Colmar (France), 20 April 2026 – Representatives from Alki-L, Liebherr-Export and Assarel-Medet, Bulgaria’s first and largest copper mining company, attended the handover ceremony for the delivery of the face shovel R 9350 E. After the vicar of the Panagyurishte Diocese, Stavrophore Archpriest Atanas Manolov, and Priest Angel Zhelyazkov performed a blessing for good health, Nikolay Peltekov, executive director of Assarel-Medet, and Krasimira Tzaneva, manager of Alki-L, smashed the traditional bottle of champagne into the R 9350 E’s bucket.
A 300-tonne electric powerhouse
Assarel-Medet chose the R 9350 E for its operations at Assarel mine because it emits zero greenhouse gases during operation while also offering exceptional productivity, durability and ease of maintenance.
‘We continue to implement modern mining equipment from leading global manufacturers to ensure our sustainable development through higher production efficiency and workplace safety,’ says Peltekov. ‘I congratulate our colleagues at Assarel mine who have the pleasure of working with the new machine, and I thank everyone who contributed to the success of this investment.’
The R 9350 E is equipped with a powerful 1,200 kW electric motor that offers significant advantages such as fewer vibrations and less noise during operation, longer service life for working units and components and maximum overall efficiency at extreme temperatures. Furthermore, the electric motor is designed to last for the entire service life of the machine, reducing operating and maintenance costs.
‘This 300-tonne machine is a symbol of not only technical excellence – thanks to Liebherr’s dedication to continuous improvement – but also of the long-standing cooperation between Liebherr and Assarel-Medet,’ says Raphael Goeppel, Liebherr-Export’s general manager for earthmoving and mining equipment. ‘In recent years, the world has faced numerous challenges, and the fact that we can all come together like this shows how important a good partnership between companies is.’
This face shovel excavator is equipped with a custom 17 m3 bucket to ensure that it provides optimal productivity while moving material at Assarel mine.
More than 30 years together
The partnership between Assarel-Medet, Alki-L and Liebherr-Export began in 1993, when Assarel-Medet received its first Liebherr machine, an L 506 wheel loader, at Assarel mine in the Sredgna Gora mountain range. In the intervening decades, Assarel-Medet’s Liebherr fleet has grown to a current total of 28 machines and includes more wheel loaders as well as dozers, wheeled excavators, a specialised tracked machine for welding work and large diesel and electric mining excavators. Thanks to the dedicated support of Alki-L’s service specialists and the team from its mine repair and central repair base, a number of these machines have reached more than 130,000 operating hours and are still productive members of Assarel-Medet’s fleet.
‘Delivering this R 9350 E is not just a business achievement; it is a reflection of the exceptional relationship we have built with Alki-L and Assarel-Medet over time. When partners genuinely work together with a common goal, great things happen. We are incredibly proud of this moment and truly excited about everything the future holds for our collaboration,’ says Goeppel.
