The coal-rich province of Xinjiang, China, is under pressure with increasing demand for energy, with Volvo Construction Equipment’s new G-Series wheeled loaders said to be helping one mine deliver on its promises.
Xinjiang is the largest autonomous region of China, located in the north-west. The vast 1.6 million km2 province borders Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, and it boasts a varied landscape, one that ranges from ice-capped mountains, flowing rivers and luscious grassland to arid deserts. Over millions of years this diverse geography and geology has resulted in rich coal resources that account for more than 40% of the country’s total fossil fuel reserves.
The Xinjiang Heishan Mine Company has seized the opportunity to excavate coal from a mountainous location in the north of the province where temperatures dip to -30°C during the winter months. But operations continue regardless, so the company requires high quality, reliable equipment to work all year round.
“In the past we’ve used low-specification equipment that has only managed uptime of around nine months a year,” says Ma Habin, the mine’s director. “But in 2005 we started buying
“With the help of Volvo CE’s reliable service and maintenance network, our machines are available to use all year round, even during the harsh winter months.”
The site currently operates four L180Fs and two High-Lift wheeled loaders from Volvo CE’s newest G-Series (L180Gs).
The Heishan Mine Company operates four wheeled loaders that are over three years old with close to 20,000 working hours on the clock.
Habin says: “The machines are very reliable, and after three years we have had no serious breakdowns, which is good news for us because the machines really are the backbone of our operations.”
The new G-Series wheel loaders feature a Tier 4i/Stage IIIB engine that offers high torque performance to work more efficiently at low engine speeds and is combined with perfectly-matched electronic fuel injection for optimal power and low fuel consumption, says Volvo CE.
To ensure maximum uptime, the region’s Volvo CE dealer, Xinjiang SVO Machinery Engineering, has set up service stations at the mine. Heishan Mine Company has been working with Volvo CE’s local dealer for over ten years.
