Aveng Moolmans – Tati Nickel Mine

Achieves 23 000+ hours in a Komatsu 785 Mine Haul Truck using the Caltex Delo®family of products.

Aveng Moolmans is a large mining company operating a number of metal ore mines across the African continent. They rely on Caltex Delo® products for their quality and as noted by their maintenance personnel “wherever Moolmans goes in Africa, our first port of call when it comes to lubricants and coolant is to request Caltex Delo®products for our equipment.”

From Light Vehicles to Heavy Duty Equipment

Passenger vehicles and motorcycles or heavy-duty industrial equipment, Havoline and Delo customers worldwide rely on our lubricants to keep their vehicles at peak performance.

After 23 000+ severe service hours using Delo® 400 Multigrade SAE 15W-40 and Delo® XLC Extended Life Coolant, Caltex and Aveng Moolmans senior maintenance personnel agreed to inspect one of their Komatsu 30L 12 cylinder diesel engines from a Komatsu 785 mining haul truck from their Tati Nickel Mine.

“Delo® 400 and Delo® XLC Extended Life Coolant really does the job for us – Delo® helps our equipment go further,” says Coleman.To learn how Delo’s family of products can help you go further, visit www.caltexdelo.co.zaAs the large horsepower engine is torn down, the inspection team led by Leonard Badal, Caltex Global Commercial Sector Manager, started looking at some of the key engine parts for deposits, wear and corrosion and Delo® performance in these tough operating conditions. The top deck showed minimal deposit build-up with no visible sludge or corrosion. The pistons were in very good condition with the rings free moving and no visible undercrown deposit formation, indicating good heat transfer control.

Additionally, the team inspected the major cooling components of the Komatsu 30L 12 cylinder engine that used Caltex Delo®XLC Extended Life Coolant. Despite the harsh operating environment and hard water found in the operating area, the outside of the piston liners showed no visible pitting. The cast iron water pump impeller and seal showed no visible cavitation, rust or pitting. They were in fantastic shape.

Our trucks haul up to 90 tons of material up 10 degree sloped haul roads in temperatures up to 35°C. In the last 12 years, we have moved 109 million bank cubic metres of rock and nickel materials using Delo® 400 and Delo® XLC in our trucks without any engine failures.

For us, the most important aspect of it all, over and above the financial cost of the lubricant, and even the repairs, is to keep the wheels turning. Uptime and reliability are absolutely everything – looking at how Delo® has protected our engine and helped maintain reliability is key,.

This engine has two camshafts and as we inspect them, we can see on the lobes, just highly polished, limited wear, in really good visual condition. As we take a look at the rollers, same thing – highly polished, a few minor scratches, but no play between the rollers and the pins. These parts are in great condition; we can put them back into the engine.

Replacement value of all of the equipment that Moolmans operates is over R10 billion and maintaining that equipment to maximum performance requires an excellent working relationship with Caltex and its products to ensure our performance and return on investment.

After inspecting the parts from this engine, it is clear that the combination of the Komatsu diesel engine with good maintenance practices and the use of Caltex Delo® 400 Multigrade SAE 15W-40 and Delo® XLC Extended Life Coolant has provided Moolmans the reliability and uptime they require to mine nickel ore profitably in Botswana, Africa.

Delo® 400 and Delo® XLC Extended Life Coolant really does the job for us – Delo® helps our equipment go further.

To learn how Delo’s family of products can help you go further, visit www.caltexdelo.co.za

Aveng Moolmans – Tati Nickel Mine

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