The Impala Platinum Mine in Rustenburg recently purchased a Samson 45.8 telehandler from Dieci South Africa. The “Impala” is one of the largest platinum mining centres in the world, with an extraction capacity of around 23 tonnes per year.

The mining sector is full of hidden dangers, due to the very nature of the work environment. To prevent accidents, the legislation that regulates the industry in every country around the world is particularly stringent; in South Africa the “Mine Health and Safety Act” also prescribes specific equipment that vehicles operating in mines must have.

How a telehandler becomes a mining telehandler

To strictly comply with these provisions, the Samson 45.8 has been rigorously customised and optional solutions have been introduced to ensure the maximum safety of the operators who use it.
Here’s how a telehandler becomes an incredible machine for extreme situations:

• the strength of the standard ROPS-FOPS cab has been reinforced by adding a shatterproof steel grille
• SAHR brakes controlled release brakes have been mounted on the axles
• the lighting system has been upgraded with LED headlights and sidelights
• it has a front and rear double camera
• in addition to manual exclusion of the battery and an in-cab emergency stop button (standard), the electrical system has been modified by equipping it with Plug & Play connections
• the dashboard instrumentation has been supplemented with a pressure gauge for the brake system, mechanical indicators for the engine parameters, and an AMS system, which monitors the diesel combustion process in real time, detecting malfunctions and operating irregularities, thereby preventing any downtime in potentially dangerous situations
• it has been equipped with a fire protection system with 9 kg fire extinguisher
• since it has to work indoors, potentially in the presence of flammable gas, it features an explosion-proof exhaust gas treatment system capable of inhibiting the escape of any type of spark or open flame

Furthermore, like all Dieci telehandlers, to ensure maximum safety and minimise human error, starting is only possible with the driver aboard thanks to a sensor under the seat, which detects the operator’s weight and inhibits starting if the seat is empty. In addition, accidental movements of the boom are impossible thanks to the dead man switch on the joystick.

This is the equipment required by law. To further increase the level of safety, this telehandler has been fitted with optional equipment, including: foam-filled solid tyres, centralised lubrication and filler caps for fast refuelling.

It truly is an amazing vehicle! Powerful, reliable and safe.

Operating in a market where mines play an important role, Dieci South Africa has specific conversion kits both for other telehandler models and for truck mixers and dumpers.

Discover all the technical solutions and special equipment available on the Dieci line of vehicles and equipment for mines, quarries and tunnels.

Platinum mines

It is one of the rarest elements on earth, and yet, even if we don’t notice it, it is all around us, an essential component in many of the objects we use every day, and sometimes even a part of our body. We are referring to platinum, a metal that in the modern age is even more highly prized than gold.

In the 18th century, however, when it was discovered by Spanish colonists in South America, it was considered an incompletely formed silver mineral (called “platina”, meaning “small silver”, hence its current name), and although natives used it to make jewellery, it was considered of little value.

A metal so rare that, if you collected together all the platinum extracted from all the mines in the world since its discovery, you would obtain a cube with sides measuring only 5 metres.
Yet, modern society cannot do without it. Its characteristics of extreme ductility, stability, electrical conduction, resistance to corrosion and human tissue compatibility make it essential in a very wide range of applications: from dental and surgical prostheses to anticancer drugs (it impedes the reproduction of diseased cells), from catalytic converters to high-performance spark plugs, from hard drives to microcircuits, from smartphones to HDMI cables and, of course, jewellery…