Glencore’s Bulga welcomes third Liebherr mining excavator in 12 months

Bulga Open Cut, a key asset of Glencore Coal Assets, and a strategic site to Liebherr-Australia’s Mt Thorley branch, proudly welcomed the first Liebherr R 9100 mining excavator commissioned in the Hunter Valley on 20 March 2017. The machine is one of the new generation 100 t hydraulic excavators from Liebherr’s Excavator factory in Colmar, France; it continues the Liebherr tradition of innovative mining equipment and services exceeding customers’ expectations of safety, quality, productivity and reliability.

The R 9100 is a proven machine with over 60 units commissioned worldwide and is one of the most productive excavators in its class. With fast cycle times and low fuel consumption, it has become a key utility mining machine to deliver value for money for Tier 1 miners right through to emerging Mining Contractors.

Bulga Open Cut had a very specific requirement to put the R 9100 in a difficult sloping coal seam in the East Pit, and are actually running this against a competitor OEM wheel loader option to load coal. The machine will work exclusively to extract coal and its productivity, reliability, total cost of ownership and overall value for money will be closely monitored as it goes about its work. The R 9100 also sees the introduction of the all new Liebherr Z 100 GET, which is another first for Liebherr-Australia Mt Thorley branch and Bulga.

The delivery of the R 9100 continues an ever-expanding relationship between Bulga Open Cut and the Mt Thorley branch, being the 3rd Liebherr excavator to be delivered in the last 12 months.