This trusty workhorse was retired from the iron ore harvesting fields of Sishen Mine in the Northern Cape after more than 20 years of faithful service.
At the time it was deployed in 1989, along with 31 other stable mates of the same kind, this truck was considered the state-of-the-art. Weighing in at a massive 125 tons, it was the biggest truck of its kind to get down and dirty at sishen Mine.
Unit Rig, the manufacturer, based the design of the 170 ton payload haul truck on the design of its successful M-85, M-100 and M-120-15 series trucks. The truck boasted a fuel consumption of 85 litres per hour and an estimated life of 10 years. But this robust dynamo, with a little help from a re-build, actually gave the mine two decades of steadfast service.
From the start of every shift, this faithful mechanical giant would haul the mine's valuable iron ore to the crusher, or help to clear waste from the site. The truck was diesel powered for normal use, but was equipped with pantographs which allowed it to harness electrical power from its electrical motors to boost uphill travel when fully laden. The ability to switch from diesel power to electrical power greatly reduced the fuel consumption and also increased its top speed from 10 km/h to 18 km/h on the steep uphill sections of the pit.
Retirement inevitable comes to all of us and eventually the time came to take this truck out of commission to make way for bigger, more advanced models with capacities of as much as 350 tons.