With fuel efficiency at the top of its requirements, leading copper ore producer CupruMin has purchased two Terex Trucks TR100 rigid haulers for use at the Ro?ia Poieni mine in Romania.
A mountainous European nation, Romania is rich in iron ore, oil, salt, uranium, nickel, copper and natural gas, and currently produces around 60 different minerals. North of the country’s capital, Bucharest, and hidden within the Apuseni Mountains lies the Ro?ia Poieni copper mine. With an estimated 1.5 billion tonnes of reserves, the large open pit mine is the second largest copper mine in Europe. Discovered in the 1960s and owned by CupruMin, Ro?ia Poieni produces more than 10,000 tonnes of copper annually. To keep production moving at the site, CupruMin has purchased two Terex Trucks TR100 rigid haulers.
Razvan Popandron, area sales manager for West Romania at RET Utilaje says: “CupruMin required efficiency because fuel consumption has a big impact on the price of copper – it’s not an easy material to sell and the competition is strong. Therefore, fuel consumption was at the very top of the list, and the TR100s demonstrated that they were lighter in comparison to competing machines, and require less energy to move with or without material, which ultimately amounts to less fuel consumption.”
CupruMin specialises in the production of copper and copper ore. With almost 600 employees, it runs one of the biggest operations in Romania through the Ro?ia Poieni mine and produces roughly 60% of the copper used in the country. CupruMin purchased the TR100s to modernise its fleet and the machines are being put to work hauling overburden removal and transporting raw material to the crusher.
The trucks, which were delivered in April 2017, are being used to haul overburden and transport raw material to the crusher.
Well suited to the Ro?ia Poieni mine – which has a diameter the size of eight football pitches, and descends to more than 300m below the surface – the TR100’s resilient drivetrain and rear axle configuration provides excellent pulling and powerful rimpull to ensure the hauler can travel up steep inclines and through uneven ground conditions.
Set to work a minimum of 12-hour shifts, six days a week, CupruMin’s TR100s are fitted with the Cummins V12 37.8 litre engine that reaches 783kW (1,050hp) and maximum torque of 4,631Nm (3,515 lbf ft). Furthermore, the front hydraulic disc brakes and rear multi-disc forced cooled brakes deliver better operator control, while the transmission retarder decreases brake wear, reducing ownership costs and increasing machine availability.
Additionally, transmission and rear brake retardation systems come as standard, while the suspension bears the load through variable-rate nitrogen-over-oil type struts, which ensures a smoother ride, reduces operator fatigue and maximises production. The high impact resistant body also means the machine is unphased by the abrasive nature of the copper ores found in the mine.
“Since the machines have been working on site, CupruMin has expressed how well the rigid trucks are performing against the existing fleet,” says Popandron. “The TR100s are working in very harsh conditions as it’s a difficult quarry, but production is moving at a great pace regardless."
