Liebherr’s new ultra large mining excavator

Liebherr’s latest excavator development is the R 9800, a 780 t hydraulic excavator with a nominal bucket capacity of 38 to 42 cubic metres at a material density of 1,8 t/ cubic metre. This new flagship of Lieb-herr mining excavators’ range is targeting bucket loads of 75 tons in both versions, as a backhoe and a shovel execution. The R 9800 continues Liebherr’s success in the ultra large excavator range and offers to mining houses and contractors a loading tool in particular for trucks of 220 tonnes payload and above. The R 9800s high engine power, the available high oil flow volumes and high swing torque are the basis for the outstanding high productivity of this machine. Liebherr is providing for the machine two engine options, two Cummins QSK 60 with a installed power of 1,492 kW / 2,000 hp each or two MTU 12V4000 with a installed power of 1,425 kW / 1,910 hp. While the backhoe digging envelope and bucket width remain similar to the previous Liebherr flagship, the R 996, the R 9800 in backhoe configuration provides a breakout force of 1,840 kN with a digging force of 1,750 kN. In shovel configuration, the machine is achieving crowd forces at ground level of 2,980 kN and breakout forces of 2,350 kN. These values ensure superior digging capabilities even in the toughest mining conditions. Liebherr has consequently followed the design philosophy of improving the efficiency of all individual sub-systems in order to maximize the efficiency and reliability of the overall machine, while in parallel reducing the operating cost. One example is the fully temperature controlled cooling system of the machine with all components carefully designed and perfectly dimensioned. This allows optimized power distribution while the machine operates at the optimum systems temperature, even in ambient temperatures of up to 55 degress Centigrade. Besides the beneficial effect to the component life and system reliability, the temperature controlled auxiliary systems increase the machine efficiency and reduce the machine’s fuel consumption. This finally turns into cost savings with every hour of the R9800 machine in operation.

Beside the operator enhanced working environment in Liebherr’s super silent mining cab with superior overview over the entire machine and loading spot, the R 9800 is particularly designed with focus on serviceability. Ergonomic and comfortable component access for repairs and inspections are the bases to make service easy on the machine. The R 9800 provides the possibility expanding service intervals up to 1,000 SMU. All service fluids can be exchanged or refilled over the service flap in a short time period. For servicing the machine, the major components are fast accessible allowing the service crews focusing on the core job by minimizing the surrounding preparation work. This minimizes the servicing time periods and provides the advantage of higher machine utilization in production. The new machine diagnostic system allows fast and enhanced machine health surveillance. All on board stored data can be easily downloaded and analyzed.