The Mt. Keith machine is the fourth of the ultra-size excavators to be commissioned around the world. The first three were delivered to an oil sands project in Alberta, Canada, and have, to date, logged a total of more than 20,000 operational hours, according to Hitachi.

Meeting with Hitachi engineers at the company’s Perth branch office prior to the site handover, BHP Billiton’s Adriano Espeschit, general manager of the Mt. Keith mine, said the new excavators are set to become important elements in the expansion program at the mine.

As he officially “handed over the keys” to Mt. Keith’s management team, Hitachi’s chief operating officer in Australia, Tak Tagawa, acknowledged the significance of the commissioning of the giant excavator. “This machine has great importance for Hitachi worldwide,” he said. “It renews the strong links between BHP Billiton and Hitachi and also reinforces the engineering strength of our mining equipment.”

Speaking at a function held at the mine site, Tagawa also emphasized the support structure in place around the country and its implications for all owners and operators of Hitachi mining machinery. “We are investing heavily to ensure that our product support is the best available,” he said. “Two factory-trained engineers are now based in our mining office in Brisbane and are on-call to travel anywhere in Australia. These direct response engineers are backed-up by direct access to the factory in Tsuchiura, Japan, to give the level of support we believe is necessary for our customers in Australia.”

The largest in the ultra-large hydraulic excavator class, the new EX8000 excavator is described by Hitachi as the perfect match for the new ultra class dump trucks now common throughout the mining industry worldwide. Powered by two Cummins QSK60 Tier II diesels, each developing 1,450 kW at 1,800 rpm, this latest addition to the Hitachi excavator line-up has been designed to provide extended operating life and significantly reduce operating and maintenance costs, even under tough operating conditions.

According to Hitachi, latest reports from Mt. Keith indicate productivity and performance targets are being met. Configured as a face shovel and fitted with a 40-m3-capacity bottom dump bucket, the EX8000 is three-pass loading 240-mt dump trucks at the mine.