When Bengalla Mining Company took delivery of a Liebherr R 9800 excavator in August 2023, it marked the beginning of an exciting business relationship.
Located in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales, Bengalla Mining Company supplies thermal coal to markets across the world.
“Bengalla needed additional capacity to meet our future overburden movement requirements and assessed the market of large excavators to identify the best machine for our needs,” Bengalla general manager Cam Halfpenny said.
“We examined safety, performance, the match with truck fleet, maintenance, capital and operating costs through the life cycle of the machine, reliability and structural integrity along with operability to support our ability to supply thermal coal to our customers across the globe.
“The Liebherr R 9800 best met our needs.”
Bengalla maintenance capital, projects and services superintendent Benjamin King told Liebherr more about the company’s journey to find the perfect machine.
“Bengalla has been on an acquisition journey with the R 9800 for almost three years with Liebherr and we have been happy with the transparency that the Liebherr team has shown,” King said.
“Bengalla, being new to Liebherr products, has had plenty of questions and by working together we have been able to have these addressed.”
Teamwork was a vital component in supporting Bengalla and delivering the R 9800 to site, and both companies came away with a sense of pride in what they achieved together.
“We are incredibly proud of the collaboration and collective team effort that was put into the planning and subsequent delivery of the first piece of Liebherr mining equipment for Bengalla,” Liebherr-Australia service manager Daniel Simone said.
The newly delivered R 9800 was the first ultra-class excavator to join the ranks at Bengalla.
Designed to thrive in even the most challenging mining conditions, the R 9800 offers operators first-class reliability and performance.
Of course, this has also the added benefit of assisting Bengalla to reach its productivity goals.
“It’s been great to see both the Bengalla and Liebherr teams come together and pull off the 10-week on-site build and watch the machine go to work,” King said.
“It has been a highlight of my 20-year career in mining to see the R 9800 in the dirt. This is the second biggest investment in heavy mobile equipment over the life of Bengalla to date.”
To get the most out of its Liebherr equipment, Bengalla also invested in an Immersive simulator for the R 9800 cab. This software provides training opportunities such as hazard avoidance, engine management, site safety procedures, and operator productivity.
The simulator includes a replica of the R 9800 cab, complete with Liebherr controls and instruments like the cab’s control panel and joystick.
Training operators with this simulator help increase productivity and on-site safety, while reducing costs and instances of unscheduled maintenance.
The R 9800 is also supported by Liebherr’s modular maintenance service, which leverages Liebherr’s philosophy of machine design. This means different modules of the R 9800 can be removed in the event they need servicing, reducing equipment downtime and helping operators minimise risk during maintenance processes.
With so much versatility, strength and production power packed into one machine, it’s not hard to understand why the Bengalla team has enjoyed the R 9800 so much, and why it’s looking to a future with more Liebherr machines.
“This R 9800 sets a firm foundation for a bright future between Liebherr and Bengalla built on trust, innovation and strong customer support,” Simone said.
“We are also excited to work with Bengalla on the delivery of a new R 9600 in early 2024 and can’t wait to see what else the future holds.”
This feature appeared in the February 2024 issue of Australian Mining.
