2 - The International Resource Journal

DT HiLoad
www.dthiload.com

DT HiLoa

SUPPORTING INDUSTRY
d
A
better mousetrap2
DT HiLoad Australia specialises in the design and manufacture of the
Hercules dump truck body – a better mousetrap for mine site hauling

4 SupportiNG industrY DT HiLoad
DT HiLoad’s solution for mining equipment is
the Hercules – an engineered tray for off-road,
rear-tipping, mining and quarry trucks. The patented
curved design is made from a flexible,
hard-wearing steel plate and the innovation has
proved its ability to improve mining efficiency and
productivity through an increased payload advantage
and lower downtime.
Richard Lang, chief executive officer, reckons
that the designed body carries around an extra
10 per cent payload on every trip. Multiply that by
every day for a truck doing a cycle every hour and
that adds up to a substantial amount of extra
material. A standard truck body will carry some
210 tonnes, but the lighter-weight Hercules can
carry 244 tonnes. In addition, because of the
lightweight design, a mining company uses less
fuel per tonne of ore moved.
The original concept was born in Chile, when
family-run DT HiLoad in South America began experimenting
with a better design for trucking material
on site. Since 2003, Perth-based DT HiLoad
Australia has taken on the business and patents,
and the entire production process is completed
at its workshop facilities. There are 1,200 Hercules
trays in use globally and some 300 in Australia.
The most important element, says Lang, is
the curved tray design, which means that canopy
loading becomes a thing of the past. The problem
with canopy loading is that material heaped on
the canopy of a body changes the distribution of
load on the truck tyres, and small changes in load
compared to the rated load of the tyre result in
disproportionate loss of tyre life. This has been a
particularly relevant issue in recent years, which
has found miners needing to resort to all sorts of
tricks to preserve them in a global tyre shortage.
Moreover, the curved design reduces hang
up, a real nuisance when dealing with sticky clay.
“The curved nature of the body is integral to
the design and that is where a lot of the strength
comes from, which is also why the lighter weight
is possible while still retaining heavy-duty capability,”
explains Lang.
And although there is a general design, DT can
customise trays at its workshop to exact specifications
for any individual mine. By looking at
the rated payload of the truck and the loose bulk
density of material being shifted, the company
can work out what volume of tray a mine should
have. That can result in faster tipping times –
fitted circuitry limits the tipping angle and the
angle can be calibrated to the relevant material
and locked by a supervisor.
Driving change
Implementing operational change can be a tall
order for mine sites. Lang points out that most

MAY 2012 The International Resource Journal
5
The solution to your wear problems
Harder and tougher than ever: XAR ® .
These exceptional properties make the wear-resistant special structural steel XAR ® an uncompromising material.
Whether it’s in mining and handling of solid rock or in the rough climatic conditions of oil sands mining,
XAR ® masters every challenge. And despite its high hardness XAR ® can easily be cold formed and welded.
For dump bodies that last up to fi ve times longer and cope with everything that life throws at them.
For more information:
Phone +49 (0)203 52-75604 · roland.riesbeck@thyssenkrupp.com
http://plate.thyssenkrupp-steel-europe.com
ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe
Thinking the future of steel

6 SupportiNG industrY DT HiLoad
of the necessary detailed knowledge is often
found at the superintendent level or below and
that effecting change may require a coalition of
supporters from different disciplines across the
organisation. A team should include people who
can crunch the numbers, know the maintenance
requirements and understand the operational
trucking flow existing at the site.
The timing is certainly on DT HiLoad’s side. In
a recent report, Deloitte points out that while the
issues facing mining companies appear familiar
every year, the factors influencing the industry
are moving to a new level of extremity. This is just
as true with cost-control measures.
The winning argument in favour of assembling
a team is that adopting the Hercules tray on site

MAY 2012 The International Resource Journal
7
can pay itself off in less than a year if implemented
properly. However, teams within larger companies
can face barriers, particularly if there are existing
international deals with key suppliers in place.
“Maybe it’s just that old habits die hard.
We have had a very good response from our
customers, so there is no way that I could complain
generally about the attitude of people that
we deal with. Contractors have probably been
the most nimble and the very big international
companies are probably the least in our experience,”
Lang says.
www.dthiload.com

AS SEEN IN THE MAY 2012 ISSUE
OF THE INTERNATIONAL RESOURCE JOURNAL