Liebherr delivers HUGE electric excavator to Bulgarian copper mine

The equipment experts at Liebherr have delivered a MASSIVE, 300 tonne (~330 ton) R 9350 E electric excavator the Assarel copper mine in Bulgaria’s Pazardzhik province, where it’s already delivering big efficiency gains.

Assarel-Medet turned to Liebherr for its operations at Assarel mine because the new R 9350 E face shovel excavator promises superior power, performance, and durability compared to the G6 diesel version, along with significantly reduced maintenance and operating 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.”

Liebherr’s newest face shovel excavator is equipped with a custom 17 cubic meter bucket for optimal productivity while moving material at Assarel mine – and, with a 1200 kW (~1,600 hp) electric motor offering vibration-free grunt, it should have no problem swinging that bucket as quickly as the safety of the surrounding human workforce will allow.

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Neither of the companies involved quote what kind of cable voltage the excavator takes (machines like this are often connected to grid power, with minimal batteries on board), but details like that are often case-by-case things, as these machines are spec’ed for the site and work, and aren’t mass-produced in the conventional sense.

That’s not say the R 9350 E is a one-off, however. Assarel-Medet’s Liebherr fleet has grown to a current total of 28 machines, which includes a handful of similar excavators along with electric wheel loaders, dozers, and a specialized tracked machine for welding work.

Electrek’s Take

While there are still a lot of people in the equipment and mining space who may scoff at environmental concerns, the quest for improved efficiency and cost reduction among commercial fleet managers knows no ideology. If it’s just as good and cheaper, they’ll buy it. If it’s better and cheaper, they’ll buy two — and battery power is proving to be consistently better, in a broader scope of use cases, than diesel.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Liebherr.

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