Liebherr has confirmed that First Quantum recently confirmed an order for 11 trolley-capable T 284 trucks to add to its fleets at mines in Panama and Zambia.

First Quantum has ordered three trucks for Sentinel copper mine in Zambia and eight trucks for Cobre Panama copper mine.

The deal comes after two Liebherr T 284 trucks with the Trolley Assist System were commissioned at Sentinel copper mine in 2016 and testing of the trolley solution began in February of 2017, said the company.

Liebherr received an initial request in 2013 from First Quantum Minerals Limited (FQML) to develop a 360 t / 397 ton trolley-capable haul truck for the mine sites.

This soon-to-be fleet of 38 T 284s in Panama will claim the title of the world's largest ultra-class truck fleet on trolley, said Liebherr.

"Trolley Assist truck systems have become integral to the development of First Quantum's large scale open pit truck haulage operations," said an FQML representative.

"Over the last decade, First Quantum has emerged as one of the industry leaders in implementation of Trolley Assist systems across mine planning and design, installation, operations, and maintenance. We consider our purpose designed Trolley Assist systems deliver a step change in measurable haulage performance through increased truck productivity, improved maintenance cost, and reduced carbon emissions."

"During the past five years, Liebherr has proven itself as a pro-active partner in the development of Trolley Assist capable truck fleet systems," they continued. "First Quantum has selected the Liebherr T 284 ultra-class truck for some of our Trolley Assist deployments at our large-scale mining operations in Zambia and more recently as the sole deployed truck at our Panama mining operations. With a high degree of co-operation between our organisations, we see this partnership continuing to grow in years to come."

Oliver Hoelzer, Director of Mining Liebherr-Panamá confirmed, "Even before the arrival of the very first truck, Liebherr Panama's relationship with FQML Panama has been more of a mutual partnership than a pure business relationship. Our highly committed team recognises that Liebherr's own success is intrinsically linked to the success of FQML."

Liebherr has also delivered six trolley-capable 100 t / 110 ton T 236 haul trucks in Austria, bringing the total number of Liebherr trucks with the Trolley Assist System to 56 once FQML's newest fleets has been commissioned.