Greatland Resources has purchased its first Caterpillar machine from local dealer WesTrac, with the Cat 6060 hydraulic mining shovel now ready to work at the Telfer gold-copper mine in the Paterson Province of the East Pilbara region in Western Australia.
The 6060 took three weeks to assemble, according to WesTrac, adding: “It’s now ready to work alongside three of its older brothers at the Telfer Gold Mine.”
Caterpillar launched its next generation 6060 hydraulic mining shovel in 2020. This replaced the 6060B in the hydraulic mining shovel lineup, features updated engines, optimised hydraulics, heavy-duty structures and undercarriage, Cat electronics and a state-of-the-art cab, according to the company.
The 600-t class mining shovel has a bucket payload of about 61 t/pass in both face shovel and backhoe configurations. This makes it an efficient four-pass match with the 231-t payload Cat 793 mining truck and five-pass match with the 291-t payload Cat 794 AC mining truck. Twin Cat 3512E engines are optimised for high performance, fuel efficient operation and increased durability, according to the company.
In Greatland’s December quarter results, it said it invested A$61.2 million ($42.7 million) in Telfer growth capital expenditure invested across tailings expansion, open pit pre-stripping,
underground development and open-pit fleet renewal. The mine produced 86,273 oz of gold and 3,528 t of copper in that three-month period. Greatland acquired 100% ownership of Telfer from Newmont on December 4, 2024.