Dubbed the “Brumby” for its similarities to the Australian workhorse, it has been designed to fulfil most of the general duties required in the service and support areas throughout the mine, including the towing of trailers, materials handling and transportation, as well as working in the pit bottom area and in development panels.

“It fills a critical gap as a work unit in areas of low ventilation, such as back roads, single entries, drift driveages, mains development and gate road development areas. A Brumby eliminates the need for tagging out or omitting man carriers in these areas while lifting, supply and relocation work is carried out,” SMV’s Mark Clarence said.

SMV currently has orders for three one-seater Brumbies and four three-seater units, plus a number of enquiries from China. The company said it has had interest from both contractors and coal mines, with one of the first Brumby three-seater units off to BMA’s Crinum mine in Queensland via a contractor.

A batch of three Brumby units will be shipped to China this month to be used in an underground coal mine in the Shaanxi Province.

“There are currently seven Brumbies operating in Australia and four Brumbies in service throughout China and they have developed a reputation for being reliable, low maintenance and operator friendly,” Clarence said.

He said one of the critical features of the loader was its low ventilation requirements.

“Required ventilation for operations is only 3.8 cubic metres, which makes it ideal for operations in longwall development panels where air quantities restrict or limit heavy loader operations. The Brumby has been designed with this panel development work in mind.”

Clarence said the new Brumby was unique in today's market in its ability to carry up to three people and the fact it was four-wheel drive, four-wheel steer (non articulated) with the ability to “lock-in" the front suspension for extra stability – vital when using man baskets.

“The Brumby is about half the cost of a larger loader and utilises the majority of common componentry as the SMV Driftrunner, which allows for a consolidation of spares,” he added.

The Brumby can be supplied as a basic tow vehicle or with the option of a load arm that is fitted with SMV’s quick implements change system. Attachments include the standard bucket, four-in-one bucket, man basket, jib, fuel pod, carryall, forklift tynes and more.

When designing the operator cabin, SMV kept ergonomics in mind. The operator seat is positioned 20 degrees offset from the centreline of the machine, making it easier to drive in reverse for longer distances. It also has good operator visibility, which is critical in development and single entry areas, Clarence said.

The Brumby is fitted with an exhaust purifier as standard to reduce the particulates, and clients have the option of fitting particulate filters. SMV said it was currently developing a new engine package that maintained drive but ensured minimum DPM exposure levels to the operator.

SMV was recently acquired by Australian company Valley Longwall, which according to Clarence has helped SMV reduce its delivery lead time.

“With increased financial support since aggregation with Valley Longwall, we have been able to support production increases to six Driftrunners per month [up from four] and two Brumbys per month [up from one]. This is allowing us to address our forward order book more aggressively and bring down delivery lead times considerably,” he said.