TAKRAF technologies optimise mining costs
Discovery Reports
Led by the emerging markets of Asia, the global mining industry is forecast to grow 7 per cent yearly, reaching US$1.8 trillion by 2017. Mining equipment specialist Tenova TAKRAF is well poised to tap into this development with its advanced mining technologies that increase productivity while optimising costs.
Leveraging the global network of the Tenova Group, which operates in 26 countries on five continents, TAKRAF counts the world's top four mining companies - BHP Billiton, Vale, Rio Tinto and Anglo American - among its customers.
Founded in 1725, TAKRAF specialises in the engineering and supply of open-pit mining and bulk materials handling equipment. The company offers complete systems and individual machines, including excavators, crushers and conveyors.
"Together with our customers, we develop the best technological concepts for the machines," says sales director Thomas Eckel. "We supply technologies that are extremely competitive in terms of long-term operational costs."
TAKRAF's SRs 8000 bucket wheel excavator, for example, is among the world's largest terrestrial crawlers ever constructed.
Stretching 502 metres and weighing 14,200 tonnes, the machine can continuously move 16,000 cubic metres of mineral deposit per hour.
TAKRAF is also helping clients cut transport costs, which account for as much as 80 per cent of overall mining expenses. With this goal in mind, the company has engineered a 16.8-kilometre conveyor belt in a molybdenum mine in Colorado.
The company plans to further capitalise on the potential in Asia by establishing a new subsidiary next year in Indonesia, where it looks to tap into the domestic market. TAKRAF has subsidiaries in India, Thailand and China, where it also aims to collaborate with suppliers of structural steel, machinery elements and electrical components.
"We emphasise reliability," Eckel says.
"In this business, about 80 per cent of our customers today will also be our customers tomorrow."
