Liebherr R 9300 excavator gets to work at SQM iodine mine - International Mining

South America’s first Liebherr R 9300 excavator has now arrived at SQM’s Nueva Victoria open-pit iodine mine in the Tarapacá region of Chile, looking to, among other things, reduce the operation’s cost per tonne.

The R 9300 is the second Generation 8 excavator launched within Liebherr’s product portfolio and builds on the OEM’s decades of excavator design expertise in the mining industry. As a Generation 8 machine, the R 9300 comes fitted with the most advanced Liebherr mining technologies. These technologies provide increased operational performance and enable future product requirements such as automation and zero emission options.

The R 9300 was also designed to support greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. Liebherr’s proprietary engine and hydraulic management system – Liebherr Power Efficiency – comes as standard to reduce on-site fuel consumption. Further, the R 9300’s diesel engines are Tier 4 and Stage V compliant to adhere to strict international emissions standards and an electric power train is already in development.

Since the first of these 250-t machines went to work back in 2022, they have proven themselves as an incredibly fuel efficient and productive loading solution that can significantly reduce customers’ cost per tonne, according to Liebherr.