MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN -- June 2006 -- P&H Mining Equipment announces the launch of two new products: the P&H Payload™ and Payload™ Plus Systems. Both systems measure shovel payload weight and, therefore, the weight of the material they load into haul trucks.

Payload and Payload Plus help mine operators determine their trucks' optimum payload weight and loading strategies in response to changing mine and market conditions. They also give shovel operators the tools they need to hit the mine's targets with each truckload.

"It's important for open pit mining operations to know the payload weight of each truckload of material that's hauled," said Mark Hardwick, vice president P&H MinePro^® Services Americas North. "It's important not only for accurate production accounting, but also for optimizing the return on each load of material hauled."

"Overloading trucks may increase production and revenue, but it also increases the wear and tear on high-cost truck components — tires, chassis, struts, axles, and brakes. Moreover, it can also void truck manufacturers' warranties," Mr. Hardwick explained. Similarly, short-loading decreases productivity and efficiency, driving up the mine's haulage cost per ton.

Payload and Payload Plus are unique among shovel-mounted weighing systems. At the heart of each system are the Static and Dynamic models used to calculate accurate material weight.

In specific field verification testing at multiple sites using in-ground truck scales as the base, accuracies of better than 2% on a "per truck" basis were achieved.

Both systems require the P&H Centurion™ control system, which is standard equipment on new shovels and available as a retrofit for earlier models.

Payload and Payload Plus assume the handle and dipper are in constant motion. Like traditional systems, Payload's algorithms include motor speeds, currents and voltages. But they encompass a host of additional factors, including: motor characteristics; coefficients of friction; centers of gravity and weights of the shovel's handle and dipper; joystick references; dipper position; dipper trip and brake status.

"It's a much more extensive set of data for calculating payload weight than any other system available. Equally important, Payload provides automatic system calibration each time the shovel's hoist ropes are changed and the boom limits are set up," Mr. Hardwick said. It also provides a quick and simple procedure for long-term calibration.

Payload Plus operates differently. It measures payloads with a load cell comprising a patent-pending instrumented boom point sheave pin fitted with two pairs of biaxial strain gauges. The load cell measures hoist, dig and suspended load forces directly. Payload Plus correlates the data to dipper payload weight.

Payload and Payload Plus present weighing information on the same Centurion touch-screen computer, offering a single display for weight measurement as well as other Centurion-based operator information. Results include: current dipper payload weight, cumulative weight, deviation from target weight, number of trucks loaded, average truck tons per shift, and current and average truck loading times.

With the visual feedback Payload and Payload Plus provide, operators can adjust their truck loading techniques to consistently hit their target payload weights, reducing costs and improving productivity.

P&H offers Payload and Payload Plus with two options for additional functionality: a report generation package and ShoveLink™, a remote communications system interface for transmitting shovel data to the mine office.

For more information, ask your P&H MinePro Services representative for brochure XS-3953.

P&H Mining Equipment is a world-leading supplier of electric rope shovels, large rotary blasthole drills, and walking draglines, with global life cycle management support through its distribution arm, P&H MinePro Services. MinePro Services also represents and supports over thirty leading lines of equipment and services globally as a strong partner for the mining industry.