted of 41 packages, weighing a total of 359 tonnes, the heaviest of which was the track side frame assemblies, which each weigh 46,870 kg. The ship sailed via Brisbane, where the 22 cubic metre bucket was manufactured, arriving into Lyttleton on the 26th August.

In 16 truckloads, the 359-tonnes of disassembled machinery was transported 350km south of Lyttleton to the Macraes Flat gold mine, between Middlemarch and Dunback, for assembly.

The giant digger took two weeks to assemble onsite at the mine, led by Roger Hunt of the company’s Invercargill branch, before final testing and training.

Following training, EX3600-6 operator Paul Barringer put the digger to the test, describing it as “beautiful” and smooth to operate. “Not many people get to drive machines like this. Not in this country,” he said.

A fold-away ladder helped with access to the air-conditioned cabin where Barringer works 12 hours a day. The Hitachi EX3600-6 weighs 359,000kg and is powered by a single engine. The Cummins diesel engine produces a maximum 1944 gross horsepower and a whopping 8346Nm of torque from its 16-cylinder turbo-charged direct-injection engine and is spec’ed with a 9.6m BE boom, 4.5m BE-arm and a 22 cubic metre bucket capable of a maximum digging reach of just over 18m, a digging depth of 8.58m, a maximum cutting height of 17.69m, with a maximum bucket digging force of 1,050kN (107,000 kgf). 

The fuel tank alone on this ultra-large machine holds over 7400 litres of diesel.

When working, the machine will be able to load a 191-tonne payload haul truck in five to six passes in about 2.5 minutes and is expected to move about 80,000 tonnes of material a day and upwards of 25 million tonnes of overburden annually.

The EX-6 series boasts Hitachi's computer-aided Engine-Pump Control (E-P Control) which coaxes optimum efficiency from the engine and hydraulic pumps. This system senses load demand and controls engine and pump output for maximum operating efficiency. The large bucket has been shaped specifically to enhance scooping and loading operations. Its sharp tilt angle also helps boost operating efficiency.

With the excavator now commissioned, the EX3600-5 will be taken out of service for scheduled maintenance and repairs, before returning as a support machine at Macraes.

The new EX3600-6 becomes the largest excavator in the OceanaGold fleet, and one of the largest excavators operating in New Zealand.

A smaller, 250-tonne excavator has been ordered for the mine and is due in June 2011.

How the Hitachi EX3600-6 measures up:

• Weighs 359,000kg
• A single 16-cylinder turbocharged Cummins diesel engine produces 1,450kW (1,944hp) and a whopping 8,346Nm of torque
• Top of the cabin reaches more than 7.8m in height
• Operator sits approx. 6m above ground level
• Maximum digging reach of just over 18m, digging depth of 8.5m and maximum cutting height of 17.69m
• Heaped bucket capable of holding 22cu m of material
• Spans over 9m at its maximum width
• Sits on tracks measuring 8.7m in length by 2.4m in height with each track width exceeding 1.2m
• 7450-litre fuel capacity
  
  Source: Deals on Wheels