One of the new Komatsu 830E trucks being loaded by Griffin Coal's PC5500 shovels
Griffin Coal's announcement follows news that its power generation affiliate Griffin Energy has been contracted to supply WA utility Synergy with 200 megawatts from its Bluewaters Power Station. Phase one of Bluewaters is due to come online in 2008 to power the new Boddington Gold Mine.
Griffin Coal mobile plant superintendant Graham Cleggett said the 830Es had been purchased to boost the company's operations at its Muja and Ewington mines.
The two mines are adjacent to each other and share equipment.
In stock configuration the 830E AC has a payload of 221 tonnes. The new trucks, which have been delivered and commissioned, are primarily used for overburden removal. They are loaded by two PC5500s and three other shovels.
"We bought our new Komatsu 830Es to supplement our current truck fleet and to support the mine plans going forward," Cleggett said.
"Operator feedback on the new trucks has been good and the training package provided by Komatsu to our maintenance trades people has been well received."
Besides its new 830E ACs, Griffin also has eight 830E DC-drive trucks and eight 630E haulers.
The 630Es underwent a multi-million dollar refurbishment in 2006. Those trucks have cumulatively served between 51,000 and 62,000 hours since then.
Each truck was stripped down to the chassis and underwent non-destructive testing. Identified repairs were performed to original equipment specifications.
Improvements included better access to equipment and service points; structural modifications from the original equipment manufacturer; and complete operator station upgrades.
"Following the refurbishment program we are budgeting a further 40,000 hours from each truck as a minimum, which will get each chassis out to 90,000 to 100,000 hours," Cleggett said.
"Mechanical availability of these trucks is now in the low to mid 90s, which is exactly what we expect from them."
Griffin Coal is based in Collie, about 220 kilometres south east of Perth. It produces more than 3 million tonnes of coal a year.
