THE MOST IMPORTANT MACHINE ON YOUR MINESITE

What is the most important machine on your site? Most miners would instantly think of their loading tools or possibly the haul trucks. The unavailability of one type of machine can stop all production.

All to dusty - it's time to stop operations

Excavators and loaders dig all your dirt and trucks move it all to desired locations but without functioning water trucks everything will stop when excessive dust generation becomes a safety issue. You are obligated to stop trucking operations before the safety of operations is compromised due to excessive dust generation and depending on the Minesite location there may be legal obligations to prevent air pollution.

For many operations, water trucks have long been thought of as a non-money earning machine and their selection often highlights this thought. Water trucks were often repurposed dump trucks that had reached the end of their useful haulage life. They most probably received a purpose-built water tank but pumps, control systems and electrics often lacked attention and when combined with a high hour engine, reliability was poor.

Times have changed for the better with some contractors and owner operators placing new purpose-built water trucks into operations. Autonomous water trucks are now operating in Western Australia. They have the added benefit of taking away water truck operators’ discretion on where and how much water is applied to haul roads. I have witnessed many incidents over the years involving overwatering. Sometimes they were caused by overzealous operators and sometimes by faulty equipment (sprays not turning off or time delays in sprays turning off). A good canon fitted to a water truck can help with wetting down of blasted material and stockpiles, be of immense benefit in cleaning rock walls and has the ability to fight fires.

Autonomous water truck ready for action

Operations in the southern half of Western Australia will be all to familiar with “green death”. While it can occur on any machine or vehicle it is very prevalent on water trucks that carry saline water.  Extra protection of electrical wiring is an option offered by some suppliers. In addition to electrical wiring issues, rust is inevitable at some point in a water truck’s life. There are multiple metal treatment options available to slow the onset of rust.

Water trucks are indispensable for maintaining safe and efficient operations. Without them, excessive dust generation can compromise visibility and air quality, forcing mining companies to halt trucking and other activities to provide a safe workplace. This can result in costly production delays. With thoughtful pre-job considerations the best water truck(s) for the task will enable safe and continuous operations.