ZHODINO, 30 September (BelTA) – The Belarusian heavy truck manufacturer BelAZ has demonstrated its latest and innovative products in the company's proving ground within the framework of the forum “BelAZ 2022. Digitization and environmental friendliness – growth drivers in Russia's mining industry”, BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Naskovets, Principal Designer at OAO BelAZ, Head of the company's A.N. Yegorov R&D Center, said: “The most significant novelty of the year is a hybrid haul truck with the carrying capacity of 130 tonnes. It is a new product not only for us but the entire mining industry. Nobody has made such vehicles before. The vehicle is fitted with a low-power diesel generator, an engine borrowed from a 55-tonne haul truck. We get the rest of the power we need from the accumulators the haul truck carries. The new truck allows reducing diesel fuel costs by up to 40%. It will offer a considerable profit to mining companies since diesel fuel costs represent a major expense in a mining operation.”
The vehicle is now going through in-house trials. “We will ship it to Kuzbass by the end of the year where it will go through field trials,” the principal designer said.
BelAZ pays close attention to digital technologies. Dmitry Yeliseyev, Head of the Smart Mine Control Systems Department at OAO BelAZ, told BelTA: “We have created a system of our own to monitor mining vehicles. We are also exploring virtual reality possibilities. For our consumers, specialists we are working out a set of software solutions that will allow transitioning to a kind of a virtual universe of BelAZ, in which we see three directions today, however, we understand that there are many more of them.”
Dmitry Yeliseyev went on saying: “The first direction is a virtual exhibition where dealerships will be able to form a pool of vehicles that specific customers are interested in. They will be able to demonstrate the vehicles, discuss some design solutions and give feedback to the manufacturer. The second direction is a description of operating principles of vehicle components. It will be useful for the educational institutions that train specialists, who will work with BelAZ vehicles later on. The largest project we are about to launch is a virtual workshop where we have already implemented the process of assembly and disassembly of a motorized wheel starting with the placement of wheel chocks and ending with the tuning of conical bearings. The entire technological cycle is explained step by step. An exam is available to confirm the quality of the training process. Later on we also intend to offer similar modules for training specialists how to work with the suspension system, electronics, and hydromechanic transmission.”
Representatives of Russian companies shared their impressions of BelAZ's work. Dmitry Duntsev, Director General of OOO AV Mining, noted: “Belarus is number one in mining nowadays. The company makes the most reliable and affordable product. No other manufacturer can boast such a broad lineup of haul trucks. Our company has virtually all types of Belarusian dump trucks. At present we are interested in hybrid vehicles, vehicles powered by natural gas and accumulators.”
The company Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel) has been cooperating with BelAZ for quite some time, too. Andrei Skokov, Director of the Industrial Assets Department at PAO GMK Norilsk Nickel, said: “We successfully use 130-tonne vehicles in our quarries. We have started tighter interaction this year and have already visited the manufacturer several times. We are developing in various directions. As for ecology, we are looking into a gas-powered vehicle as well as accumulator-trolley vehicles. A hybrid looks like a very interesting solution in current conditions. I'd like to emphasize that we always have very good impressions of BelAZ products.”
The public joint-stock company (OAO) BelAZ is the managing company of the holding company BelAZ. BelAZ is the world's largest manufacturer of haul trucks and transport equipment for the mining industry and the civil engineering industry. BelAZ occupies about 30% of the world market of haul trucks with an extremely large carrying capacity. The company makes the world's largest haul truck with the carrying capacity of 450 tonnes.
