Another batch of 180-tonne haul trucks BelAZ-75180 has been shipped to the Kirovsk-based branch of AO Apatit, PhosAgro Group, Russia, the press service of the Belarusian automobile engineering company BelAZ told BelTA.
BelAZ trucks are shipped to Russia in line with the agreement signed in September 2019. At least 50 haul trucks will be shipped within the next three years. Large-capacity trucks will represent the bulk of the total volume of shipments.
The Kirovsk-based branch received 16 BelAZ trucks in 2019: six 180-tonne BelAZ-75180 trucks and ten 130-tonne BelAZ-75131 trucks. Three more 130-tonne trucks were delivered to Murmansk Oblast in February. The trucks will be used to mine apatite-nephelinic deposits in the Khibiny Mountains. The Russian enterprise has not used 180-tonne trucks up till now.
The haul trucks are supposed to be upgraded later on in order to become smart and acquire new technical parameters. Additional modules will be installed to enable remote control. There are plans to set up an experimental site in the area to test the operation of remotely controlled trucks.
Cooperation between BelAZ and the Russian company is fruitful. The signing of the agreement last year opened a new page in the long history of cooperation between the two companies. The future partnership will include robot trucks and the conversion of Belarusian haul trucks to gas and diesel engines.
The public joint-stock company (OAO) BelAZ is the managing company of the holding company BelAZ. BelAZ is the world's leading manufacturer of haul trucks and transport equipment for mining industry and civil engineering industry. BelAZ accounts for some 30% of the world market of haul trucks with an extremely large carrying capacity. The company makes the world's largest haul truck with the carrying capacity of 450 tonnes.