Austin Engineering has become a prominent name in the international mining industry for its inspired engineering solutions and services.

Austin Engineering is driving innovation in the underground mining industry with its advanced truck bodies and tyre handlers.

The company’s latest offerings aim to enhance safety, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness, reinforcing its position as an esteemed provider of mining equipment.

Austin Engineering chief executive officer David Singleton said the company is dedicated to delivering high-tech, custom-designed products that cater to the specific needs of mining operations worldwide.

“Each of our truck trays are custom designed to suit particular sites, payload requirements, and other applications, ensuring customers get the very best out of their equipment,” Singleton said.

The JEC underground truck tray is one of the standout products in Austin’s range.

Designed with a curved structure, the JEC tray ensures safe ore transport while minimising material hang-up. Its adaptability allows the tray to be mounted on any underground truck chassis using hoist and pivot pins.

The tray incorporates several key features, including solid impact plates and curved leading edges for impact resistance, shallow angular transitions to reduce carryback build up and reinforced areas for structural protection.

Development of Austin’s underground truck bodies dates back to 2010 when a major mining client approached the original equipment manufacturer with issues related to significant carryback.

The presence of wet material was impacting their overall payload capabilities, and the client needed a solution.

Austin’s engineering teams collaborated closely with the miner, addressing challenges such as high material impact, abrasion from minimal blasting practices, and confined space risks.

The resulting tray design offered solutions to these issues, including improved carryback reduction, increased wear resistance, and enhanced operational efficiency.

“The JEC underground truck body design was a result of having worked collaboratively with our client to provide a solution for a particular problem,” Singleton said.

“This has enabled our client to achieve continuous improvement and deliver the lowest ‘cost per tonne’ solution for their operations.”

In addition to its truck bodies, Austin Engineering has developed a range of tyre handlers for both surface and underground applications. These tyre handlers have contributed to the development and evolution of today’s dual-arm tyre handler industry standard, which dates back to the 1990s.

The company’s dual and three-arm tyre handlers, with between 2500–10,000kg capacities, are fully hydraulically controlled. This feature can deliver variable force and enables precise control when moving the tyre handler.

Austin’s dual-arm tyre handler is a cost-effective option designed for versatility across the entire tyre and rim spectrum and are fully adaptable to loaders, telehandlers and tool carriers.

The dual-arm tyre handler offers features such as body and pad rotation, side shift capabilities, and a quick hitch for added convenience. Optional accessories like crane jibs and fork frames further enhance the tyre handler’s functionality.

The JEC T3 three-arm tyre handler is in a league of its own when dealing with confined spaces. It has a 30° slew capability for precise alignment, fully adjustable clamp arms, and safety lock valves.

Austin designed the JEC T3 tyre handler in response to a serious accident in 2010 involving a tyre change on an underground loader in the Goldfields region of Western Australia. This highlighted the risks associated with traditional tyre handling methods.

Having effectively addressed these risks, with safety features including added protection from flying debris in case of a tyre explosion and the ability to compress the tyre sidewall without causing damage, the JEC T3 tyre handler is currently being successfully used in mines across Australia and internationally.

Austin provides customer support for the lifecycle of its products, including inspection, maintenance and spare parts. The company also provides customer support for its Mainetrack asset management and wear monitoring system fitted to its trays and buckets.

Operating across four continents, Austin designs its products to meet the specific needs of different mine sites and commodities. Having this global experience results in efficient operations and a strong investment return for Austin customers.

Looking to the future, Austin is focusing on product design and innovation, particularly as the mining industry’s needs evolve.

The company is committed to creating sustainable solutions, which include reducing steel usage, increasing payload capacity and minimising carbon emissions.

“We firmly believe that this process will ultimately result in better products that will reduce impacts on the environment and support the transition to a more sustainable future,” Singleton said.

“While these represent challenges to the whole industry, they also offer opportunities to evolve the way we do business.”

This feature appeared in the September 2024 issue of Australian Mining.