Sector:

  • Mining & Metals

Expertise:

  • Heavy transport

  • Jacking

Benefits:

  • Reduced preparation

  • Optimized schedule

  • Protected infrastructure

Location:

  • United States

Specialized carrier method reduces transportation time by two thirds.

Mammoet carried an 8 million pound Peabody Energy dragline over 22 miles of New Mexican desert to their El Segundo Mine. It took the 3500-ton dragline only twelve days to cross the desert on a specialized self-propelled transport vehicle.

The dragline, the size of a ship on dry land, is designed to ‘walk’ by using shoes that lift and advance the machine, at a speed of one-tenth of a mile per hour. However, using this method would have required generators, and road and power line construction support 24 hours a day for at least a month. Mammoet reduced that travel time by two-thirds, even despite factors like steep inclines, exceptional rainfall, and width restrictions due to an archaeological site on the way.

mine transport in Australia.jpg

A total of 150 axle lines of Self-Propelled Modular Transporters (SPMT), five trains wide by thirty long, were used to move the dragline to its destination. “Transporting a machine of this size required precision and planning”, said Brad Brown, Peabody Energy Senior Vice President of Southwest operations.