Liebherr T282 ultra-class haul trucks are being commissioned by Thiess for the Lake Vermont coal project in Central Queensland.
Components of the trucks have begun arriving at site for reassembly and commissioning. As part of a production ramp-up, 12 of the trucks are scheduled to be operating by April 25.
The first of the trucks arrived at Lake Vermont on February 27 and were commissioned a week later.
The T282 has a larger payload than the 793D Cat haul trucks which are currently deployed at the site. And according to Thiess, they will play an important role in ensuring the mine reaches production targets.
The Liebherr T282 has an electric drive and a payload of 360t. This figure is 66% greater than that of the Caterpillar 793D.
The Lake Vermont coal project will also use new Liebherr 9800 hydraulic excavators.
The mine is owned by Jellinbah Group. The Thiess initial Mine Infrastructure Development contract began when the mine was established in 2007. Operations commenced the following year.
Then in July 2012, Thiess was awarded a six year contract extension. This will extend their operational presence at the mine through to 2018.
Under the mining operations and maintenance contract, Thiess undertakes all mining operations, including clearing and grubbing, topsoil removal, drill and blast, overburden removal, coal mining and rehabilitation of final landforms.
Thiess also provides all mobile plant and equipment, and will operate and maintain the client owned CHPPs including the loading of trains.
The twin state of the art CHPPs are each capable of receiving and handling coal at a rate of up to 11.2 Mt/y.