Engineering and Mining Journal - Whether the market is copper, gold, nickel, iron ore, lead/zinc, PGM, diamonds or other commodities, E&MJ takes the lead in projecting trends, following development and reporting on the most efficient operating pr
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ROPE SHOVELS Cat Refines, Expands Rope Shovel Feature Lineup The latest options, often employing new technologies, range from hoist braking to HydraCrowd, and e-room air filtration to onsite power generation By Russell A. Carter, Managing Editor Since the finalization of its purchase of Bucyrus International more than 2.5 years ago, Caterpillar has been working steadily, in an increasingly dismal global equipment sales environment, to accommodate the new product lines, parts and maintenance network arrangements, and even corporate cultural differences that came with the $8.8 billion acquisition. One of the most visible signs of change is the increasing appearance of bright yellow electric rope shovels—still a mild visual jolt to anyone more accustomed to seeing Cat's ubiquitous color on smaller, mobile equipment and hydraulic excavators. Shovels are now big business—financially and literally— at Cat, where the smallest of its global- ly available rope shovels weighs about 1.7 million lb and the largest of the ultra-class models tips the scales at more than 3 million lb. Getting into the truly "big iron" business of rope shovels and draglines has also involved somewhat of a learning curve for the world's largest manufacturer of mining and construction equipment; it's discovered that the product-introduction schedule for features and upgrades on these made-to-order machines doesn't quite fall into the precise, tightly scheduled format and time frame that it's used to. In autumn 2013, Cat's Global Mining division invited customers to its Tinaja Hills, Arizona, demonstration and learning center to catch up on recent developments in the company's rope Cat's rope shovel range covers dipper payload capacities from 20 tons to the 90- to 120-ton capacity of its 7495 models, one of which is shown here. The two smallest models—the 182M and 42-ton 295HD—are available only in India. 38 E&MJ; • JANUARY 2014 and hydraulic shovel lineup, accompanied by similar briefings on its mine truck and mining-class loader models. Cat equipment specialists provided general selection criteria and application guidelines for making correct equipment choices—and once purchased, for using them most effectively. Seven Shovels Cat now offers seven electric rope shovel models, ranging from the 20-tonpayload 182M and 42-ton 295HD to the 90-ton 7495HD and the 120-ton 7495/7495HF. The 182M and the 295HD are only sold in India through a partnership with a local manufacturer, and they are the only rope shovels without the "7" nomenclature prefix that Cat has assigned to all other models incorporated from the former Bucyrus shovel range. In between the smallest models and the ultra-class 7495 units are the 50-ton 7295 and 70-ton 7395, both classified by Cat as sub-ultra class shovels. Obviously, none of these machines are inexpensive, explained Cat's Jeff Klingel, lifecycle cost manager for electric rope shovels, but if the customer has a world-class deposit and can afford the upfront cost, electric rope shovels provide the lowest loadingrelated cost per ton. They have an extremely long operating life, averaging 20 years but not infrequently reaching 25 years and beyond. Their typical availability, at more than 90%, is exceptional for loading tools, and because the hoist cycle ends with the dipper above the truck body, cycle times are efficient, commonly in the 30- to 36-second range. In addition, the shovel operator sits at a level above the haul-truck body, providing high visibility and safety. Dipper fill factors range from 95% to 110%, struck. www.e-mj.com