For transporting ore and overburden large and super-size dump trucks with load capacities of 39 to 136 tons are used.
The ALROSA fleet of heavy trucks includes altogether 213 vehicles,
including ninety-four trucks with load capacities of 120–136 tons.
Heavy dump trucks in the Mine Transport Depot No. 3 at Udachny MPE, the company’s largest mine transport depot.
Caterpillar dump truck in the Udachny open-pit mine.
Transporting the 300 millionth ton of ore in the Udachny open-pit mine. City of Udachny, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), 2005.
UNIT RIG dump truck in the Yubileyny open-pit mine
Engine repair in the transport depot’s workshop at the Mirny MPE.
Modern technology – size and details.
Veterans of the Mirny transport depot. On the left is Nikolai Chirkov, the longtime head of the transport depot, honored mine transportation manager.
The first drivers of open-pit mine trucks at the Yakutalmaz trust. Village of Mirny, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), 1962.
The fleet of 42 to 45-ton haul trucks is composed of the makes produced by the Belarusian Automobile Plant and consists of 93 vehicles:
- 45 trucks in the Aikhal Mining and Processing Division;
- 41 trucks in the Mirny Mining and Processing Division.
- 7 trucks in the Nyurba and Udachny Mining and Processing Divisions.
Mine trucks used in the Udachny Mining and Processing Division are of a dump type too. There are forty Caterpillar САТ-785В dump trucks with a load capacity of 136 tons.
In the Jubilee open-pit mine of the Aikhal Mining and Processing Division the following makes of dump trucks are in operation:
- BelAZ-75125 with load capacity of 120 tons — 4 trucks;
- BelAZ-75131 with load capacity of 136 tons — 10 trucks;
- BelAZ-75137 with load capacity of 136 tons — 2 trucks;
- Haulpak D-510E with load capacity of 136 tons — 12 trucks;
- Unit Rig MT3300 with a load capacity of 136 tons — 26 trucks.
In the Nyurba Mining and Processing Division they use Caterpillar CATs-777 of D and F series with a load capacity of 91 tons — 24 dump trucks.
In the Mirny Mining and processing division two Volvo A40E articulated dump trucks are used for placer mining.
The exploitation of mine trucks in kimberlite open-pit mines of Yakutia is carried out under particularly difficult mining and technical conditions, which leads to a material increase in the cost of mining.
At the open-pit mines of the Aikhal and Nyurba Mining and Processing Divisions automated mine vehicle fleet management systems (MMS) are in operation.
An MMS has the following main functions:
- An MMS delivers a real-time view of the equipment operation and position.
- An MMS allows for optimized dispatching of the excavator and truck fleets.
- An MMS manages load and dump operations, and tracks mine trucks velocity.
- An MMS monitors and reports on the technical state, maintenance and repair activities associated to an individual piece of equipment, its fuel consumption and tire wear.
- An MMS carries out operative control and keeps historical records of the equipment and the entire mine operation.
The implementation of the MMS has resulted in higher productivity of mining equipment and haul trucks, lower downtime, more economical fuel consumption, and optimized mining and haulage costs.
The haulage load of the ALROSA mine vehicle fleet in 2009 was 89,059.9 tons, with a haulage turnover of 476,055.3 thousand ton-kilometers.