LAS VEGAS: Sandvik has put its Supra 0012H on show at MINExpo in Las Vegas, claiming it heralds in a new era in horizontal underground hauling.

The compact size allows the Supra to operate in much smaller openings than other trucks with a similar payload capacity, reducing development work and/or reduced fleet size.

Features include a gross carrying capacity of 100 tonnes, side dump (rear dump option) and a tipping cycle of less than 40 seconds.

Supra offers double capacity compared to standard underground trucks, the company claims.

In addition, a long-term R&D program has also come to fruition for Sandvik Tamrock with the launch of AutoMine, the world's first commercial mine automation offering.

The system is being put through its paces at Tamrock's test mine in Tamere, where the AutoMine loader runs 15-20 hours a day, sometimes seven days a week, retrieving "ore" from one of three or four mock drawpoints.

The Toro 1250 loader is "programmed to travel back and forth along a predetermined path between a loading point and a dump point. The operator flicks a switch, seamlessly picking up control of the loader as it enters the drawpoint heading.

A third addition is the Axera DO5, which combines all the features of the Axera DO6 with an innovative modular design, delivering concentrated drilling power in a compact single-boom environment. Features include extra-wide boom coverage, powerclass hydraulics and controls, SMART technology, innovative layout and easy maintenance.

The Axera DO5 is the culmination of an intensive R&D project started early in 1999 and is the logical follow-up of the Axera DO6, based on Sandvik Tamrock's patented counter-balanced chassis concept.

Also on show was Sandvik's OptiMine simulation tool, which focuses on the loading and hauling processes. Primarily designed as an aid in selecting equipment, optimising the fleet size and defining the parameters of traffic control and mine layout.

The program uses the mine's 3D model as a basic layout, processing all relevant information on the physical size and dimensions of the tunnels and other open spaces.

Alternatively, the user can create the 3D model using AutoCAD and by importing the file into OptiMine.

It is interesting to note, Sandvik is only now officially revealing to the rest of the world products effectively launched in Australia at the start of the year and covered extensively by Australia's Mining Monthly.