Komatsu HD1500 dump truck shows promise

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Komatsu South Africa is launching its heaviest mechanical drive dump truck, which, the company states, has yet to meet growing requirements for flexible rugged fleets in the challenging mine-contracting business, as well as burgeoning requirements in the mining industry.

With a 144 metric tonne payload, the new Komatsu HD1500 fills a niche in the market between the manufacturer’s own 100-tonne Komatsu HD785 mechanical dump truck and the region’s most popular 181-metric tonne Komatsu 730E-AC electric drive trucks.

Louis Kidson, Komatsu South Africa key accounts manager, says that boasting advanced engine and drive system, the Komatsu HD1500 has similar productivity characteristics to its electric drive cousins, with the same go-anywhere ruggedness of other legendary mechanical drive equipment used throughout the company’s extensive heavy-equipment range.

According to Kidson, there is a lot of interest in the new dump trucks and Komatsu is expecting the Komatsu HD1500 to become one of its mainstay models within the southern African mining market. Adding credence to these expectations is the fact that the first two launch units have already been sold and recently entered service on a coal mine near Johannesburg.

“In many ways the Komatsu HD1500 is aimed at contractors and mines that need the flexibility of a mechanical drive vehicle with a larger payload. It allows them to move the trucks to different high-production mines around the continent wherever required, without the need for electric drive service infrastructure associated with our bigger truck models.

“Our 100-tonne Komatsu HD785 has been in the industry for many years and is a firm favourite within the industry. In recent years a number of our coal mining clients have started to push up volumes and as a result have enquired about bigger dump trucks. After thorough investigation we decided to bring the Komatsu HD1500 as the most versatile and advanced option for this type of customer.”

Kidson adds that, simultaneously, mining contractor clients can use the machines to bid for large-scale production activities where long-term contracts are not in place. There has been a requirement to use the 150-tonne mechanical trucks on a host of new projects and the company will be in a position to supply them.

Komatsu HD1500 dump trucks have been in operation in other areas of the world for a number of years.

Features Include:

1119kW (1500HP) engine;
Electric 7-speed transmission with skip-shift, traction control and automatic speed control;
Komtrax Plus management system;
Immediate diagnosis of engine, chassis and drive system components;
Traction control;
12.2m turning radius; and
MacPherson independent front suspension system.