Technological advancement in the mining sector is rapidly developing and solutions to address mining productivity challenges and improve efficiencies are continuously being developed.

Australia-based Austin Engineering states that it is at the forefront of the development of mining equipment with particular focus on customer-specific requirements and mine site challenges worldwide.

The company uses computer modelling and analysis to keep it at the forefront of product design and creation in the industry. It explains that the software has enabled additional new concepts to come to fruition, such as the ‘Gate Free’ body designs, whereby the removal of the back of the body reduces maintenance, reduces overall costs and increases capacity and the ‘Flow Control Body’, which reduces dust emissions, increases the stability of a truck by eliminating lift of the front axles, and provides a smooth, non-stopping offload to let the material dump uniformly.

In addition, the company says that it works closely with steel manufacturers to achieve optimal performance, both structurally and for its abrasion resistant properties. The improved properties resulted in its first light-weight body, which offered increased payload.

The design of Austin’s ULTIMA, which it describes as the “next generation in mining dump bodies”, incorporated the removal of the liner and a revised dump body design aimed at minimising the amount of ribbing, making the truck body more lightweight. The curved design is said to complement the liner-less bodies.

The 10% to 15% weight saving does not sacrifice payload and the range of features of the well-know design also includes reduction in carry back by means of curved transition plates between the front wall, sides and floor.

The company works directly with mine sites in order to provide built-for-purpose solutions across a range of commodities and materials. Its WESTECH, JEC and ULTIMA dump truck bodies are designed to haul a variety of loads, from light coal material to metal scrap, hard rock, copper, gold and diamonds.

Another mining solution developed by the company is its Two-Piece Excavator Bucket. By identifying that the bottom of the bucket always wears faster than the top structure, Austin designed a bucket that could split into two sections, which means that only the worn-out bottom piece requires replacement, while the the top structure can be kept in place. In addition, the bottom section can be  customised to meet customers’ changing needs depending on the application, resulting in a versatile high-performance bucket that is available as a liner-less, lightweight option for increased payload or a lined option if required.

The company also designed its Stairway Access Tank (SAT), which it describes as a revolutionary water tank that allows workers to go up and down a staircase and safely move around inside the water tank more easily than in previous designs.

Water tanks are an essential part of mining equipment for dust suppression and firefighting. Safety for workers during confined space maintenance work is said to be significantly improved by means of the larger baffle openings with a direct line of travel. The large access port is equipped with handrails on the stairway for the important three-point contact safety practice on mines. There are currently almost 100 SAT systems in operation around the world.

Austin Engineering designs and manufactures customised off-highway truck bodies, buckets, water tanks, tyre handlers and other ancillary products, and offers on- and off-site maintenance and repairs, aimed at providing a complete service through the product’s lifecycle.