Big Diesel Engines for Big Mining Trucks

"It's dark as a dungeon way down in the mine..."
--Merle Travis

On June 22, International Mining posted a brief article about a massive Toro truck with a Volvo Penta diesel engine that has a 63 metric ton carrying capacity. The highlighted feature wasn't the size of payload it carries, but rather the reduced emissions and fuel economy benefits it provided.

The story's spotlight is on the team effort between Toro, Volvo Penta and Sandvick. The truck is a Toro™ TH663i, Toro's largest.

Sandvik is a global engineering group with 37,000 employees. What they have designed is a powerful, reliable fuel efficient 16-litre Stage V engine that delivers 585 kW output. It uses a Selective Catalytic Reduction system (SCR) instead of a diesel particulate filter. The SCR uses diesel exhaust fluid to reduce emissions of NOx without sacrificing the truck's performance or fuel efficiency. 

Stage V is a reference to EU emissions standards for vehicles or equipment used in non-road applications. Stage V set stricter standards for emissions and particulate matter.

When you think about trucks carrying heavy loads underground, several thoughts come to mind. First, you need equipment that is reliable. The last thing you want are breakdowns. Diesel is the workhorse in that department. Second, anything you can do to reduce emissions and particulates is a plus. 

The Stage V Penta Volvo diesel is a new engine option that requires ultra-low sulphur fuel and low-ash engine oil to operate. It can also be run on paraffinic diesel fuels that meet the EN 15940 standard. According to the article, renewable paraffinic diesel fuel significantly reduces the greenhouse gas footprint as well a emissions of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides and diesel particulate matter in the engine exhaust. Because it can use use both fossil diesel and paraffinic fuel without limitations, it is a very versatile engine. It's both flexible and user friendly.

The article notes that Sandvik has made a number of improvements in the past few years for the Toro TH663i including a new transmission that has cost benefits and improves reliability. The engineering firm has also introduced what they call an autonomous system called  AutoMine® that enables miners to operate the equipment remotely.

The end result of these incremental improvements is an increase in both productivity and efficiency.

Related Links

Sandvik deploys Stage V Volvo Penta engine on 63 t underground Toro TH663 truck

Five benefits of Volvo Penta's Stage V off-road engines