First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FQM) is investing in a new trolley assist system for Hitachi dump trucks at the Kansanshi copper and gold mine, near Solwezi in Zambia. The massive project includes the installation of a new fleet of 23 electric EH3500ACII models as part of a four-year $370 million expansion programme.
Three project phases are planned to increase annual copper production capacity from the 230,000 tonnes achieved in 2011 to 400,000 tonnes by 2015. The trolley assist package commenced in March 2012 with the installation of a 750m test track and overhead line for trials by Hitachi engineers.
The new EH3500ACIIs have started to arrive on the site and will be ready for full operation with the new trolley line by March 2013. The design of these electric dump trucks has become a more simplified process since the turn of the century. Technological innovation has opened the door for the powerful AC drive to replace the traditional DC drive.
The assembly co-ordinator for the Hitachi machines at Kansanshi is Hugo Truter of Hitachi Construction Machinery (Zambia), Ltd. (HCMZ), who says: "The trials have been going well and the trolley line will be extended by 2km to run from the base of the existing line to the bottom of the main pit.”