Bucyrus Australia's World First Dragline

Bucyrus Australia has won a 23 month contract to supply a 5,600 tonne electric walking dragline to Anglo Coal Australia.

The Bucyrus 8750AC is the first fully AC (alternating current) conventional drive dragline built by the company.

"Latest technology is critical for a machine that has a working life in excess of 30 years," Bucyrus Australia Sales and Marketing Manager Larry Slattery said. "We won the contract because the AC drive system in the Bucyrus 8750AC will make the dragline more productive, less expensive to operate, and be quieter and easier to maintain."

Bucyrus International and its partner Siemens Energy and Automation pioneered AC drive systems almost 30 years ago. The AC drive system has become the preferred technology for heavy equipment in surface mining.

The Bucyrus 8750AC has been commissioned for Anglo Coal Australia's Lake Lindsay Project in Central Queensland near Middlemount, and is expected to be operational in August 2008.

The dragline's bucket will have the capacity to remove 168 tonnes of overburden from the mine. Its combined drive systems for the hoist, drag, swing and walking motions will have more than 37,500 applied horsepower.

Work started on the walking dragline in September 2006. The design, fabrication and construction processes are being carried out simultaneously because of the machine's size.

"Bucyrus International is doing the design drawings, and the majority of fabrication work is being done at our Brisbane supplier workshops, with fabricators in Gladstone and Mackay assisting on the project," Manager of Special Projects Geoff Hoffman said. "We are working to a strict timetable, scheduling various parts of the machine, involving steel sections, forgings, and castings – to allow us to fabricate offsite, then deliver and assemble those parts on-site."

The project is expected to require about 3,500 tonnes of XLERPLATE® steel, supplied by distributor OneSteel. "The project's scale and deadlines mean we rely on our close working relationships with BlueScope Steel and OneSteel to ensure XLERPLATE® steel can be delivered to multiple fabricators at specific times," Mr Hoffman said. "The surface finish and material properties of XLERPLATE® steel are always of a consistently high quality, and we can rely on their flexibility of supply, which is critical for structural steel work, mechanical components and replacement parts.

"The quality of BlueScope Steel products is second to none, the manufacturing processes always meet our specific test requirements."

There are more than 70 Bucyrus draglines operating in Australia, with Bucyrus Australia designing and manufacturing the second largest dragline in the world, the 6,745 tonne Bucyrus 8750 dragline, for Ensham Resources last year.

"The boom length of Anglo Coal Australia's dragline will be the same, but the lifting capacity of the bucket will be less," Mr Hoffman said.

Bucyrus Australia Service, Engineering and Parts will provide ongoing machine support through its regional headquarters in Mackay.

Bucyrus International is the world's leading manufacturer of walking draglines, electric rope shovels and rotary blasthole drills. It has manufactured 90 per cent of the draglines in use around the world.