It’s vital that equipment keeps up with the demands of mine sites, and that’s why Schlam has moved into New South Wales.
The drive to continuously improve mine productivity, reduce costs and balance environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitments is leading to new customisation solutions for mining equipment.
As a major supplier of load and haul accessories, Schlam Payload is used to designing solutions to the needs of specific mine sites and is now taking customisation to another level.
“We’re increasingly partnering with mines to take a long-term view of how our products support their overall mine plan,” Schlam chief executive officer David Haslett said.
“These solutions combine advanced engineering with innovative data modelling and monitoring to deliver a broad range of financial benefits, environmental and safety outcomes.”
To meet these ever-changing needs, Schlam has expanded its range of Hercules mining truck beds, Barracuda excavator buckets and product lifecycle care solutions, and has established a new manufacturing facility in Muswellbrook to service mines in New South Wales.
“These new options enable us to provide more responsive and tailored services for our customers,” Haslett said.
Schlam’s flagship Hercules mining truck bed, first introduced in 2003, has become a fixture in hard rock mines. This range of beds is known for its unique lightweight and curved design to help to facilitate easier and cleaner material discharge and enable an increase in payload.
With innovation front of mind, the new Hercules Ultra model has been designed with a body engineered specifically for ultra-class mining trucks with payloads of 300 tonnes or more.
This includes machinery like the Caterpillar 797F, Komatsu 980E-5, and Liebherr T 284, designed to carry payloads up to 400 tonnes.
Used predominantly in large-scale mining operations like coal, iron ore, gold and copper mines, ultra-class haul trucks are essential to maximising productivity and reducing haulage costs and are becoming increasingly sophisticated through the application of automation and digitalisation technologies.
The advanced engineering of Hercules Ultra truck beds feature high-strength steel and thicker wear materials in high-impact zones, while maintaining lightness in structural areas.
“The data available from ultra-class trucks provides real-time insights that help plan for efficient servicing, preventive maintenance and wear solutions,” Haslett said.
“Through data sharing and collaboration, we can help mines minimise downtime and optimise the performance of our products.”
Schlam’s complete product lifecycle services provide support from commissioning to decommissioning and recycling. This includes maintenance parts, refurbishments and rebuilds for extending operational life and diagnostics monitoring for predictive maintenance planning.
Refurbishments of truck beds have been undertaken in the Hunter region over the past five years.
In August, the new facility in Muswellbrook started assembling Hercules mining truck beds, including the Ultra models, for delivery to mines in NSW.
The facility has been fitted out with highly advanced manufacturing processes and technologies in line with an internationally certified quality management system, with a plan of building a 30-person team to assemble and manufacture loading attachments designed for up to 600-tonne excavators.
Schlam believes expansion into NSW builds on its success in Western Australia and internationally, where the uptake of Hercules mining truck beds and Barracuda mining buckets continues to rise in the Americas, Africa and eastern Europe.
The Muswellbrook facility also signals Schlam’s continued investment in local capability and commitment to driving productivity across the Australian mining industry.
This feature appeared in the December issue of Australian Mining magazine.