A motor grader range engineered and manufactured by South African heavy equipment manufacturer Bell Equipment received the Innovation for Surface Mining Award at the Mining Equipment Manufacturers of South Africa (MEMSA) Awards, held at the Industrial Development Corporation’s Convention Centre, in Sandton, Gauteng, last month.

The G160 and G200 models are the first mining graders designed and built locally by a South African company to contain more than 70% local content, says Bell Equipment motor grader product specialist Jeremiah Mokhomo.

The models were launched locally in June 2025 and units have been sold into a variety of operations, including coal and manganese mines.

The grader is designed to address key operational challenges in surface mining, particularly the need for reliable, durable and efficient haul road maintenance in demanding mining environments.

Mokhomo says one of the primary challenges facing mining graders is downtime caused by contamination in conventional slew systems. To address this, the grader incorporates a sealed slew bearing system that prevents contamination ingress and eliminates the wear inserts commonly found on conventional graders.

The sealed design removes the need for shimming and wear insert replacements, reducing maintenance requirements, improving precision and reducing downtime associated with component replacement.

Mokhomo adds that greasing intervals have also been extended to 500 hours and that the slew system’s life span can reach about 18 000 hours.

The grader also complies with mining equipment collision avoidance system (CAS) requirements, as a result of the grader being preconfigured to accommodate the integration of a CAS without the need for additional components.

“The biggest win is that the installation time is cut from about 40 hours to two hours,” he says.

Mokhomo adds that local manufacture also helps to address challenges associated with imported equipment, including parts availability and technical support.

Easy to Use

In terms of operability, the grader’s automatic differential lock improves traction in difficult ground conditions, while its fully automatic transmission with shuttle shift functionality improves cycle times and ease of operation.

“The six-wheel-drive system enables wheel-speed adjustments to improve machine mobility in challenging conditions, such as sand or mud,” says Mokhomo.

For bulk earthworks applications, he points out that the grader’s parallelogram ripper system maintains a constant angle of attack at all ripping depths, ensuring consistent ground penetration and ripping performance.

When not in use, the ripper folds away neatly, improving the machine’s angle of departure and manoeuvrability on uneven terrain while reducing the risk of damage during transit.

The grader also incorporates Bell Equipment’s Fleetm@tic telematics platform, which Mokhomo says provides real-time monitoring of fuel consumption, machine use and health, thereby enabling mines to optimise operations, monitor fuel use and decrease unplanned downtime.

Fleetm@tic also supports geofencing and speed-limiting functions to improve site safety and asset security, as it allows for designating high-risk areas to be geofenced so that machines automatically reduce speed when entering those zones.

The platform includes an open application programming interface (API), enabling customers to connect machine data to external AI platforms for predictive analytics, maintenance planning, safety optimisation and operational decision-making.

“Some mining customers already extract Fleetm@tic data through the open API and use it within their own analytics platforms,” he adds.

According to Mokhomo, the grader’s technology-agnostic architecture also allows for integration with grade control systems from multiple suppliers, such as Leica, Trimble and Topcon, for precision grading applications.

Comfort

Operator comfort and safety were considered during machine development, and Mokhomo highlights features such as a premium air- suspension seat, adjustable steering console, automatic transmission and shuttle shift functionality as solutions to reduce operator effort during long shifts.

“The more comfortable the operator is, the more productive he becomes,” he says.

Reflecting on the award, he says Bell Equipment developed 25 new local suppliers during the designing and building of the motor grader, consequently strengthening local industrialisation, job creation and supply chain development.

“The machine’s autonomous-ready platform, CAS-ready design and telematics capabilities demonstrate that South African engineering is aligned with the future direction of global mining,” concludes Mokhomo.