FLEETS

Caterpillar rolls out 5000th 793

FOR the past 27 years Caterpillar has been producing the 793, 227t payload haul trucks and the 5000th model has just rolled off the assembly line at Decatur, Illinois in the US.

 The 5000th Caterpillar 793 has rolled off the assembly line.

The 5000th Caterpillar 793 has rolled off the assembly line.

That 5000th truck is heading to an Australian mine.

Caterpillar vice-president responsible for the Surface Mining & Technology Division Jean Savage said the 793 had been an integral part of making Caterpillar a leading surface mining equipment supplier.

The fact the very first 793, placed into service in 1991, is still operating is a testament to the model's longevity.

One of the longest running 793s was built in 1992 and has accumulated 173,000 hours at a US mine.

Caterpillar global product manager large mining trucks Sudhanshu Singh said the success of the 793 supported the company's belief that it was the most productive and cost-effective mining truck in a range of applications.

"The 793's success is a direct result of collaboration with customers, Cat dealers and cross functional teams within the Caterpillar organisation - who have worked to optimise the performance of Cat trucks in a wider range of applications," he said.

The most recent generation, the 793F, is at the vanguard of autonomous haulage.

The trucks are operating via Command for hauling, part of the Cat Minestar suite.

Most of those autonomous trucks are operating in iron ore mines in Western Australia - predominantly with Fortescue Metals Group and BHP, although Rio Tinto recently added some autonomous 793Fs to its Komatsu autonomous fleet.

However, the numbers of autonomous 793Fs is also starting to grow at South American and North American operations.

Caterpillar autonomous trucks have hauled more than 700 million tonnes since they first started working about four years ago.

 

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Monthly Intelligence team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Monthly Intelligence team.

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Future Fleets Report 2024

The report paints a picture of the equipment landscape and includes detailed profiles of mines that are employing these fleets

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Digitalisation Report 2023

An in-depth review of operations that use digitalisation technology to drive improvements across all areas of mining production

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Automation Report 2023

An in-depth review of operations using autonomous solutions in every region and sector, including analysis of the factors driving investment decisions

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Exploration Report 2023 (feat. Opaxe data)

A comprehensive review of current exploration rates, trending exploration technologies, a ranking of top drill intercepts and a catalogue of 2022 Initial Resource Estimates and recent discovery successes.