THE FIRST TRUCK-AND-TRAILER COMBINATIONS OF THE TOTAL OF 400 THAT SCANIA WILL DELIVER TO PEAB HAVE NOW STARTED ROLLING ON THE ROADS AROUND NORTHLAND RESOURCES’ NEWLY OPENED MINE NEAR PAJALA IN FAR NORTH SWEDEN
17/12/2012.- This delivery is the first in a comprehensive undertaking that extends until 2021 and includes everything from financing to driver training.
“The agreement with Peab represents a success for our efforts to meet the mining industry’s strict demands for comprehensive solutions. Scania not only delivers production equipment, i.e. vehicles, but also services that are optimised for cost-effective, heavy haulage round-the-clock,” says Björn Winblad, Managing Director of Scania’s Mining business unit.
The truck-and-trailer combinations will be used for transporting iron ore concentrate from Northland Resources’ mine in Kaunisvaara for reloading at the Iron Ore Line (Malmbanan) in Svappavaara, a railway that will carry the ore to the port of Narvik on the Atlantic coast of northern Norway, a distance of 160 kilometres. The transport services will be operated by Peab’s subsidiary Cliffton’s 24.8 metre-long, 90-tonne truck-and-trailer combinations.
The vehicles are being specially built for the task by superstructure specialist Eksjö Maskin & Truck, trailer manufacturer Parator and Scania. A complete rig consists of a four-axle Scania R730 rigid plus a 3-axle dolly and 3-axle trailer. Twelve-tonne axles and air suspension on the dolly and trailer are standard Scania components.
“We have a shared commitment until 2021 to continually work to boost load capacity and lower fuel consumption,” says Eli Henta, Product Manager at Scania Components.
Payload of 63.8 tonnes
The combined gross weight of the current combination is 90 tonnes, with a payload of 63.8 tonnes. This was made possible by the decision of the Swedish Transport Administration to grant permission to exceed the maximum permitted gross vehicle weight of 60 tonnes. The vehicles are equipped for a possible shift towards heavier combinations, mainly for transport services on mining sites. A combination consisting of a tractor and semitrailer, dolly and trailer is will have a gross weight of up to 117 tonnes with a payload of up to 84 tonnes.
“We are continually improving the vehicle to reduce kerb weight and thereby increase payload,” says Dick Aronsson, Sales and Marketing Manager at Eksjö Maskin & Truck, the company supplying the ore-haulage superstructure.
Eksjö Maskin & Truck has extensive experience of sandwich structures and uses light and strong materials to meet customer requirements for protecting the load. The iron ore concentrate must not freeze while in transit and therefore the superstructures are insulated.
The dolly and trailer are being built by Parator in Bollnäs, north central Sweden, which has put a great deal of effort into optimising the weight of the entire structure. For example, steel manufacturer SSAB in nearby Borlänge assisted with calculations for the high-strength steel that is used in the dolly and trailer.
“Our 3-axle dolly is among the first in Europe and helps reduce axle weights,” says Per Olsson, CEO of Parator.
The entire rig is fitted with an electronic braking system (EBS) allowing simultaneous application of the brakes throughout the rig. Soon it will also be possible to read the weight and monitor the tyre pressures on all axles from the driver’s seat.
“It is possible to avoid downtime caused by exploding tyres if you detect air leaks at an early stage,” says Olsson.
An important part of the air suspension in the dolly and trailer is the capability to easily align the axles, which is important for fuel consumption.
Comprehensive undertaking
Cliffton has signed a service and maintenance agreement with Scania-Bilar Sverige AB, the Swedish distributor for Scania, which in turn has commissioned Norrlands Bil to perform the work. The agreement also includes supplying tyres to all vehicles, a commitment which will eventually mean a volume of about 7,000 tyres per year.
“We will also provide driver training and coaching on site,” says Sandro Grimpe, Service Marketing Director at Scania-Bilar Sverige AB.
Scania vehicle deliveries will speed up as ore mining increases. When mining operations reach full capacity in 2015, deliveries will amount to 80 trucks per year and will continue at that rate until 2021. At full capacity utilisation, 400 drivers will transport an estimated five million tonnes of iron ore concentrate annually.
The vehicles will operate round-the-clock at an average speed of about 65 km/h. The annual mileage is estimated at about 400,000 kilometres.
A film showing the trucks in operation is available at Northland Resources’ site on the internet: www.northland.eu/en-us/investor-relations
Vehicle performance data
- Tractor unit: Scania R 730 8×4 featuring the Scania Opticruise automated gearchanging system.
- Bodybuilding: Eksjö Maskin & Truck.
- Gross weight, including superstructure: 36,000 kg.
- Kerb weight: 13,300 kg.
- Cargo volume: 17.5 m3
- Dolly and trailers are built by Parator and fitted out with standard axles from Scania and with bodywork from Eksjö Maskin & Truck.
- Gross weight: 54,000 kg.
- Kerb weight: 12,900 kg.
- Cargo volume: 28.7 m3
- Dolly: 27-tonne bogie with 12-tonne axles from Scania.
- Trailer: 27-tonne bogie with 12-tonne axles from Scania.
- Combination gross weight: 90,000 kg.
- Total payload: 63,800 kg.
Text and photograph: SCANIA.
