Suppliers’ Notes (February 01, 1990)

Caterpillar Inc., the equipment maker that brought the world the elevated sprocket, has passed another milestone. After just four short years in the field of plus-100-ton trucks, the company has sold more than 500 such vehicles.

The Cat 785, 150-ton-capacity truck and the 789, 195-ton were unveiled in 1985 and 1986, respectively. In spite of their larger sizes, both trucks offer acceleration and haul speeds equal to those of Caterpillar’s three smaller trucks. They feature 6-speed, electronically controlled transmissions, oil-cooled disc brakes, oil-pneumatic supension systems and heavy-duty frames.

Caterpillar first ventured into the business of off-highway haulage in 1963 with 35-ton, 400-hp trucks. Oil-immersed disc brakes, an oil-pneumatic suspension system and mild-steel box section frames with castings at major frame intersections set them apart from other trucks.

In 1969, the company produced its first 600-hp truck, the 773. As well, Caterpillar immediately began researching the need for an 85-ton truck. Cat’s engineers decided at that time to stick with mechanical drives. Experience had shown that an 870-hp mechanical drive truck outperformed a 1,000-hp electric drive machine, a recent report by Caterpillar states.

The 777, 85-ton hauler also included fully automatic power shift transmission with torque converter, yielding a power train efficiency of 83% and more with an 870-hp engine. Other, later modifications included transmissions with electronic shift control, better emergency braking, and electronic traction control.

By 1978, however, the large coal and metal mines were demanding bigger trucks. And that’s when Caterpillar began work on its 785 and 789 trucks. Yet to come is a 240-ton 793 truck that Caterpillar will produce in a new Mining Vehicle Center in Decatur, Ill. “The new operation will design and manufacture a new generation of machines significantly larger than those Caterpillar now builds,” the company says in a press release. In addition to larger mine trucks, Caterpillar will develop and build larger motor graders, wheel tractors and wheel loaders in the new centre, which will significantly cut new product development lead times. Cat’s existing plants in Decatur are undergoing modernization. The total plant site now covers 600 acres (240 ha) with 3.3 million sq ft (297,000 sq m) of manufacturing space under roof.

Production at American Barrick’s Goldstrike open pit, in Nevada’s Carlin camp, is expected to increase to more than 190,000 oz. gold in 1992 from an estimated 190,000 oz. in 1989. Consequently, Barrick has ordered 27 HAULPAK 685E 190-ton off-highway trucks from Dresser. The electric-drive trucks have allowed the mine to more than double its annual mining rate to 75 million tons in 1989, Dresser says. This will increase to more than 100 million tons during 1990.

Bacon, Donaldson & Associates of Richmond, B.C. has been taken over by Sherritt Gordon, giving Sherritt ownership of one of Canada’s leading metallurgical laboratories.

Prime Computer has signed a 2-year, $200-millin agreement with parent Sun Microsystems of Canada, under which it will resell Sun’s SPARC workstations and servers. Prime will offer the Sun systems with its CADDS software as well as its Medusa, THEDA and GIS software. Sun Microsystems is based in Markham, Ont.

Formal closing has been completed on the acquisition of Bailey Controls Co. by Finmeccanica, a member of Italy’s iri group. The negotiated purchase price of $US295 million was paid to McDermott International in November, 1989. Bailey, based in Wickliffe, Ohio, supplies controls, instrumentation and computer systems to mining and many other industries.

Cleveland, Ohio-based VME Americas has named Sierra Machinery of New Mexico, based in Albuquerque, N.M., as a full-line distributor of its wheel loaders and dozers, off-highway haulers and log-skidders.

Mannesmann Demag’s construction machinery division, based in Bensenville, Ill., has opened a parts and service distribution centre near Charleston, W.Va. It will serve as a spare-parts distribution and product-servicing point for the tri-state Appalachian mining region.

Supaflo Technologies is supplying five High Rate thickeners to P.T. Prima Lirang Mining on Wetaqr Island, Indonesia. The system used there is similar to P.T. Lusang Mining’s Lebong Tandai gold treatment plant in Sumatra, which has operated successfully for more than three years. The design incorporates five thickeners, four of which will form a counter-current decantation circuit to wash the leached ore and maximize soluble gold recovery. In addition, seven Supaflo thickeners have been supplied to Pasminco’s Risdon plant in Hobart, Australia.