Aluminum Truck Bodies for Mining and Earthmoving Equipment

This paper outlines the rapid development of aluminum bodies in mining and construction equipment, since tests carried out on a prototype unit in 1959. It relates how units have behaved satisfactorily in a wide variety of both medium and hard rock mining operation. Examples are quoted to show how to take care of wear, how maintenance compares favorably with steel, and how the aluminum units prove more economical. These factors are assessed in relation to new designs of bodies in high-strength low-alloy steels. The conclusion is drawn that with the trend to larger capacity loading and hauling equipment, the use for aluminum units becomes more favorable.