Huge Volvo EC950F Excavator Brings Muscle, Productivity To Sweden’s Aitik Copper Mine

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Volvo says the EC950F takes only 20 to 25 seconds per work cycle and can load the manufacturer's largest articulated hauler, the A60H, in just four bucket loads. (Photo courtesy of Volvo.)

Contractor Rutqvists Schakt AB recently purchased Volvo Construction Equipment's largest crawler excavator, the 100-ton (90-metric-ton) Volvo EC950F, because it needed a machine with the utmost productivity for use at Sweden’s largest open-pit copper mine. The contractor bought the big Volvo from dealership Swecon despite the fact that none of his excavator operators were familiar with the giant machine, the first in Sweden.

“There was no time for a test drive,” says Rutqvists Schakt CEO Lars-Göran “Lalla” Rutqvist. “But I trust Volvo and Swecon. The decisions we make together always work. It also helped that I had read and heard from foreign colleagues that it was a good machine.”

Ore Never Sleeps

The Aitik mine near Gällivare, Sweden, is the world’s most efficient open-pit copper mine, according to its owner, the Boliden AB mining company. The 1.9- by 0.6-mile (3- by 1-kilometer) pit employs an average of 770 employees in northern Sweden. Boliden mines copper, gold, and silver from Aitik around the clock, every day of the year.

By the end of September 2021, the new Volvo EC950F excavator had put in approximately 900 hours at the mine and was working more than 10 hours a day, seven days a week. The manufacturer says it takes only 20 to 25 seconds per work cycle and can load Volvo's largest articulated hauler, the 43.9-cubic-yard (33.6-cubic-metre) A60H, in just four bucket loads.

“We are very happy,” says Rutqvist. “It's surprisingly fast for its size. In this job, it's important to combine capacity with speed. What's more, fuel consumption is reasonable and it's a pleasure to drive.”

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“There was no time for a test drive,” says contractor Lars-Göran “Lalla” Rutqvist. “But I trust Volvo and Swecon.” (Photo courtesy of Volvo.)

The Volvo EC950F

The EC950F can lift up to 20.25 t (22.9 mt) along its undercarriage, and it can use buckets of up to 10 cu y (7 cu m) of capacity. It has a maximum digging reach of 46 ft (14.02 m) and a max digging depth of 29.3 ft (8.95 m), depending on its configuration. The excavator can apply up to 76,660 pounds-force (341 kilonewtons) of breakout force and up to 78,683 lbf (350 kN) of tearout force.

The EC950F is powered by a Euro Stage V-compliant diesel engine that produces 603 horsepower (450 kilowatts) at a low 1,650 rpm. The goliath crawler has an operating weight of 201,227 to 209,020 pounds (91,275 to 94,810 kilograms). The machine measures 14.67 ft (4.47 m) wide and has a tailswing radius of 15.4 ft (4.7 m).

Volvo equips the EC950F with an electronically controlled hydraulic system with five user-selectable flow and pressure settings. The excavator also comes with a boom swing priority valve and memory storage for up to 20 attachments’ individual settings. The EC950F includes the CareTrack telematics system, which can work with Volvo’s ActiveCare Direct machine monitoring to anticipate maintenance needs.

Source: Volvo